In this article we discuss one of the challenges you might have in retirement and how to conquer it. Retirees need sleep like everybody else. Often they have trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep.
You Retirees Need Sleep
Sleep is one of the issues that I have frequently worked on with retired people. How do you turn off your brain so you can sleep. Some people have no problem falling asleep.
However, many other people have severe difficulty falling and staying asleep through the night. Not sleeping well can effect your memory, mood, stamina and even digestion.
Sleep is one of the issues that I have frequently worked on with retired people. How do you turn off your brain so you can sleep. Some people have no problem falling asleep. However, many others have severe difficulty falling and staying asleep through the night. Not sleeping well can effect your memory, your mood, stamina and even digestion.
This happens to almost everyone from time to time, but for some it is a real chronic problem. Many people try relaxing by doing meditative breathing, light exercises, using music or nature sounds to soothe them to sleep. Other people swear by warm milk, a long warm bathe, turning down the temperature. In addition to adjusting the light and temperature many people use aromatherapy. Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils. It might help with falling asleep because it promotes relaxation.
How many times have I found myself looking at the clock and saying to myself, “It’s 3:00 a.m. If I sleep now I can still get 5 hours of sleep.” Then looking again and it’s now 3:30. I have trouble turning off my brain. I keep going through the things that need doing. Maybe I am forgetting something. Especially since Covid, the worrying has increased and sleeping has decreased.
One thing that has worked for me and for others is a Brain Dump. This is a totally different approach. Miriam-Webster dictionary defines a brain dump as “the act or an instance of comprehensively and uncritically expressing and recording one’s thoughts and ideas.” Wow that is a mouthful.
Brain Dump
Retirees need sleep, but when you have too many ideas ( worries, appointments, family conflicts, money issues, health concerns …) spinning around in your head it causes stress. The more you think about it the more it spins and 2:00 a.m. becomes 3:00 a.m. and on and on. So the key is to get them out of your brain, hence the name brain dump.
A brain dump can help you clear your mind. Put your to-dos in a list so you can take action. Acknowledge your worries so you know they can be dealt with. Organize your thoughts so you don’t constantly keep running over and over things in your brain.
Action Plan
In addition, an organized brain dump can give you an action plan for the next day. It will be your to do list that you can work on and cross off as you go. You can look at your list and be more efficient.
The first step is to have a place to write down the stuff that is swirling around up there in your brain. It can be in a notebook, a plain piece of paper, a bullet journal, brain dump work sheet (available on line) or on your phone or computer. I prefer paper so I can have it in front of me all the time and I can get the satisfaction of crossing things off.
Just before you head off to sleep, write down everything. No matter what is going on, if you are thinking about it, write it down. That way it can live on your paper and not in your brain. Leave the paper on your table or attached to your fridge or somewhere you can see it first thing. Then go to bed. Everything you need to remember or are worried about is written down. You got this. Now you can go to sleep.
Get Up and Go
When you get up, take a look at what needs to be done. Organize your errands so you can minimize trips; throw that laundry in so it can wash while you are making calls. Call those friends you haven’t heard from, send a card to a grandchild. Get on with your day. Cross off the things you can and if you have things you can’t do or conquer, get help.
At the end of another day remember that retirees need sleep and you have some new ideas about how to get it.
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