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Getting a Good Night’s Sleep - Right!

© James Foster Robinson

I read recently an article on the Internet by Kay Ledbetter on the AGNews website about how important it is to get a good night sleep. The article pointed out some ways to do this. Well I checked them over and they are great ideas but, in my case, some are a bit impractical. Let's take a look at the suggestions and I will explain what I mean. In fact lets see how of the many points would get if I am doing what they say.

- Use the bed and bedroom for sleep only. Take work materials, computers and televisions out of the sleeping environment.

Right! Good idea. Except I live in a bachelor apartment and my bedroom is also my living room. It is a good thing I am not married, it would be hard to keep the bedroom just for sleeping. Wink, wink! Nod. Nod!

- Maintain a regular bed and wake time schedule, including weekends.

Ok, that would be nice, but I work an irregular shift. - two days and three evenings. It is a little hard to maintain a regular bed and a wake up time schedule. Also they are renovating the outside of my building, Monday to Friday starting at 7.30 am. At least on those days I do get woken up at a regular time.

- Create a good sleep environment that is dark, quiet, comfortable and cool.

Hmmmm. I live on the ground floor right at a corner of two busy streets. There is constant noise from speeding calls and also from the fire trucks from the fire hall just down the street as they answer calls. Not very quiet, is it? I did have a quiet place to sleep when I visited my fiancée in West Virginia. She lives on a small mountain and it sure was quiet there out in the woods. I could not sleep much the first night as it was too quiet, but I got used to it quickly.

- Sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillows.

Yes, I do have a comfortable mattress and pillows. There is one point for me.

- Finish eating at least two to three hours before bedtime.

No can do. I am usually hungry when I get home after working the evening shift. It is hard to fall asleep when your stomach is complaining.

- Exercise regularly, completing any workout at least two hours before bedtime.

Yes this one is important. I get a lot of exercise on the job working security and patrolling a four building site. Unfortunately, this means I am getting exercise up to at least half an hour before going home. If I wait a couple of hours after I get home then it is 3 or 4 am and I get woken up by 7.30 am by the construction workers. No point there.

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