A Ruffled Mind Makes a Restless Pillow - Charlotte Bronte

Pixie the Parrot

Pixie napping after a long day in school
She pulled a tissue out to use as a blanket

Sleep

The most natural thing in the world, is sometimes the hardest to accomplish. Pain, stress, anxiety, illness and disruption to our routines can all interfere with healthy sleeping patterns. The world, right now, is filled with stress, anxiety and disrupted routines. If we have a bad night sleep, we start off the day already behind. Remember that everyone is different, and you have to find the solutions that work for you. They will also vary, depending on what the cause of your sleep disturbance is. Physical pain is different that “busy brain”.

Routine is important. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Even on the weekends.

Reduce caffeine later in the day.

Turn off screens an hour before bed, the light from electronics is stimulating.

Turn down the temperature at night; we sleep better if we breathe cooler air.

Make your bedroom a sanctuary. It’s hard to relax in clutter and it’s easy for it to be a dumping ground because you can close the door on it.

The bed should only be a bed, not a workspace or entertainment center. Our brains become conditioned to routines, if you routinely watch thrillers or action movies in bed; your brain equates the space with high adrenaline.

Have a pillow that suits your sleep position. Side sleepers need a thicker pillow to keep their neck from kinking.

Turn your clock so you can’t see it, counting the hours increases our anxiety. “If I fall asleep right now, I can still get 4 hours and 38 minutes.”

Stretching can help release the muscle tension that makes it hard to get comfortable.

For some, a warm bath before bed is perfect. For others, it makes them too hot which makes sleeping uncomfortable. Be aware of how you feel and act accordingly.

White noise can drown out the house sounds that keep us alert. Use a fan or recorded ocean sounds.

“Busy Brain” can be combated by listening to something monotonous, like a pod cast on a subject you are not interested in. This is the concept of counting sheep.

Visualization exercises can keep our brain from fixating on our worries. Mentally plant your garden, plan out your dream home, plan a vacation. Do this in exaggerated detail (planting each row, packing your suitcase).

If a “to do list” is keeping you up – get up and write it down on paper to get it out of your brain.

Breathing exercises can help with sleep. As much as we think we multi-task, our brain can only truly focus on one thing at a time, it just moves from task to task so fast that it feels like multi-tasking (like the old hand-drawn cartoons!). There are lots of apps with breathing exercises that you can download.

Box Breathing – visualize drawing a box and count to four with each side

Breathe in (1, 2, 3, 4)

Hold (1, 2, 3, 4)

Breathe out (1, 2, 3, 4)

Hold (1, 2, 3, 4)

Shin Splints

If you have ever had shin splints, you know how incredibly painful they can be. We have a lot of calf muscles for strength and mobility. Walking is a very complicated process of many things having to work together. If you have ever watched a documentary about robot building, you have seen how hard it is to replicate a normal gait. Much of our pain is a result of an uneven gain, whether from injury, terrain, footwear, or habit.

Shin splints is a general term for pain in the calf muscles. It can be caused by inflammation of the periosteum (the layer over bone that muscle attaches to) or swelling and inflammation in the muscles. It usually is worse with exercise and rest brings relief. Severe cases can cause stress fractures or tear the muscle off the bone.  This is no time for “No Pain No Gain” attitudes!

In early days, shin splints are considered acute. An example of this would be walking in flip flops on your holiday and having sudden pain that night. That means that swelling and inflammation are present and ice should be used to reduce it. Massage gently with upward strokes to encourage circulation. At this stage, just rest and apply ice 3-4 times a day.

Chronic pain is either a few days after an acute attack, or the slow building of tightness from daily tasks. For example, your regular run, but in shoes that are wearing out. When pain is chronic (ongoing for some time), it is time to apply heat. This helps the muscles and tendons to relax and stretch. Return to regular activities slowly, stopping when the pain kicks in.  Massaging your calves can be a little more assertive now.  Be sure to apply heat before stretching.

Calf Stretches

This is very simple, and you can do it anywhere, several times a day.

Calf Stretch: Step forward with your right foot, bend your right knee and lean forward. Keep your left leg straight and press your left heel to the floor. Hold 20-30 seconds, keep breathing. Switch sides.

Lengthening the distance of the lunge increases the stretch. Only  go as far as you need to feel a stretch., not to the point of pain!

ABCs: While sitting, extend you leg in front of you and draw the alphabet in the air with your foot

Don’t forget to hydrate, calf cramps are a classic sign of dehydration.

Good shoes, good shoes, good shoes!