ENCOURAGING
WORDS
by Beth Walsh Stewart
Good Night, Sleep Tight
Quality self-care is all about the basics. Clean air, quality food, regular elimination, and enough sleep will keep us in fighting condition. With the onslaught of new worries and anxieties this year, many weren’t capable of ensuring these crucial components of good living. Insomnia set in as we struggled with the emotional roller coaster known as 2020. When the mind is active, it is difficult to sleep. Stress burdens the already busy brain by engaging thoughts of fancy. We imagine possible future catastrophes as we swim in the ones we are dealing with today. While dealing with job loss, lay-off, unmet financial commitments, and future uncertainties, the tendency to worry once the house is quiet is common. So, what strategies can we employ to minimize this tendency? Insomnia often he year 2020 will go down in history as one comes from chaos in of the most tumultuous of all time. Pandemic, the mind. Because violence in our streets, political mudslinging, of that, structure storms out of season, and personal and and schedule play governmental upheaval in finances are some an important role in of the earmarks that will be remembered. fighting the late-night New terms, like social distancing, were wandering brain. coined and enforced. Masks became a statement of This is especially compliance or rebellion. Speculations and theories were true if your workload plausible in the most fantastic ways, and travel became a has been cut back treacherous proposal. or discontinued in Stress. It surrounded each one even when standing response to the pansix feet away from another. Fear. It found a new thread of demic. Set a timeattack with each statistic reported. Financial insecurity. It table for your days rocked the core of our hardworking citizens as they fought and stick to it. This to make it through the threat without losing everything. will help at the end of the day. Crossing Then, sleep evaded us. While we were worried about our things off a to-do list makes a frenzied health, we tossed and turned. While we fought for the basic mind find closure. Falling into bed after necessities to maintain households, we counted sheep into accomplishing assigned items can lead to the thousands. Fearing for our immune systems, we weak- better sleep. ened them because our minds were full to overflow, and COVID-19 has caused some isolation, when the house got quiet those thoughts went on parade. but it doesn’t have to cause inaction. A
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brisk walk, a swim on a hot day, reorganizing the garage or a closet can be the ticket to keeping it moving. Avoid naps during the day, too. Save any shuteye for overnight success. Medications can interrupt good sleep as well. Let go of that morning coffee and limit your alcohol intake if sleep is your nemesis. Nicotine can also disrupt body chemistry and cause unrest. Ask your doctor if there is anything in your health routine that should be changed. If you have pain from arthritis or trauma, this is a topic of discussion with your physician that must be addressed. Sometimes sleep is disrupted because of treatable states. Finally, watch what you eat and drink within three hours of going to bed. Digestion is a physical mechanism that demands its own responses. Don’t start the machinery before you shut down the factory. Time your meals and beverages responsibly, even if that’s never been a problem for you before. This crazy calendar year has brought with it pressure and stress unlike any other time in your life. What used to be okay may be a stumbling block to dreamland now. Insomnia can be a consequence of life’s ups and downs. If your body is letting you know you’re on overload, take precautions to alleviate distress. This season will pass, but until it does, take good care and sleep well.
“While dealing with job loss, lay-off, unmet financial commitments, and future uncertainties, the tendency to worry once the house is quiet is common.”
Beth Walsh Stewart is Cofounder of BethWe, a nonprofit dedicated to rescuing the stragglers lost in the shadows of the road of life. Best-known for her weekly blogs, regular articles in Vero’s Voice, and workshops aimed to help people live their priorities, Beth is a Biblical Counselor and Professor at New Covenant Bible College in Vero Beach, FL. You can find more of her work at BethWe.com.
Beth Walsh Stewart
September 2020 / ISSUE 116 / Vero’s Voice 27
