Lately I’ve been having difficulty falling asleep…and I’ve certainly had an easy time of waking up. I guess you could say that I’m suffering from sleep deprivation—which occasionally hits me from time to time. So, here I am writing at five in the morning. I’ve already had my cup of coffee, checked my e-mail multiple times, and stared at the wall wondering what in the world is going on (?!!).

In other words: my sleep schedule is driving me mad. As if our lives aren’t stressful enough…now we aren’t getting enough sleep. Oh, and by the way, you can NEVER get those lost hours of rest back.

Anyway…I thought that if I was having trouble sleeping, others are as well. Let me give you some tips on how you can help to make sure you get those critical eight hours of shut-eye each night.

1. Stay active—this can be as easy as taking a stroll outside, stretching while watching your fav show on the television, or cleaning your office. Come on, I know you have papers stacked to the ceiling in there. :) Of course, if you can take a fitness class at your local gym or spend 30 minutes at the gym—more power to ya.

2. Watch the caffeine intake—WHAT?! I love my caffeine and I’m guilty of consuming way too much of it. I make a conscious effort of cutting off my coffee/diet soda drinking by at least 5 P.M. I know, I know…ideally it should be earlier, but come on, be REALISTIC with your goals. Baby steps, my dears—baby steps.

3. Take a hot bath—better yet, read while taking a hot bath. This never fails to put me out in under 15 minutes. Unfortunately, I don’t have a bath tub at the moment, but if you have one, use it as a place of relaxation—not only for your mind, but also for those tense muscles that you’ve been holding your stress in all day long.

4. Speaking of tense muscles—Get a massage. That’s right. I know they’re expensive, but YOU’RE WORTH IT. Take a moment and focus on that area around your neck and shoulders. Can you feel the tension? I thought so. Get that taken care of! If money is the issue, think of how much you spend on Starbucks. :)

Well, my friends, I’m going to have a bit more coffee and head out to the gym. I hope you have a day filled with happiness and of course, don’t ever hesitate to contact me with questions about your health.

Smiles,
Ayriel

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