Is Sleep Possible During This Crises? Part II

Challenge to wake our mind

Dealing with the craziness of staying healthy during a pandemic is a real challenge. One important thing we can do is to get a good night’s sleep. However, so many women struggle with making this happen on a regular and repeated basis. We need to understand how serious this health issue can become.  

Are we dragging through each day? Is it more and more difficult to handle children who are out of school now? We may even find ourselves dozing off at inappropriate times. Or we may be unable to look our best because we have no energy to get ready for the day ahead. Believe it or not, all these annoying experiences are part of insomnia.  

Last week we discussed in depth how we got to this point in the first place. If you missed that post on 3/23/20, please go ahead and check it out to see where we can continue today. And be sure to click on these links for background information:

Women's Health 

Better Sleep   

Tips to Try at Home
There are many things we can try for lack of sleep before we see our doctor. Women's Health hits the nail on the head with these suggestions. [See their link above for more ideas]: 

Spring is on its way - Get outside!

• Try to go to sleep at the same time each night and get up at the same time each morning. 
• Do not nap longer than 30 minutes during the day (nor after 3pm)
• Get outside every day for some natural light.
• One or two hours before bedtime, avoid computer screens, mobile phones, or televisions. No electronic devices in the bedroom. [Hard to break the habit but it really works!]
• Follow a regular, relaxing routine at the same time each night.
• Go to bed only after winding down when ready to sleep. Do not read in bed, listen to music (except white noise which really helps), or do other activities that engage the mind.
• Keep the bedroom dark, quiet, and cool for sleeping. Use a sleep mask or light-blocking curtains. Use earplugs, a fan, or a white noise machine or app on your phone to block out sounds. [Love this one!]
• Do not drink alcohol, caffeine, or use nicotine for at least five hours before bedtime.
• Get regular physical activity during the daytime. Caution: exercise close to bedtime, or anytime in the five or six hours before sleeping, can make it harder to fall asleep.
• Do not eat heavy meals or drink a lot of liquids two to three hours before bed.
• If sleep still does not come after about 20 minutes of getting into bed and turning out the light, get out of bed and do something relaxing until sleepy (no electronics!).
• See a doctor or sleep specialist for insomnia if nothing else is working.

Where's the Switch?

It seems like our minds are like little machines that someone forgot to turn off the switch. So, we have to ask, WHO created and controls our mind? You may or may not know that the One and Only true God created every little piece of us inside and out. 

So, it is obvious that our very first suggestion or tip for improving our sleep habits have to do with speaking to the One who knows us completely--our Creator! He understands our difficulties with this problem. God is just waiting for us to open a conversation with Him. He only requires that we ask for His help. Let's try that tonight and every night. We might really be surprised how soon God will react in our favor!

"In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe" (Psalm 4:8 NLT).

That's Not Who You Are Anymore

Lost bottle in the ocean

It's hard to say what we were thinking about in second grade. Our memory may not be that sharp any longer. But Laura Terry may not soon forget her second-grade science experiment.  

In 2017, Terry and her classmates were studying ocean currents and thought they could test it out by placing messages in bottles, sealing them, and sending them out to sea from their town of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Terry never expected anything to happen to her bottle except that it would sink. Nearly two years later, her bottle was found on Doohoma Beach in western Ireland! [Ann Smajstria, Cox Media Group]. 

A grandmother in Ireland walking on the beach found Terry's bottle with a note inside and subsequently wrote to the girl at her school. Out of 70 bottles sent out, five have been found including one in Portugal and three in France. Wow! What an amazing science lesson.

That’s Not Who You Are

In today's culture though, we are nearly buried in electronic message sites like the top five Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and SnapChat to name but a few! Of course, good ole email and texts are still available. A message in a bottle, though, is so much more romantic, wouldn't you say? (Who can forget Kevin Costner, Robin Wright, and Paul Newman in the Message in a Bottle movie?). 

But today's blog is not about the internet. Whew! We are sliding back down out of the clouds and trying to figure out our role as a single-again woman and how we can go about changing our communication methods. Because what worked in our past may not work in our new world anymore.

We've come through one of the worst experiences of our lives. The good news is we've made it to the other side and are still intact. Congratulations! So now what do we do? In some cases, especially if we have young children, we may unavoidably have to face our former spouse and possibly former in-laws every now and then. 

Of course, when that happens, we can rage, scream, and freak out but hopefully, that's not who we are now. Yes, it's been a whirlwind of decisions, decisions, and more decisions heaped on our shoulders. It could make anyone feel like a witch from the movies. So, one more time, let's say it out loud, that's not who we are anymore.

Five Messages to Start Your Plan

Did someone say Relax?

If you are serious about becoming a better communicator, then grab a notebook and take down some ideas (no, you are not going to send it out to sea):

--Breathe. Make it a goal several times each day to deeply inhale/exhale. Amazing how good this feels.

--Relax. Of course, this goes along with breathing. Shoulders down!

--Plan. If you know the upcoming situation, practice what you will say.

--Listen. Ask questions and find out what the other person really wants (hint: address only one subject at a time, not your entire past).

--Speak with confidence. If you have never tried it, think of joining the Toastmasters organization. Nearly every city in the country has a club. 

These are only but a few, so go ahead and research it and then keep adding to your list above. You've got this! 

Never Stop Learning

Have you ever said Someone needs to write a book about this? Well, Someone did. He is God Himself and He knows exactly how you feel past, present, and even your future. Really. The Bible is His book written just for you. Most Bibles today have a section in the back called Index or Concordance. You can look up any number of topics such as “Speech,” “Confidence,” “Change,” and “Listening.” Careful though, you may not be able to put it down!           

"All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right" (2 Timothy 3:16 NLT).

Making the Most of the Day After THE Day

It's the day after. . . It's over, but just beginning. We may not have gotten all we wanted in the agreement of our disagreement, but it is our life. It is what it is. No sense stomping our feet. Ban the worry. Kick the fear. Shatter the feeling. Drown the overwhelming dread. This is our life and better yet, this is a fresh start. We want to keep the momentum going (after all, a moving object is hard to destroy, right?).

Contemplations

So to ease up and take a much needed break, nothing is more encouraging than sitting before a sunrise or sunset (depending on if you are a morning or evening kind of woman) while reflecting on:

The reasons why we are blessed with this fresh start:

1. It’s a surprising wake-up call

2. Offers to us a brand new day with new mercies

3. Bestows hope for all things

4. Gives us reason to jump up with joy

5. It's God's love-gift to us

6. Perfectly colors our world

7. Keeps us humble

8. Provides peace to our mind, body and soul

9. Reminds us of our Creator

10. Primary subject of artistic expression

11. Can share it, but not lose it

12. What dreams are made of

13. Best movie endings
14. Brings a release of tears

15. Leaves us with ideas for tomorrow

16. Conclusion to a wonderful day

17. Proof God is alive and in control

These are only seventeen reasons to be grateful. Obviously, there are many, many more we could fill our journals with--in fact, go ahead and try it. Taking a break is a highly avoided activity, but it's no reason for any kind of guilt. Breaks are actually an excellent form of free personal therapy! Without a regular habit of stillness and contemplation to calm our minds, we will never hear from God.

The Clamor is Deafening!

Too many of us have said, "I never hear from God." Could it be because we live in constant noise and chaos? God is gentle. He whispers. He listens. He is patient. Thank Him for that alone! And for bringing us this far.

We can find a favorite, quiet place to go to and carve out a time to spend with Him. For most of us, this place is in the outdoors. It could be near a river or creek, a hillside, a park, a forest, or even our backyard, porch, balcony, or living room. Someplace. Somewhere. He is waiting to spend time with each of us. Can you hear Him now?

“Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, 'This is the way you should go,' whether to the right or to the left" Isaiah 30:21 NLT.