How to Get The Sleep You Need When Life Keeps You Up

Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I like to ever so casually give my husband a nudge. What can I say, he irritates me lying there so peacefully. The man can literally sleep anywhere, anytime, under any conditions and it makes me crazy. And jealous. I wish I could sleep so soundly.

My whole life I’ve been an incredibly light sleeper. If I’m just drifting off to sleep and the slightest noise occurs around me, I am at full attention. Forget going back to sleep, I might as well get up for a bit. In recent years though, I’ve acquired an additional nocturnal offender; sleeplessness caused by stress – which is, coincidentally, the #1 contributor to occasional sleeplessness for Canadians.

Sometimes that means running imaginary scenarios that are never going to happen on a loop in my head. Other times it means having my eyes pop open at 3 am running my to-do list in my brain. Other times, it’s the stress of daily life—bills, kids, work. Perhaps my favourite though, is the night before travel. Invariably, the night I most need to get some sleep because I have an early morning flight, is the night my brain flips into overdrive. Good times, good times. 

This wouldn’t really be a big deal if you know, sleep wasn’t one of the corner blocks to living a sane and healthy life. Don’t take my word for it though, sites like the Canadian Sleep Society give the full rundown. Getting an inadequate amount of sleep every now and then can:

• Leave you feeling tired and un-refreshed the next day;
• Affect your ability to concentrate and remember things;
• Make you irritable;
• Impact your personal productivity.

If you just mentally said check, check, check to the above then odds are good that life is keeping you up too. Lately I’ve been taking steps to ensure that I’m getting the 7 to 9 hours of sleep I need by sticking to these habits.

I’ve acquired a little sensory deprivation for starters in the form of an eye-mask and good old-fashioned ear plugs. At the very least this helps block out some of the external noises and lights that might jolt me out of my slumber.

Next, I’ve banned technology from the bedroom and gone back to good old-fashioned book reading before bed. I also try my best to go to bed at the same time every night, even on the weekends. Finally, I’ve introduced daily exercise back into my life (honestly, this one has helped the most).

STILL, I can’t avoid those occasional sleepless nights when travel is scheduled or when my stress levels spike. That is a beast I simply can’t tame. Thankfully I’ve found ZzzQuil to help me get the sleep I need when life keeps me up. ZzzQuil is by the makers of Vicks® NyQuil, and is not for colds or pain, just for sleep. ZzzQuil helps me fall asleep fast, so I can wake up refreshed. 

Now that life isn’t keeping me up anymore, I have the energy to get what I need done. Funny thing about that is I also have less stress because I’m better rested and my husband is also getting a lot less middle of the night nudges. Happy wife, happy life right?

This post is sponsored by ZzzQuil Canada. Before you take medications, it’s important to know what’s actually in them. Always read the label and if you have further questions about the product, please consult your physician, pharmacist, or call the 1-800 number on the product. All views and opinions are my own.