Insomni-ald

> Using routines to combat sleeplessness

Brittney MacDonald
Life & Style Editor

 

We you're going to school
and working it can often
be hard to find time to rest your
brain, and this is especially
true if you're an insomniac.
Insomnia is one of those
words that gets tossed around a
lot, but often times the people
using it don’t actually know what
it means. It is not the inability
to sleep at night, but rather,
the inability to fall asleep at all.
If you can't sleep at night, but
have no problem sleeping in till
noon the next day, you're not an
insomniac, you just need to reset
your sleep pattern or be more
aware of your diet pre-respite—
fruit and protein will actually
keep you awake, while carbs will
make you tired, and caffeine
must be avoided, obviously.
Insomnia is different for
every sufferer, but some things
are universal: Our brains have
a hard time shutting off for
extended periods of time. Falling
asleep can be a battle tempered
with the aid of various hormones
like Melatonin, or sleep-aids—but
the real battle is actually staying
asleep. Many sufferers find it
difficult to remain asleep, and will
actually wake up mere hours after
they’ve crossed that first hurdle of
managing to fall asleep in the first
place. This means incredibly late
nights and very early mornings,
which can lead to exhaustion.

 

As someone who has suffered
from insomnia for years due
to anxiety, I have found that
developing a routine can bea
game changer. What a routine
does is it takes the focus off of
the clock, and instead puts it
on training your brain. As many
fellow insomniacs know, stressing
over time is almost a compulsion.
You lay in bed counting the hours
of rest you'll have if you fall asleep
right that second, watching the
time dwindle until you realize
that it’s time to get up and you've
spent the entire night stressing
over sleep. It’s a familiar story,
but what can you do to avoid it?

First off, make the decision
on whether or not to try
prescription drugs. For me, I
prefer to avoid them due to the
added expense and some rather
frightening experiences with
over-the-counter sleep aids when
I was a teenager. If you want to
try and avoid them, then I advise
taking low-dosage melatonin.
Melatonin is the hormone that
signals your brain that it is time
to sleep, as such it is not a sleep-
aid per s, but more-so a natural
remedy that helps until you’ve
trained your brain to produce it
at the correct time on its own.

But when’s the correct time,
you may ask? Again, the focus
here should not be on the clock,
but rather the training aspect.
This means that you need to
develop a series of repetitive
behaviors you can use as a trigger,

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so that your brain will know when
it should settle down. What these
behaviors are is completely up to
you, but | advise trying to engage
all your senses—touch, taste,
smell, sight—and to repeat them
without deviation. For me, I light
a scented candle, drink a cup of
hot chamomile tea, and watcha
10-20 minute “let’s play” video. I
do this because I want to focus on
things I find relaxing to combat
my anxiety, but depending on
your insomnia, your routine may
vary. This is why it’s important

to tailor the routine to you as an
individual. I hate the cold, so I
need to be in bed with my tea
near scalding. However, you may
find that suffocating, so your
routine might involve opening

a window. Develop your routine
around your perfect sleep. Try

to figure out what’s so different
about the days you fall asleep
easier, and try to replicate aspects
of those days. If storms relax you,
try adding rain sounds to your
nightly routine. If you zone out
when you read a book, try reading
a few pages a night. The key is

to avoid measuring time, and
instead do things step by step.

If this works, and you
manage to fall asleep but wake
up a few hours later, repeat the
process. This repetitive action
will eventually train your brain
to stay asleep for as long as it
can. That may only grant you
five or six hours, but hey, it’s
better than the alternative.

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Monk Mode:
Investing your time

> What to do when you have nothing to do

Adam Tatelman
Arts Editor

 

Peers myself included,
often feel trapped in
our routines—not just
because our working lives
can grow monotonous, but
also because our leisure
activities can do the same.
For most, work is
something done out of
necessity rather than desire;
thus, the choices we make in
our recreation time define
who we really are. If that
sounds strange, consider
that many people identify
themselves by the hobbies
they select—gamer, foodie,
stoner, or film buff to name a
few—so, the more we do these
things, the more attached to
them we become. A mere year
ago, | probably couldn't have
imagined life without video
games, and yet I was aware
on some level that I derived
little benefit from the hobby.
Being creatures of habit,
we often choose comfortable
routine over the uncertainty
of change, even if the routine
has become stifling. If you
feel this way, try to adopt

something new: join a student
club, get a gym membership,
or look for new friends outside
your circle. If you're feeling
stuck, experiences outside
your comfort zone can help
you to find a new zest for
life. This may lead you to
re-evaluate your habits, and
decide what’s worth keeping.
Learning to make better
use of one’s time is one of the
most critical lessons to learn
from Monk Mode. In my case,
I chose on a whim to sell all
of my video games, devoting
that time instead to strength
training. | gained 18 pounds
of muscle in four months as a
result—something I wouldn't
have done otherwise. That
isn’t to say that videogames are
pointless, but it’s important
not to let them be a deterrent
to productivity. What matters
is that you feel accomplished.
Don’t think of this process
as giving something up;
instead, imagine it as a trade.
I still play video games with
friends, but it is no longer a
priority in my life. In examining
the checks and balances
of time, I simply found a
better way to invest mine.