2-Minute Sleep Tip: Better Sleep for $5 or Less
At bedtime, when it’s quiet and the distractions of the day fall away, all sorts of pesky insomnia-fueling thoughts love to show up—
- the oh-yeah-I-can’t-forget-tos
- the I-should-haves
- the they-should-haves
- the I-could-haves
- the what-ifs
- replays of the past
- worries about the future
- problems (that often don’t quite get solved)
- decisions (that often don’t quite get made)
These thoughts often swirl around unproductively, making it very difficult to power down for a good night’s sleep.
2-MINUTE ACTION:
A deceptively simple but powerful first step is to capture these thoughts on paper so that they can be laid to rest for the night.
Purchase a pack of blank notebooks and a box of pens so that your teen always has something on hand at bedtime.
FOR MORE:
Listen to Find the Eight Episode #7: What To Do When Your Mind Is Keeping You Awake.
COMING UP: In next week’s newsletter, I'm going to share my favourite tip for overcoming morning grogginess.
All the Best,
P.S. Want to read past 2-minute tips? You can find them all here.
A friendly note if you not are a parent of teens: You may have noticed that this newsletter doesn’t sound like it’s written for you. Though I hope you'll still find the ideas and tips helpful, if you wish to unsubscribe, no hard feelings! If you know any parents of teens or professionals who work with teens, please share my website where they can sign up for the newsletter.
NOTE: The content and all linked materials in this newsletter provide general information about sleep and insomnia and are not intended to replace medical advice from a qualified healthcare provider. The provided content should not be relied upon for medical diagnosis or management. Please direct questions or concerns to your physician and/or qualified health care provider.
DECODE Insomnia
2-minute sleep tips for parents of tired, sleepless teens
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Last week, I wrote about waiting for your window, as discussed in a recent podcast interview that I recorded with my colleague Dr. Amy Gajaria. That conversation got me thinking about how often I speak to parents about what they can do when their teen is not interested or not able to make changes for sleep. So I created a new resource: 5 Tips to Help Your Teen Sleep Better (Even If They're Not Ready Yet) This tip sheet gives you 'behind-the-scenes' action steps plus what to do when the window...
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