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When Shut-Eye Strategies Fail To Kick Insomnia To The Curb

September 16, 2015Health, New postsHealth, Insomnia, sleep, SponsoredAlicia

Every year when Sebastian and Madelyn start school after summer break, they seem to adjust to the change in schedule quicker and easier than I do. They’ve been back in school for almost 6 weeks (WHAT?) and I’m still trying to figure out how to get through the days without feeling like I’m going to split into thirds from going three different directions at once. Our days, probably like yours, are made up of carpool, attending school events, after-school activities, work, and keeping up with the house – all the while trying to communicate and keep good relationships with friends and family. With so much going on, I feel like I’m running 90 miles-an-hour, 18 hours a day. I know you can relate. It’s the life we chose when deciding to become parents, and I wouldn’t change it for the world, but you’d think that after 16 years I would have it down. Tell me please – when exactly did parenting become normal and consistent for you?

In order to calm my mind and body, and hopefully get to sleep before 1AM, I’ve been practicing the healthy shut-eye strategies I shared with you a couple weeks ago – including signing off from social media at least one hour before bedtime. I also stopped exercising after 3PM. My heart rate is naturally high and since having an Apple Watch I can actually see that it stays slightly elevated for up to a few hours after I exercise, which doesn’t make it easier for me to wind down in the evening. As surprising as it seems to me, turning off all lights, even small nightlights, in and near our bedroom is the shut-eye strategy that’s made the biggest difference in how quickly I fall asleep. Studies have shown that even our small lights emit enough light to miscue the brain and promote wakefulness. Maybe nightlights aren’t such a great idea afterall?

What if going to sleep isn’t the issue for you, but staying asleep is?
I can relate. Staying asleep is a battle I fight almost every night. I was diagnosed with insomnia in 2004 and I get a little riled up when I hear someone say they only got 5-6 hours of sleep the night before. I empathize, I really do.. but I can go 48-36 hours without sleeping. This can happen every few weeks and it’s very unhealthy. That is why I take a prescription sleep aid nights I really need to get a good night’s sleep, such as before having to drive an 8-hour road trip or leaving for a business trip.

Not getting enough sleep, or any sleep, results in me being completely unproductive and irritable the next day. The insomnia conquering strategies I’ve shared with you help me fall asleep but staying asleep longer than 45 minutes to an hour is another story. If you too have insomnia, practicing shut-eye strategies alone may not be enough to help you get a good night’s sleep.

You’ll be happy to know there are effective treatment options available for those of us who suffer with insomnia, including SILENOR^®,a prescription sleep aid used to treat people with insomnia who have trouble staying asleep. Most sleep medications work on the sleep-promoting system, helping patients fall asleep, while SILENOR^®works with the wake-promoting mechanism of the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle, helping patients stay asleep throughout the night and early morning. Perhaps most important, it can be used regularly and it’s not associated with a risk of abuse or physical dependence. If you have trouble sleeping through the night, have a conversation with your doctor about your routine, lifestyle and symptoms to determine the best option for you.

To learn more about how to achieve a full, uninterrupted night’s sleep visit Wanttosleepmore.com.

SILENOR® is a prescription sleep medicine that is used to treat people with insomnia who have trouble staying asleep. Call your doctor if your insomnia worsens or is not better within 7 to 10 days. This may mean that there is another condition causing your sleep problem. Be sure that you are able to devote 7 to 8 hours to sleep before being active again. SILENOR® should be taken within 30 minutes of bedtime. Do not take with alcohol or with other medicines that can make you sleepy. If you are on a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) or have taken a MAOI within the past two weeks, you should not take SILENOR®. You should not take SILENOR® if you have an eye problem called narrow angle glaucoma that is not being treated, if you have severe urinary retention, or if you are allergic to any of the ingredients in SILENOR®. You should not drive or operate machinery at night after taking SILENOR®. Until you know how you will react to SILENOR®, you should be careful in performing such activities during the day following taking SILENOR®. Before you take SILENOR®, tell your doctor if you have a history of depression, mental illness or suicidal thoughts. You should call your doctor right away if after taking SILENOR® you walk, drive, eat or engage in other activities while asleep. Drowsiness is the most common adverse event observed in clinical trials. For more information, please see the complete Prescribing Information, including the Medication Guide, at https://www.silenor.com/Content/pdf/prescribing-information.pdf. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Get A Good Night’s Sleep With These 4 Shut-Eye Strategies

August 24, 2015HealthInsomnia Nation, SponsoredAlicia

With the exception of last night, during which I slept 0 minutes, I have been sleeping better since I implemented a few insomnia-conquering habits including turning off my iPhone 30 minutes before bedtime and not worrying about getting to sleep. In a previous post I discussed that with nearly 4 million Americans suffering from insomnia, we have a huge sleep problem in this country. In today’s post, I am going to expand on some ways to help achieve a good night’s sleep – like practicing healthy shut-eye strategies.

GET ACTIVE EARLY
Getting a good night’s sleep doesn’t just start when the sun sets. Exercising early in the day can strengthen your circadian rhythm, helping to bring on sleepiness at night. I try to get my treadmill time in by noon, otherwise, there’s no way my body will calm down enough to go to sleep before midnight. It’s like some people can’t drink coffee after 1pm, I can’t exercise after about noon.

GO DARK
Block out the light. Light and darkness are natural reminders that tell your body when it’s time to rest. Light during the night can send messages to the brain telling you to “wake up!” before you’re ready. If when I wake up during the night, I see light from the hallway or bathroom, it’s like my body jolts into a state of complete awakeness. If one would stay on, I’d wear a sleep mask every night to avoid light at all costs but I can’t find one that stays on all night.

GET COMFORTABLE
Remind your body that it’s time to wind down. Relaxing activities, like taking a warm bath, can help transition you from daytime to bedtime. I sit in my massage chair for about 20 minutes every night before bed. This helps me relax and relieve muscle tension allowing me to further relax once I get in bed.

SIGN OFF
Put away your electronic devices one hour before you head to bed. LED lights from mobile phones and tablets can activate the brain, keeping you from falling and staying asleep at night. This is the toughest one, right? There’s always something I *need* to look at online like one last look at email (why do I do that to myself?) or tomorrow’s calendar. Bad idea.

Knowing that getting a full, uninterrupted night’s sleep has many benefits that make me more productive and a better mom and wife on a daily basis, I will continue adopting these and other shut-eye strategies to help me get a good night’s sleep.

Specifically, I am committing to signing off from social media at least one hour before bedtime. I am a little hesitant to sign off from social media an hour before bedtime because when I get into bed is typically when I catch up on life. I am well aware that social media platforms eat time though. It never fails that when I sign on to look at a friend’s update, the next thing I know I’ve been on the social network for three hours and posted 19 photos of my kids. I’m speaking from personal experience.. your experience may not be the same. 🙂 If you are hesitant to sign off social media an hour or so before you go to bed you might want to consider putting your phone on its charger at least an hour BEFORE you go to bed, rendering your phone useless to you for the last hour you’re up and about. Just don’t be tempted to sign on to FB or Twitter once you get in bed. If you have an Apple Watch, also put it on the charger an hour before you go to bed to avoid the distraction of notifications on your wrist.

I encourage you to practice these healthy shut-eye strategies along with me and to check out WantToSleepMore.com to learn more about how to get a full, uninterrupted night of sleep.

Wirelessly Stream Music and Audiobooks from your Phone with Insignia Bluetooth Speakers

August 10, 2015GadgetsBest Buy, Insignia Bluetooth Speaker, SponsoredAlicia

My daily routine starts with reading news on my iPhone before I get out of bed, then the kids and I listen to The Bert Show on iHeartRadio while they get ready for school – again, on my iPhone after which I drive the kids to school. During the drive we usually listen to the radio but on the way home I listen to a podcast or audiobook, through my iPhone. Once I’m finished exercising, showering and eating breakfast, I head upstairs to my home office where I get comfy and usually turn on music to start my work day. Once I’ve gotten into the work day and am not trying to concentrate on responding to the initial emails I play whatever audiobook I’m listening to. My iPhone is like a third hand I suppose.

While I love being able to listen to music and audiobooks from my iPhone, I’m not crazy about the shallow, often tinny sound it produces when what I want to hear is the depth of the music or emotion in the audiobook reader’s voice. The iPhone 6 Plus does produce good sound quality, but since the option is out there to have higher quality, deeper sound, I’ll take it over listening directly from the phone any day. Insignia makes portable Bluetooth speakers that will satisfy most any casual music and audiobook listener. Not only because of the portability of the Bluetooth speakers but because of the sound quality which is very impressive coming from such small devices.

To put the listening range of the Insignia speakers I received to review from Best Buy to the test, I placed the (teardrop shaped) Insignia Bluetooth Speaker on a shelf in my office then took my phone with me as I walked through the upper level of my house. It played my music up to 25 feet away and with three walls separating my phone and the speaker. The Plug-In Wall Speaker played music wirelessly approximately 40 feet away, down a flight of stairs, and through two walls. Impressive! While I prefer the sound produced from the Plug-In Wall Speaker, I like that I can hang the Insignia Bluetooth Speaker from anything like the bar on my bookshelf or rowing machine. It’s small enough to slip into the cup holder on my treadmill and I can hook it to a belt loop! I can’t tell you how many times my iPhone has fallen out of my back pocket right into a bunch of garden soil.. yuck.

Once both speakers were connected to my iPhone via Bluetooth, when I was out of range of one speaker, the other speaker would kick in. That was an unexpected surprise.

The Insignia™ Bluetooth Speakers silicone strap, light weight, splash-proof, and compact design make it easy to take with you anywhere, including by the pool. After up to 6 hours of playback you can charge the speaker using the built-in USB charging port.

Insignia’s Plug-In Wall Speaker has a built-in power adapter and rechargeable battery so you can listen to your favorite tunes for up to 2 hours when the speaker isn’t plugged. Designed as a wireless audio solution for your home, it plugs directly into your wall outlets – no wires, shelf space or expensive receiver needed. I love having this speaker in our kitchen where the outlets at higher on the wall than in a bedroom. It’s sleek, white design blends in to your home and its portability makes it perfect for taking it with you while you’re on the go. If you’re into vintage MP3 devices ;), the auxiliary audio input jack connects your non-Bluetooth devices for more listening options. The fact that this speaker has a built-in power adapter alone makes it a winner to me. Between the four of us we’re always asking who has what device because they don’t have ‘homes’. A plug-in wall speaker can have a forever home in one outlet or be moved from room to room and won’t get lost in the shuffle of clearing off the counters or shelves.

As I’m writing this, a weather alert came through my phone and it played through the speaker on my bookshelf, not my phone. That was kind of crazy but made the message clear and easy to hear!

Through September 5, 2015 Best Buy customers will get 30% off any Insignia Portable Bluetooth Speaker purchased at Best Buy! To redeem this offer online, use code 4331899 at check out.

Shaun the Sheep Movie in Theaters August 5 | Enter to win a Shaun the Sheep Movie Prize Pack!

August 3, 2015Giveaways, moviesgiveaway, Influencer Central, Shaun the Sheep Movie, SponsoredAlicia

If you’ve been to a movie lately you’ve seen the trailer for “Shaun the Sheep Movie“. From the creators of Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit this movie will be a huge hit with your kids and you’ll love it too! Landing in theatres August 5th, “Shaun the Sheep Movie“ is easy to follow for the youngest of viewers, even though it features zero dialogue. Shaun is the smart one in a herd of goofy wooly stop-motion English sheep who spend their days doing typical sheep things while their caring Farmer keeps them in line with a very stringent schedule. Shaun and his pals leave the safety of their farm and head into the netherworld of the nearby town in search of their loving, long-time farmer, who has amnesia. This is when things, almost everything, seems to go wrong! The sheep must adopt disguises and evade the animal catcher, Trumper, in order to find their farmer in the Big City.

At just an hour and 25 minutes long, the claymation movie flies by with laughs, oohs, and ahhs. The film geared for ages 4-10 stars the popular characters from the long-running children’s television series of the same name. Meet the movie’s youngest character, Timmy who enjoys copying everything Shaun does in the “Meet Timmy” Featurette below.

Adults will find humor in the film through the use of dialog-free smart wisecracks, visual film puns, including a sequence satirising Silence of the Lambs. This claymation film wasn’t quick to come to fruition. Standing seven inches tall, Shaun’s clay model was posed, poked, and reshaped thousands of times resulting in a high quality claymation film you won’t believe isn’t computer generated. The textures are unbelievable with Shaun’s fleece even having to be stiffened with PVA glue to stop it from catching fire! Shaun is a true sport! 😉 Model makers crafted 157 human figures and 197 sheep puppets—including 21 for Shaun alone. Each sheep needed to be covered with 31 inches of fleece. The miniature environments featured in this film overflow with lovingly rendered detail.

We’re planning to take my daughter and a friend to see Shaun the Sheep Movie when it comes out in theatres this week. It’ll be a end-of-the-first-week-of-school celebration!

Connect with Shaun the Sheep Movie fans on Twitter and Facebook. Use the hashtag #ShauntheSheep to share what your kids think about the movie.

To help promote the movie, we partnered with Lionsgate and Influencer Central to bring you a fun giveaway of a Shaun the Sheep Movie package. The package includes:

One (1) Shaun the Sheep Movie Children’s T-Shirt
One (1) Shaun the Sheep Movie Adult’s T-Shirt
One (1) Shaun the Sheep Movie Headband
One (1) book from the Shaun the Sheep Movie book series
One (1) Shaun the Sheep Movie poster
One (1) Serta Sheep Plush

We’re making this giveaway easy. Just enter your email address (not made public) and complete two additional tasks for extra entries if you’d like.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway is open to US residents 18+. No PO Boxes. Entries accepted through until 12:00 AM EST August 11, 2015. Winners will be drawn using Rafflecopter’s Random Number Generator. All entries will be verified. The winner will be notified via e-mail and will have 24 hours to reply before we draw a new winner. No purchase is necessary. Void where prohibited. This contest is not affiliated with Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, or Google.

Tired of Insomnia? So Are 4 Million Other Americans!

July 20, 2015HealthInfluence Central, Insomnia, SponsoredAlicia

My husband and I were laying in bed. He, drifting off to sleep while I was twitching to get up and be productive. I rolled over and said “you know, sleeping is such a waste of time”. He was in absolute shock. It was as if I called his Ford Mustang the ugliest car in the world, in the meanest way possible. He values sleep like I would value the idea of living on an isolated island surrounded by peaceful ocean waves, palm trees, and no mosquitos – a lot!

Tim can lay down and be asleep within 3-5 minutes – in just about any situation including camping in a hammock, after playing with the kids on the floor, and even on a staircase. Yes, that really happened. If only I could find the photo to show you. He’s not narcoleptic, he’s just chill and relaxed, without a care in the world. Many men are like that. That’s not a familiar scenario for many women. Women are multitaskers, not necessarily a fabulous trait, I’ve learned. Our brain tries its hardest to multitask even when we’re in bed trying to go to sleep or when we wake up in the middle of the night. I thought my inability to fall asleep as quickly as my husband and to be able to stay asleep all night was because I was thinking too much about work, what’s on the agenda the next day, or health.

For me, insomnia began after my car accident. My body changed, hormones and all, causing major changes including the lack of being able to fall asleep or stay asleep. I stayed up for nights on end. Granted, I created some amazing scrapbooks of the kids early years those sleepless nights but I was exhausted after about 72 hours of being awake. And cranky. And completely unproductive. After this bout of sleeplessness happened several times over a 4 month period I talked to my doctor about it. She requested lab tests (hormone, etc) and diagnosed me with chronic insomnia pretty quickly based on the results and my input.

Fast forward several years. Since being diagnosed with and finally accepting I have insomnia and it’s not just my ADHD keeping me awake, I have made changes to my evening routine that help me get to sleep and stay asleep.

Five of my Insomnia Conquering Habits

Keep in mind that my doctor and I have found that doing these things works best for me, but they may not work best for you.

I turn my iPhone, iPad, and Kindle off after being in bed for 30 minutes. I allow myself to watch a show on my iPad or read a book on my Kindle for 30 minutes. Doing this allows my brain to slow down.
I turn all the lights of in my bedroom, bathroom and nearby hallway. Even the faintest light can cause trouble when trying to fall asleep.
I refrain from drinking water after 7pm. I’ve found that when I drink after 7pm, I’m more likely to wake up having to go to the bathroom. Once I’m awake, that’s it.. I’m awake for the rest of the night.
I am not afraid to take medication to help me get to and stay asleep when needed. I am a much better person when I’ve had 6-8 hours of consistent sleep.
Don’t worry about sleep. I used to worry about falling asleep quickly and being able to stay asleep. Everyone knows that worry doesn’t usually help a situation so I decided to go with the flow and assume every night I was going to fall asleep and stay asleep.

[pdf height=”1300″]http://www.themommyinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Silenor-infographic.pdf[/pdf]

View the full size, printable PDF here.

As a parent with many daily responsibilities, laying our heads on our pillow and closing our eyes at the end of the day proves to be one of the most important steps we can take to stay healthy and be in top shape ourselves and for our kids. But a new survey shows that on average, nearly three-quarters of Americans are missing out on almost three weeks of sleep per year. Yikes, that comes out to 470 hours! As I entered my adult years, I noticed that lack of sleep was glamorized. Successful friends and peers would boast about how little sleep they got and how busy they were. I was never that type – before my accident. I was the first to fall asleep at slumber parties and never felt like I missed a thing by going to bed early. I wanted to sleep. My parents wanted me to sleep. As you can see from my more recent life history, that hasn’t been the case since my car accident, but people change. Our bodies change and these changes, especially when it comes to lack of sleep, should not be ignored.

Getting a full, uninterrupted night of sleep has many benefits allowing us to put our best foot forward on a daily basis and even proves to boost performance and spur creativity. Our kids need us to be at our best and sleep helps us achieve that. But sleeplessness has become a widespread health issue – with 4 million Americans suffering from chronic insomnia, including difficulty falling asleep and the inability to stay asleep throughout the night.

Fortunately, there are simple steps you can incorporate into your daily strategy to improve your sleep, like those I listed above that I’ve incorporated since being diagnosed with insomnia. Exercising early enough in the day to give your heart time to slow down before bedtime, limiting use of technological devices before bed and blocking out light are three important habits to take on if you’re having trouble sleeping. But for people with insomnia practicing these habits alone may not be enough. The good news is no one needs to suffer. There are effective treatment options available without worrying about risk of abuse or physical dependence. The first thing you need to do is have a conversation with your doctor. Tell your doctor how active you are, what your diet is like, and what distractions and worries you might have as well as the symptoms you experience related to sleep or lack of.

To learn more about the importance of getting a full, uninterrupted night’s sleep visit Wanttosleepmore.com