Caution: Your Bedtime Story Could Be Hazardous To Your Health

You settle down to sleep at night, exhausted after a long day of work and a full evening of personal commitments. Your mind and body are ready to just let go and embrace the Sandman.  As you drift off to sleep, your mind might start to go over the day’s events.  What do you focus on?  Is it the amount of work you accomplished? The progress that you made on a new project?  The positive interaction you had with your boss, coworker, spouse or child? All the positive things that happened during the day and evening?

If you are not focusing on the positive, powerful aspects of your day, chances are you are lying there beating yourself up, ruminating in the “should-haves” and the “could-haves”.  You allow your bedtime story to take on a life of its own; even the scariest of Hans Christian Anderson or The Brothers Grimm’s fairytales could not do justice to your powerful mind. I’m not sure about you, but that does not foster a cozy setting for restful sleep in my mind.

At times we are all guilty of focusing on what we failed to accomplish or the low points of our day.  Like a broken record we replay them again and again, hoping for a different outcome.  Regardless of how long we cogitate, the outcome is what it is, a done deal, a fait accompli, a fact of life and, most importantly, “over”.  2 am has never been, and will never be, the bewitching hour that suddenly erases, or replaces, those moments.  So how can you change your bedtime story?

• Before going to bed, have a routine that involves de-stressing and letting go of the day’s events (both positive and negative).  Many people find it helpful to read, do yoga, meditate or listen to classical music.
• Write a “What I have accomplished” (a “done”) list.
• Find something that makes you laugh, then laugh out loud (You tube is one of my favorites for comic relief).
• Before your head hits the pillow, focus on what you can do better next time instead of what you cannot change (hint: it’s in the past and “over”).
• Give yourself the wise advice that you would give a loved one.  What would the story you tell them be?  How is it different from the story you tell yourself?
• Make a pact: “Your sheets are your sanctuary”. Worry and berating do not make good bedfellows.

Can I guarantee that you will never tell yourself a scary story again? No. However, I can promise you that when you are more mindful of what you tell yourself and practice letting go, you will be aware of how true your story really is and know that you can create a happier ending: and they all slept happily ever after!

The End