Sleep Hygiene

A strange phrase I heard this week from my GP, 'sleep hygiene'. Essentially this entails having a good routine before going to sleep, or attempting it in my case. As you may have already gathered I frequently have insomnia. I can either go to bed feeling exhausted, fall asleep at 10pm and be wide awake at midnight. Other nights I simply can't get to sleep. On average I've been getting 3 hours of sleep a night for...well over a month, possible two months now. So, I set about improving my 'sleep hygiene'.

Good sleep hygiene includes:

• having a long, hot bath (also good for general hygiene)
• freshly washed bed sheets- no need to change them every night (!) but it's a nice feeling when you do
• no tech before bed, switch off the screens and don't be tempted to scroll through Instagram one last time
• read a book for half an hour before bed, preferable a physical book rather than on a Kindle or tablet
• light a candle with a relaxing fragrance
• anything on your mind? Scribble down a note rather than letting things run through your mind

Since I mentioned Insomnia in last week's post, a friend recommended that I take magnesium supplements (thank you!). I looked into it and discovered that a deficiency in magnesium can present itself in the body with eye twitches *check*, cold hands and feet *check*, insomnia or chronic fatigue *big fat check*, anxiety *check*, depression *hello old friend* and irregular heartbeats *thank god there's an explanation*. That's just naming a few symptoms, so check it out and see if any of them apply to you! Taking one or two supplements half an hour before bed can improve the quality and length of sleep. Some people experience WILD dreams as a result of taking magnesium, I already have enough of those thanks to my anti-depressants but if it will perk them up (actually crazy nightmares not dreams) then go ahead. Please ensure you do your research before taking anything, seek advice from your GP and buy any supplements from a good source.

As for candles, be safe! I will not be held responsible for any house fires. However, I will recommend the following candles:

• Heavenly Sleep candle from This Works. Some people love the pillow sprays they do. I tried them and came out in a pimply rash, probably due to sensitive skin but worth a mention. The candle is gorgeous and the smell lingers long after it has been blown out, getting a waft up the nostrils is rather nice. 
• Real Luxury 3 wick candle by Neom. I received this one for my birthday, a totally unexpected gift from Robbie. It is a smidge pricier but the fragrance is SO nice, it burns really well and the scent stays in a room for a few days after it has been lit. 

I've linked where you can purchase the candles above, just hover over 'This Works' and 'Neom'. I hope you find something that works for you if you are having sleepless nights. Let me know if you have any other tips and tricks!

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Absence

At this rate I'll be a fortnightly blogger! I'm afraid there won't be a post this evening. Insomnia has finally taken it's toll. I can't remember the last time I slept through the night, it certainly hasn't happened in February. I suppose this is the risk you take reading my blog, it's the nature of the illness, it doesn't care for schedules no matter how important your day is. I never want to let anyone down, I'd hate to think of someone that relies upon the blog gearing up to read a post only to find there isn't one. Then again, it would fill me with immense pleasure if I knew that I was helping someone, that they eagerly anticipated my posts each week. When times are tough I usually try to rally. Even if it's been a hard day, I can usually bring something together for a post. I never want to give up on this, writing has helped me so much. However, I also don't want to lose the joy I have for the process. Putting too much pressure on myself risks flattening that joy and myself in the process. Fear not, I will return. I'll always make an effort to let you know what's going on the Facebook page. I look forward to getting out of this period of insomnia so I can be running on (almost) full cylinders again!

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Book Review vol. 2

I'm back with another review of a mental health memoir. I'm hoping that you like these posts as I have a shelf full of these books waiting for me to read. I've already managed to read more books in just over a month than I was able to read in the entirety of 2015. Depression has really affected my concentration levels, even when it comes to watching TV or flipping through a magazine. I tried to distract my mind with fiction books last year but I couldn't keep up with the plot. Whilst reading novels I'd end up spending an hour reading and re-reading the same two pages because the information just wasn't going into my head. I seem to be having more success with non-fiction, particularly these books written about personal experiences of depression. It might sound like a tough read, but they've really helped reinforce the message that I'm not alone in feeling the way I do.

This week's review is on 'The Devil Within' by Stephanie Merritt. This book covers several stages of Merritt's life, through the brutal bullying she experienced in school to the alien world of extravagance in her sixth form and through to how earlier problems effected her in her adult life. Merritt shows how much strength she had as a teenager. Initially she avoided confronting her bullies and sought refuge in some of the quiet parts of her school. Bullies target the strange, the abnormal, sometimes things we are deeply insecure about and also things we'd never noticed about ourselves. Merritt eventually realised that no matter how many physical changes she made to her appearance, the bullies wouldn't relent. Instead of letting them pick her apart she stood up to them and removed any power they once had. She could have left the school, it was an option at one point but she decided to tough it out until she could leave and progress to sixth form. It was when she started sixth form that problems started to arise. She found herself attending an all girls sixth form college, one in which a uniform of luxury labels were worn and a certain body image was present across the school. What initially began as a way of attempting to fit in whilst also improving her health, Merritt developed an eating disorder. Her parents thought that she was going through a faze and was claiming her independence through cooking separate meals from the family. When she didn't see the results she had hoped for, her diet became even more restrictive and her exercise regime became obsessive.

An interesting dynamic of this book is that she grew up in an Evangelical Christian community. This was something that she once embraced and enjoyed. As the church started to develop and turned towards new practises she became skeptical of the church. The adults of the community started undertaking exorcisms which involved speaking in tongues over someone writhing on the floor as the devil within them was extracted from them through their mouth. Her parents believed that she needed the help of a church counsellor for guidance with her 'difficult' period believing that she required an exorcism due to her acting out. I wasn't expecting to be able to get through this part of the book, I wasn't sure I'd be able to process the religious content. I was happily surprised to find it very interesting.

Merritt's memoir also discusses her experiences of loss, her own depression as well as the secret illness of a friend, alcoholism and depression during and after pregnancy. Anyone that has experienced eating disorders or alcohol dependency might find some of the content difficult to read and could be a trigger. Although I've never had a problem with alcohol I have had an eating disorder and found some of the writing to be a slight pull towards those practises again. If anyone is interested in reading this book but would like to avoid that content I will happily tell you which pages to avoid. The reflections upon her time being pregnant were particularly interesting to me. Although I'm not ready to start a family just yet, I have worried about my increased risk of developing depression with pregnancy. There aren't any tips and tricks provided to avoid it, but her account enabled me to think about the environment and support network needed to help mitigate any symptoms of depression whilst pregnant and after the baby is born.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I purchased it based on reviews on Amazon. From reading those reviews I knew that she discussed her issues with alcohol but I hadn't expected some of the other issues she dealt with in her life. I found her account of her life at university particularly helpful for my peace of mind, it seems that we encountered similar difficulties. As well as being a fantastic memoir of depression, this book is also an engaging coming of age story, one which most of us will be able to relate to in some ways.

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Get Walking

As I write this I've just crawled out from beneath my duvet after having a particularly rough day. Technically I haven't seen any of the day to know that it was been rough. For once it isn't depression related. Everyone in the house that realises I've been absent for a day assumes that I'm beating myself up in my head. Today was simply feeling like I had the flu, feeling trampled and having only been tired enough to fall asleep at 7am.

Anyway, today's post isn't about that. This week was the start of FitBit's 'Big Billion Stepathon' for Sports Relief. I don't need to tell you what a fantastic cause it is. FitBit's idea is that for every 20,000 steps each person completes they will donate £1 to Sport Relief. The daily recommended steps for a person to be fit and healthy is 10,000 per day. Should be pretty easy to start raking in the money through doing something we do every day, right? The answer is yes for most people. For people such as myself it might be slightly more difficult. It's not that we are lazy, or don't care. I'll actually be pushing myself harder than normal in attempts to do my bit for the Stepathon! Feeling too low to get up and out of bed? Put on your FitBit and jiggle those legs around in bed, do the warm bed dance! Going out to walk the dog anyway? Give the little fella or lady a treat by stomping around a bit further than normal. Need a few bits from the shop? Don't go out in the car, make use of the local corner shop- getting the steps in AND supporting a local business at the same time, RESULT! Still in your pyjamas, working from home, feeling low or under the weather? Head to the kitchen, put the radio on, switch on the kettle for a lovely warming brew and whilst you wait DANCE IT OUT. Dancing isn't a cure I must say, but dancing like a loon free of all inhibitions is pretty damn satisfying.


The Stepathon is running until the 31st of March, so get moving! Check out the website here for all of the details. If you don't already own a FitBit, they are knocking off some money on all some of their products purchased during the Stepathon! I really recommend them. You don't necessarily need a super flash one. I own the 'Zip' as pictured above. It's easy to set up, can be clipped onto your bra strap, the waistband of your jeans or whatever and can be linked via Bluetooth to an app on your phone which shows you how many steps you're achieving throughout the day! So go on, give it a go! I'd love to hear how many steps you achieve!

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