Sleeping is my hobby

By Kristin Fehlauer

Why do we sleep? Science has yet to find a satisfactory answer. There would seem to be no evolutionary advantage to being unaware of one’s surroundings for long stretches, effectively paralyzed. The more philosophically inclined may argue we sleep to break up the days. How would we perceive time if we had nothing to punctuate its incessant flow?

Regardless of the “why,” it’s clear that good sleep has restorative effects—and a lack thereof just the opposite. This year’s World Sleep Day has the theme of Quality Sleep, Sound Mind, Happy World. What might the world look like if everyone got enough good sleep?

I often deadpan that “sleeping is my hobby.” This means I not only enjoy sleeping (my dreams are fairly entertaining), but I enjoy reading about it and pondering its effect on my day-to-day life. I’ve also made an informal collection of tips for having a good night of sleep, that I’d like to share with you here. I’ve found them all to be effective. My problem now is that, on the rare occasions when I have trouble falling asleep, I can’t decide which method to use!

Set the scene

Make sure your room is dark and cool enough. My rule of thumb for the latter is, your bed linens should be cool when you slip under them and you should need a couple of minutes to warm up.

Keep screens out of the bedroom! I have a hard time obeying this one myself, but there’s no question that it helps. If you need a phone or tablet to fall asleep (lots of good apps out there), make sure your screen is in night mode or as dark as possible, and if that’s not enough to keep the room really dark, try a sleep mask.

Mind games

The key is to find something that holds your attention enough that you don’t start worrying or thinking about something that will wake you up, but is still sufficiently boring to let you drift off.

The first method is a combined physical and mental exercise. First, tense your entire body as much as you can. Point your toes, squeeze your legs together, make fists, scrunch up your face. Hold for a moment, then think, “Good night, toes” and relax your toes. Then “Good night, legs” and relax your legs. Keep moving your way up your body until you relax your face. Now you should feel nice and loose and hopefully ready to head to dreamland!

Another favorite of mine is counting backwards from 100. Very simple, and a perfect balance of needing-thought-but-still-pretty-boring. I’ve never made it past 50.

And finally, sometimes at night I like to “walk” through buildings I knew well as a child. It may be my grandparents’ house, elementary school, childhood home—as long as it’s someplace where I have fond memories, it’s a great way to open up my mind’s eye and start retreating from the real world. Bonus tip: this is a fun bonding exercise to do with siblings, parents, and friends. See what different things you remember!

Do you have any good tips for a good night’s sleep? Share them in the comments!