Nothing can ruin a good day like a bad night. The life of the nurse is full of situations that can generate anxiety, the enemy of sleep, and yet it is vitally important to be the best possible for your patients every day. According to the National Sleep Foundation, it is estimated that approximately 70 million Americans are affected by insomnia. It makes us moody, stupid and unproductive. For nurses, lack of sleep can be downright dangerous. Pharmaceutical companies have found a gold mine here: sales of sleep aids are skyrocketing. But for those who don’t use pills except as a last resort, there are some simple lifestyle adjustments that can help to some extent, either alone or in combination. All of the suggestions below are nothing more than lifestyle changes, purely natural substances, or activities to calm the mind and induce that coveted but elusive prize, a restful night’s sleep.

WHAT NOT TO DO

No caffeine, alcohol or sugar. Obviously, stimulants like caffeine and sugar should be avoided at night or even late in the day, depending on your personal tolerance. Experiment with what that personal limit is for you by giving up coffee, soda, and sweets at various times in the afternoon to see if it makes a difference. Alcohol, although calming at first, raises blood sugar levels and is therefore not good for staying asleep. Even that late-night glass of wine could cause you to wake up later and need to cut it out of your routine.

no tv This can be one of the most difficult changes of clothes, but sometimes it is very useful. Giving up all television for at least a couple of hours before bed can be hugely beneficial. Read or spend time on a gentle craft project or some other peaceful activity. Especially avoid – like the plague – suspense shows like Deal or No Deal or 24. Tension is the enemy at bedtime. Don’t expect that you can get emotional seeing someone else’s crisis and then relax. Even a regular dramatic show can be more activity than your brain needs if you want to be truly drowsy at bedtime. So neither is Grey’s Anatomy. (Seriously, don’t you already have enough doctors and hospitals?) If necessary, sign him up for your day off.

nothing financial Once again, stress is the enemy. Not paying bills at night or working on anything budget-related, especially if there isn’t enough money to go around. Putting that problem in front of your brain close to bedtime is just asking for trouble. Do financial homework on your lunch break or on your day off, but not right before bed.

THINGS THAT CAN HELP

working out If your nursing job has you on your feet all day, getting enough physical activity may not seem like a problem, but running hard doesn’t have the same calming effect as aerobic exercise of some kind. A little deep breathing and just “letting off steam” has its own benefits. The amount of exercise sufficient to facilitate sleep varies for different people and can be discovered through trial and error. Regardless of your preferred activity (gym time, laps in the pool, a dance class, or playing basketball with the kids), find the amount that works as a sleep aid for you and try to stick to it every day you can. manage it. No matter how busy you are, exercise is an investment that pays for itself in productivity the next day.

Yoga postures and breathing. A consistent practice of yoga is great for any number of conditions: for keeping your back strong, for general health, and for insomnia as well. Even a gentle beginner class is enough relaxing exercise, mentally and physically, to help me wind down and sleep better that night. The “Bridge Pose” or “Setu Bandha Sarvangasana” is recognized as a particularly good pose to combat insomnia. [See illustration at the Yoga Journal website: yogajournal.com/poses/472_1.cfm. Be sure to get proper instruction in performing such a yoga pose, especially if you have problems such as a neck injury or high blood pressure.] Yoga also employs many special breathing techniques, some of which are specially designed to calm the mind. Pranayama is an important concept in yoga, the belief that the life force ripples in the breath and various ways of breathing can energize or calm.

Rosie Good, Director of Yoga Bindu in San Pedro, recommends the breathing technique called Viloma Pranayama for insomnia. In a comfortable and relaxed position, fill your lungs with air from the belly up, then release the air in stages: first a little from the upper part of the chest, pause; then a little from the middle of the chest; pause; and then the rest of the belly. Repeat until you feel drowsy. This is just a breathing method that can be very relaxing for the mind and body.

Find an experienced yoga teacher who can instruct you in the proper techniques in both postures (asanas) and breathing techniques (pranayama) and you’ll be amazed at how relaxing the practice can be.

camomile tea Although there are many natural substances that are promoted as helpful for insomnia, such as valerian or passionflower, chamomile tea is a very common and easy-to-find substance, available in any grocery store, that is very calming. I prefer pure chamomile tea, rather than those that mix other herbs and flavorings with the chamomile. A short, strong, hot cup of chamomile tea just before bed will usually make you drowsy. However, you want to stick to a small cup to keep fluid intake to a minimum. Staying asleep is just as important as falling asleep.

ear plugs, white noise Too much noise at any one time can be annoying, but noise at night while you’re trying to sleep is incredibly frustrating. Even if all other conditions are perfect, intermittent traffic, the neighbor’s dog barking, or other sounds of the city and suburbs can keep one going even in the face of pure exhaustion. Creating as much of a soundproof cocoon as possible helps ensure that other efforts to convince sleep haven’t been in vain.

For double protection, use earplugs and a white noise fan or other machines that create a variety of soothing sounds to mask the annoying ones. The cadence of a rain shower or waves gently rolling onto the beach can be created in your bedroom and will block out low-level noise outside the house. Tuba practice next door probably won’t be eliminated, but some defense against everyday stuff can be made.

read something boring It may not be enough to read something nice to relax at bedtime. You may have to break out the heavy artillery and read something really boring. For me, it’s Ralph Waldo Emerson, but whatever boring and tedious nursing text you have lying around can be useful here. Try some of these techniques and habits in the spirit of scientific research to see what works for you. Of course, if you continue to suffer from insomnia that interferes with your daily activities, it might be time to see your doctor. Hopefully, though, finding a way to reduce the stress of the day will open the door to restful and blissful sleep. And that will prepare you to deal with patients, doctors, and the various daily crises of the next day with all the efficiency, compassion, and skill that you know you are capable of.