Take time out for you and sleep better too (Part 2)
How well do you know yourself? If you stopped to think about what’s truly important to you when it comes to your health and by health I mean, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health…..would you know the answers?
In my experience we all have a unique set of values or needs in life, which underpin our well-being. They are like the foundations to our dream house.
When we work in accordance with these values and needs, life tends to flow and our house is a pleasure to live in. However, if the values and needs are unknown to us, or we act out of alignment with them, the spectre of stress haunts the rooms and our dream house is more like a nightmare.
Let me give you a simple example of a client presenting with sleep problems. Life Coaching uses questions to help clients find personal solutions. The question in this case was, ‘what does an ideal night’s sleep look like to you?’.
Both the problem and the need are listed below:
Problem: Feeling over stimulated at bed time
Need: Feeling calm and rested before bedtime
Problem: Going to bed late and getting up early.
Need: At least 7 hours sleep a night
Problem: Frequent need to urinate disrupting sleep
Need: Minimal disturbances during the night.
Problem: Being woken up by light, heat and physical disturbance
Need: Dark, quiet and cool room.
Problem: Tossing and turning on a full stomach.
Need: A calm digestive system.
Once my client recognised her needs, she identified her self defeating actions and took steps to align with what she had discovered. She realised she could no longer:
- Go for a run too close to bedtime or watch over stimulating TV.
- Leave it too late to go to bed.
- Drink caffeinated drinks, alcohol or any other drink too close to bed time.
- Allow her cat to sleep on the bed, with the bedroom door open and the landing light on.
- Leave the windows closed and use a heavy duvet in a warm temperature.
- Eat after 8pm when the digestive system needs to rest for the night.
In help of a good night’s sleep you could also try Valerian & Hops which helps restore natural sleep.
When was the last time you stopped to think about your values and needs in the face of a stressful situation?
