What could be disturbing your sleep and causing you stress?

by Jerylyn Draker
co-author, Stress Out, show stress who's the boss

excerpt chapter: Get enough Sleep

       It is no secret that the everyday stress of life, work, family and other commitments can wear someone out. But what do you do when all you want to do is get some rest, but you can't fall asleep or stay asleep? According to a National Sleep survey, almost half (48 percent) of Americans report lying awake at night due to stress.

        I had trouble sleeping, not from my thoughts but from the constant ringing in my ears.  My doctor diagnosed it as tinnitus and offered me medication to lessen it. The medication not only didn’t work, I felt nauseous when I took it. I felt I was doomed to hear this disturbing noise every night. I tried white noise machines and soft music, but they couldn’t drown out the ringing in my ears. Some nights were worse than others. One night when I couldn’t sleep, I landed upon a medical show on TV and they were discussing tinnitus and some of the potential causes and habits that made it worse. Although the cause of mine has never been diagnosed, I took notes on some of the recommendations I heard from this show. 
     There was a great deal of comments made about the relationship of food and nutrition to the intensity of tinnitus. Amongst list of potential culprits, I recognized a few in my life. Caffeine was at the top of the list, and between my coffee and my diet cokes I always had something I was sipping on all day. Between my coffee and my diet coke, I was consuming a lot of caffeine every day. When I quit smoking, I substituted coffee and diet coke as my addiction and bandaid for stress. I was drinking a huge amount of fluids, but very little of it was plain water. Alcohol was another one listed by these doctors as a contributor to the existing problem, and on nights when I couldn’t sleep from the noise, I had a few drinks to help me sleep. Vitamin deficiency and especially B12 was also high on the list. Vitamins were something I took on a hit and miss basis. I made the decision to control these three things and see what would happen. 
     I didn’t believe I could do it all at once, so I made a schedule where I cut back a little more each day. I made little baggies of my daily vitamins and made sure B12 was among them and I switched to decaf coffee. I didn’t want to stop all my caffeine right away, so I after a few days I started to trade some of my diet cokes for soda with a squeeze of orange juice for sweetness and flavor.  I cut back my alcohol to having one occasionally and mostly only on weekends with friends over dinner. 
     It took me a few months to change my habits and eliminate the caffeine and some chemicals from my body, but now whether I’m stressed or not I sleep more peacefully with no ringing in my ears. 
     In talking with my friends, I discovered I wasn’t the only one with this problem, and when they made changes in their habits they also saw a difference in their ability to sleep better.

You can learn more about Jerylyn Draker in the Stress Out, show stress who’s the boss book
Proceeds from Stress Outs books can benefit your favorite charity

Bubbles

Remember the carefree days when you were a kid playing? One of many children’s favorite toys over the years has been bubbles.
   There are several mentions of children blowing bubbles, in stories and historical paintings, using ruggedly made devices.
   Prior to the 20th century, children discovered their mothers’ leftover washing soap was fun to use to blow bubbles.  In the early 1900’s bubbles gained popularity when they were first packaged and sold as a toy
    If you were a child of the 60’s you might remember bubbles as a symbol of peace and harmony.  The air was filled with bubbles as a symbol of peace and “flower power”, instead of war. Bubbles were one representation of the flower children during that time.
    Today, bubble solution is the best selling toy in the world!  Millionaires have been made from various bubble blowing devices and solutions. One man has made a career as the world’s largest bubble blower.
   Blowing bubbles require you to breathe deeply and you create something beautiful in your exhale with the bubbles.
  When I was a volunteer Guardian ad Litem with the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) for the Los Angeles Superior court, I spent much of my time in the children’s protective area with them as they waited anxiously for their individual time in the courtroom.  Part of my responsibility was to assist them in knowing that they were not to blame and feeling as safe as possible when they faced the judge. Most of the children were scared and several kept quietly to themselves, and others were crying. One particular day I took a small bottle of bubbles with me and sitting with the child I was responsible for, we took turns blowing bubbles.  In a matter of minutes we were surrounded by almost all of the other children and they wanted to blow bubbles too. We all shared in the bubble blowing fun and some of the tears were turned to laughter. Although the children still were fearful of the situation they were in, the moments they spent blowing bubbles and laughing relieved the stress in the room. Some of them actually walked to the courtroom with a smile on their face.   So keep a bottle of bubbles handy. Most toy stores still sell them for under a dollar. Surprise yourself, and maybe a few other people, by blowing a few bubbles the next time you feel stress. You might remember how fun this really is.
  If you don’t have any bubbles handy, you can pretend and still see some positive results. Hold your thumb and first finger as if you were holding a bubble blower. Blow over the top of these two fingers as if the bubble blower circle was there at the top of your fingers. For extra emphasis, you can close your eyes and visualize the bubbles floating away and popping the air.

excerpt from Stress Out, show stress who's the boss. #ISBN978-098152383
Available on Amazon

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