Financial worries and fears cause many people stress, and you don’t need to be dirt-poor or drowning in debt to lose sleep worrying about it. Let’s face it: Counting sheep doesn’t work for everyone, so I’m sharing reader tips for those nights when you can’t get to sleep.
WORK OUT: Exercise and fresh air are important. Regular bedtimes and wake-up times, and limiting caffeine to only morning hours are important, too. Write down whatever is bothering you before you go to bed. Get it out of your head and onto paper. It’ll be there to deal with in the morning. — Darlene, e-mail
BATH AND A BOOK: One thing that has worked for me is a hot, relaxing bubble bath before trying to go to bed. I will also take a book, one I don’t find too exciting, with me to bed and read until I fall asleep. — Pepper, Oklahoma
AROMATHERAPY: I found a pillow spray that helps me sometimes. It’s lavender vanilla and calming and smells really good. It relaxes me enough to shut my brain off and sleep. — Kimberly, e-mail
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: I eat foods with tryptophan like bananas, yogurt, milk, cheese, tuna and turkey. — Paula, e-mail
MEDITATE: Talk to your doctor about sleep hygiene, meditation, yoga, regular exercise, the reduction or elimination of caffeine and sugar, light evening meals and stress management. — Babs, Canada
TELEVISION: I usually go out to the living room and put on The Weather Channel. There’s something about the repetitiveness of that channel that helps me get back to sleep. — Heather, New York
GAMES: I play a game in my mind. This is something my mother taught me. It is an ABC game. You begin with “My name is …” and you have a name with the letter A. An example:
“My name is Annabelle. My husband’s name is Arnold. We have three children: Archie, Alice and Abigail. We live in Alaska, and we sell apples. My name is Betty. My husband’s name is Bob. We have three children: Brian, Brianna and Belinda. We live in Boston, and we sell beans.” Then you go to the next letter and so on until you have gone through the alphabet. It takes your mind off other things, and I fall asleep before I get through the alphabet. — Emily, Georgia
HERBAL REMEDIES: I have in the past drank teas such as “sleepy time,” “nighty night” and chamomile. — Joanne, Maine
Melatonin helps. You aren’t knocked out like with sleeping pills, just drowsy and you want to sleep, but check with your doctor before trying any herbal remedies. — Pammy, Texas
Valerian root or calcium/magnesium supplements, vitamin C and B-complex vitamins. — Trish, e-mail
You can pick up some St. John’s Wort at the pharmacy or the health-food store. It’s good for insomnia and anxiety. Try counting backward from 1,000 silently when you go to bed. It will force you to concentrate on something less important (if you are prone to replay the day or worry about things to come). It’s really hard to do without putting your other thoughts aside. — Jen K., Canada
Post from: Frugal Village
Don’t lose sleep over it
ShareThis
译文:
不要因此失眠
经济上的困扰和担忧使很多人都感受到精神压力。你不必因为贫穷和负债而忧虑失眠。让我们坦然面对它：靠数数来入睡并非对每个人对奏效。因此我打算向读者们提供一些建议，帮助你们度过那些难以成眠的夜晚。
锻炼：锻炼和新鲜空气是非常重要的。保持有规律的作息时间和仅仅在早晨喝少量的咖啡因也是很重要的。在上床睡觉前把困扰你的事情写下来，让它从你的头脑中转移到纸上。等到早晨再去处理它好了。——达琳，电子邮件
洗澡和读书：对我来说缓解压力的有效方法是睡前在热水中洗一个让自己身心放松的泡沫浴。我在上床时还会拿一本不太有趣的书来读，一直读到入睡。——派珀，俄克拉荷马州
芳香疗法：我发现在枕头上喷一些香气有时候可以帮我入睡。它是薰衣草和香草香精，它不仅带给我嗅觉上的享受，还能使我保持镇静。它使我能够完全放松并使我的脑子进入休息状态直至入睡。——提姆波利，电子邮件
食物的考虑：我吃含色氨酸的食物，如：香蕉、酸奶酪、牛奶、奶酪、金枪鱼和火鸡。——保罗，电子邮件
反思和调节：和医生讨论关于睡眠保健、沉思、瑜伽和经常锻炼的问题；减少或不再喝咖啡因和含糖的饮料；晚饭吃便餐；调节精神压力。——芭布斯，加拿大
电视：我经常走到客厅，打开天气频道。这个频道中的一些重复性的内容可以帮助我重新睡去。——希瑟，纽约
游戏：我在脑子里玩游戏。这是我妈妈教给我的。这是一个很ABC游戏。你首先说“我叫…”,这个名字的首字母应该是A。比如：
“先说：我叫安娜贝尔(Annabelle)，我丈夫叫阿诺德(Arnold)，我们有三个孩子：阿奇(Archie)、爱丽斯(Alice)和阿比盖尔(Abigail)。我们住在阿拉斯加(Alaska)。我们卖苹果(apple)；然后再说：我叫贝蒂(Betty)，我丈夫叫鲍勃(Bob)，我们有三个孩子：布赖恩(Brian)、布赖恩娜(Brianna)和贝琳达(Belinda)。我们住在波士顿(Boston)。我们卖豆子(bean)。”然后继续使用下一个字母作为开头，直到把字母表全部用完。这样做可以使你不去想其它的事情。我还没有把游戏进行玩就睡着了。——艾米丽，乔治亚州
草药疗法：我过去一直喝“困乏时候”、“睡衣之夜”和甘菊茶等茶叶。——乔安妮，缅因州
退黑激素有助于治疗失眠。它不像安眠药片那样伤身体，而只是使你昏昏欲睡。但是在你服用草药前一定要和医生商量。——潘美，德克萨斯州
服用缬草根，补充钙/镁或带有维生素C和B的多种维生素。——特瑞士，电子邮件
你可以在药房或保健食品商店买一些圣约翰麦芽汁。它有益于治疗失眠症和焦虑症。当你上床睡觉时，试着默默地从1000开始向后数数。这样做将会迫使你把注意力集中在一些不太重要的事情上（如果你常常在脑子里想着白天发生的事情，或者担心未来的事情）。如果你不除掉其它的想法就很难做到从1000开始向后数数。——珍 K.，加拿大