As I was drifting off to sleep before a night shift, I was thinking of all the techniques I use to try and get some shut eye and thought I’d share some things that have worked for me! Though this is just my top 10, there are others I’ve tried like chamomile tea which sort of help and you’ll read elsewhere. I’m no sleep expert, just someone who has lost a lot of sleep and am trying to get it back.
The number one thing recommended of course is a routine. For me, that’s not an option! My schedule just changes ALL THE TIME due to my job. Yesterday I got home at 3 am. Today I’ll be up all night until 7 am. Then I have a few days off in which I’ll try to get to bed around 10 then will get switched around again. How to cope?
Medications are a big way most people adjust. Whether it’s ambien, provigil, coffee, benadryl, etc. these Do Help. They also come with side effects or are habit forming. My two are coffee and benadryl. I tried ambien but hated the side effects. Some people I know also use alcohol, but that only helps you Fall asleep, not Stay asleep plus makes you feel like crap and dehydrates you! The quality of sleep is also terrible with alcohol. Bottom line- if your job wreaks havoc with your circadian rhythm, use meds in moderation with more natural techniques!
So these are a few things I have found to be extremely helpful. Pay close attention to #5, I think that’s been the biggest Game Changer!
1: Bedside Notebook
It took me a long time to admit that the thoughts racing in my head at the end of the day was anxiety. Stress about what I had to do, projects I had to complete, etc. I started keeping a small paper notebook with a pen and small keychain light on my nightstand. Most keychain lights are super bright, so tape over the light to dim it as much as you need to.
The minute I wrote down the random “To Dos”, I would lay back and wake up the next morning realizing all I had to do was GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD AND ON PAPER! Sometimes it would be a short list of stupid things that weren’t even pressing matters. Like reminders to send an email. Or a reminder to make a packing list- not even writing the packing list!
Sure you say, I can do that. I’ll download an app. NO. Turning on your phone and staring at that glowing screen is the last thing your brain needs. Guaranteed, the minute you light up that phone you’ll see some distracting alert. Next thing you know, its an hour later and you’ve made all kinds of worthless Facebook comments plus blocked your brain’s melatonin. Speaking of…
2: Melatonin
This one also took a while for me to buy into. I’m a natural night owl, I’ve been fighting it my whole life and thought I was hopeless! Then I read this post by a sleep doctor and it changed everything.
I can’t do exactly as she recommends given my crazy schedule, but reading this was super helpful. To summarize, I take melatonin Pure Encapsulations 0.5 mg at 8 pm. At first it made me sleepy right away, but now I actually feel sleepy around 1-2 hours later.
Sleep MD here. For all of you moms out there who are even mild night owls (1-2 hour phase delay) compared to what you need to be for work/home/family, this is highly effective (and as things go in medicine…almost completely harmless).
So here is the story on circadian alignment, quick and dirty. All of have an internal clock. Melatonin (the darkness signal) starts getting secreted 4 hours before our natural clock’s bedtime (so if you are a natural 12 M person, your melatonin secretion starts at 8 PM). In order to manipulate the clock, you have to manipulate the melatonin curve.
First, figure out your natural clock. The time you would be sleepy if you did not have kids, were on vacation and were not chronically sleep deprived… 
🙂. Then get a 0.5 mg of pharmaceutical grade melatonin (NOTHING HIGHER, that just washes out the curve, it does not shift it. DO NOT use 3 mg, 5 mg, or 10 mg, more is not better for circadian realignment!) and take it 4 HOURS before your natural clock’s bedtime. Then move that melatonin back 1 hour every week. So if you have a natural bedtime clock of 12 M and want your natural bedtime clock to be 9 PM, you take it at 8 PM on week 1, 7 PM on week 2, 6 PM on week 3 and 5 PM on week 4 and beyond).
This low dose melatonin does not make you feel sleepy when you take it, it just shifts the clock. Get a good reliable brand (I recommend Pure Encapsulations or something that is USP verified). Set your cell phone to remember to take it at the right time each night and carry your melatonin with you — sometimes you may be taking it at work or when you are out to dinner or something. You will find that your sleep onset and REM onset (very important!) will be shifting by an hour each week.
Once you know the principles, pick your desired bedtime and plan an 8 hour sleep opportunity for whatever schedule works for you. So for example, if you are really a 12 M to 8 AM person when left to yourself (eg vacation or without kids) and you need to be up at 5 AM, your desired bedtime needs to be 9 PM for an 8 hour sleep opportunity.
Once you have it set, you need to keep taking the melatonin at that set time every evening, or your natural clock will start drifting back. All electronics have to be off 1-2 hours prior to bedtime because the blue green wavelengths SUPPRESS the melatonin levels. There are programs such as F.lux that you can install on devices that will reduce your blue-green wavelength exposure later. Also I the new Apple IOS has a program called Nightshift which you can adjust for this.
Once you have set your clock to the final time, use light therapy with a light box or sunlight 15-20 minutes on arising in the morning to suppress your morning melatonin. This will give you new bedtime and rise time circadian anchors and you have a new clock!
If you get erratic about the melatonin or you get off schedule, start again at the beginning. You always have to pull back the clock from scratch if it has drifted too much…
You can use this on teens. We do not know of any harms in kids at the low dose 0.5 mg dosing but I do not believe there is good data either way, so proceed at your own risk, so to speak.
Edited to add: You keep on the melatonin 0.5 at your final dosing time indefinitely as long as you want to maintain your clock. If you stop, your natural clock will kick back in…
Good luck and sweet dreams!
3: Nighttime Routine
This one is what I struggle with the most. It’s hard to set a definite bedtime but starting an hour ahead seems to be how long it takes to go through everything, start to finish. So, if I want to be asleep at 10, that means at 9 I should turn off all devices, turn lights down, start white noise, start essential oil diffuser, etc. Then it’s change into pajamas, brush teeth, wash face, floss, moisturize, etc. Be sure I have my phone plugged in, my notebook where it should be (kids have a way of carrying off items!) and an alarm set if I need to.
Having this routine is comforting and a little ritual that is reinforced by the associated smell of toothpaste, smell of my face lotion (lavender), smell of my toner (geranium) etc. I’ve found that engaging in each of the 5 senses as part of my routine helps me wind down. Sight with dimming lights, touch with wearing pajamas, taste with the toothpaste and floss, smell with the lavender, and sound with the white noise.
4: Sleep mask
This one is just a nice to have since I don’t have blackout curtains. There are probably better ones out there, I’ve hear the Illumi is really nice, but this one is cheap! I often end up losing one under the bed or leave it in a travel bag, so it’s nice to have a couple lying around. I also put a few drops of lavender on the mask itself if I’m traveling, allows me to smell the lavender without needing a diffuser. Earth Therapeutics Sleep Mask
5: Headphones with Sleep Stories/Meditation
Working on the perfect headphones but the ear buds that come with most iPhones work just fine. They move a little if you’re tossing and turning but get the job done. Though we have a stereo in the bedroom that plays white noise (Pacific Ocean Surf on Spotify, or Storm in the Atlas Mountains) I personally need more.
Enter Calm.com! I promise I’m not getting a cent from them to make this recommendation! Their sleep stories have a way of distracting you from what happened during the day and relax. I prefer the non fiction stories that are about nature, mostly written by John Muir but I also really like the ‘View from Above’ excerpt written by an astronaut or ‘Dr. Omar’s Sleep Science’. The key is to really listen and pay attention. If you find your mind wandering, restart the story and try to focus.
I also never thought I’d consider self hypnosis. But when I was pregnant my doula recommended Hypnobirthing and I found that the audio made me fall asleep! It’s basically a body scan (relax your face, your eyes, breathe into your toes) that kind of thing. I need to find a better self hypnosis thing. I’ve thought about yoga, maybe that teaches something similar? I think meditation is also what this is, I don’t know. If anyone knows, please comment!
6: Diffuser
After some trial and error, I got a nice diffuser that has a one hour option. This saves on using up some oils and I personally don’t need to have it on while I’m sleeping! The one I got came with an ionizer or something but the noise just helps with the white noise. It also comes with all kinds of lights but I just turn it off. Not saying you need to get fancy, I just recommend a one hour option!
7: Essential Oils
Smells that help me go to bed are (you guessed it!) lavender. Lots of lavender. I used to buy all my stuff from the grocery store, brands like Aura Cacia or the Stress Free fragrance from Aveda. But honestly… once I smelled Young Living I was pretty impressed. So that’s primarily what I use. They also have a blend called Stress Away that I like a lot. I also have a couple doTerra oils, their sandalwood is incredible! I wish I could diffuse that all the time but it’s pricey so I save that for special blends.
I also have a roller ball that I got from Loess Hills Lavender Farm in my purse. I use this just to take a deep breath sometimes and clear my head, or when I’m driving home and just want to start winding down after work.
“But I hate lavender! I don’t want to buy those pricey oils!” Cool. Just find a smell you like. Try the scents at the soap counter and take note of the names. Zum has a lot of nice smells, I like their frankincense. I just don’t recommend candles because of the burning and flames and stuff.
8: White Noise
We have a stereo in our room to play the Pacific Ocean Surf sound on Spotify or the Storm in the Atlas Mountains. Our kids have a Dohm sound machine which is nice since it’s just an on/off switch. Some people like a noisy fan. Whatever helps!
9: Tums
Oh the burn. If I eat too close to bed time, or too large a meal, I definitely pay for it! I have a nice little container that has Tums in it for if I wake up coughing with reflux. This is also just a reminder to not eat too close to bed time!
10: Exercise
Yeah yeah yeah. It’s good for you, you know that. But seriously… I did squats this week and had the best nights sleep all week!! The timing of your exercise is also important. Too close to bedtime and it’s hard to sleep properly. Too intense and you may fall asleep quickly but then wake up. Ultimately, I recommend exercising whenever and however you can so long as you finish in time to eat and leave at least two hours between your meal and sleep time
Next to try: weighted blanket
This has been recommended to me by two coworkers who both said the 15 lb blanket is Amazing. We just bought one on sale, hoping it’s as good as they say! Though it’s been developed for anxiety and autism, etc. I’m willing to try whatever helps calms my brain down.
Surprise bonus…
My 3 year old tucked me in for a night shift today and handed me her stuffed rabbit. I obligingly hugged it and thanked her… then realized it was quite comforting!!! There’s just something about hugging a cozy little thing that I had forgotten about. NOT SAYING TO GO GET A STUFFED BUNNY. However, maybe there is something to those “body pillows” always advertised! If you’re like me, you’ve probably exhausted everything and tried all manner of quackery to get a good nights sleep. This one is a funny little trick if you’re willing to embrace your inner child on a really bad day.
The Inspired Dr.Mom 