Nap Tips for Adults!

I am going to probably bore people with my Terry Wahls praises. I hope I am able to attend one of her conferences one day. 

People with MS have a lot of trouble sleeping. I really noticed this after I had George. I just couldn't nap in the day. I have always been able to nap on a Sunday, laying on the couch watching football, but otherwise forget it. Dr. Wahls talks about this in her book The Wahls Protocol. I was like FINALLY I understand why I am struggling so much. 

I try to take a nap every day. I know that isn't a reality for most people. People with MS really should be napping to let those cells recover and to help with fatigue. You don't need a 2-3 hour nap. A 20-30 nap does wonders on your body. 

Here are some tips I have for taking naps. 

1. Get a sleep mask. When I had George the hospital gave us a cheap face mask that Art kept. He took it on our last vacation. Well I stole it and I slept so good with it. When I came home I bought a good one. Art refers it to my eye bra. This is the one I bought from Amazon for $12. 

2. Follow a similar routine you do before bed at night. I will have a cup of tea after lunch, set an alarm for 45 minutes, put in my mouth guard, put on my eye mask and turn on my bore friend. The minute George lays down for his nap I lay down. That way I can get a good 20-30 minutes in. I also like to get things done around the house when he is napping. This helps me be able to nap and get stuff done. 

3. I struggle with being able to shut my mind off. The best thing I found was a Podcast called Sleep with Me or known as my Bore Friend. I couldn't even tell you what the guy talks about, but what I can tell you is I am asleep before the 15 minute podcast turns off. I set the alarm on the podcast for 15 minutes, so it turns itself off. 

4. There are times I don't set my alarm. My body knows to just sleep for about 30 minutes during the day. I will wake up automatically now. In order to sleep good at night I can't sleep more than about 30 minutes. I also found that I don't sleep as well at night if I don't get a nap. 

5. Try reading before you go to sleep. Reading always puts me to sleep no matter how good the book is. 

6. Background noise! This is a huge thing for me. I am such a light sleeper these days. I put the bathroom fan and a regular fan on beside my bed. The sound of the fan helps drown out everything else. These fans also help George and I both sleep. I have had to get mean and put the dog in the garage during nap time. Sammy barks every.single.day when we are napping. I got sick and tired of George getting woke up after 30 minutes. Now it is just part of the routine. Sammy doesn't even pout. He just runs to the garage. He barks his head off while we are napping. Thankfully we can't hear him with the fans. I do know he barks because when I leave the bedroom I hear him barking at the mailman or delivery trucks. 

I wish I could be like Art and fall asleep in 2 minutes after he lays down. What are some ways that help you fall asleep at night?