Thoughts & News

…articles & advice

August 7, 2016

Mindfully Moving Through a Stress Response

I had just done the very thing I advise people not to do.  I was all relaxed and ready for bed, but decided to check my email one last time.  In truth, I had been having a somewhat tense online conversation, and was hoping to find a peaceful resolution in my in-box.  Unfortunately, the opposite was true.  Our miscommunication had taken an even worse turn and now there was a toxic blast waiting for me.  Sure enough, I almost instantly could feel my heart racing, my brainwaves moving faster, and stress hormones coursing through my body.  Not what you want when preparing for sleep!

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April 23, 2016

Clearing the Trauma that Caused 8 Years of Insomnia

Sometimes a single traumatic event can wreak havoc on the sleep system for years after the trauma has passed.  This was certainly the case with “Danielle,” who had not slept well ever since her husband had died eight years ago.  Most nights it took her hours to fall asleep, often not falling asleep until after 2:00 a.m.  Other nights she would fall asleep quicker, but then wake around 3:00 a.m. unable to return to sleep.

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March 10, 2016

Unwind the Mind for Better Sleep

I ended my last post by posing a question to the Universe: How do I find the balance between working hard and achieving results, and being fully grounded in my life and peacefully sleeping at night?  I haven’t ever achieved this in my adult life.  Probably the last uninterrupted stretch was my sophomore year in high school… and that was a long time ago!  So, I am venturing out to discover a New Way of Being.

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February 23, 2016

Insomnia as an Early Detection Warning System

I’m going to let you in on a little secret.  Despite organizing my whole business around helping people sleep better, I don’t always sleep that great myself.  While I now have MANY more nights than I ever used to have where I close my eyes and wake up in the morning feeling blissfully rested and refreshed, and I almost never have difficulties falling asleep initially anymore, I still experience those pesky middle of the night wake-ups where I don’t fall instantly back to sleep.  The big difference between the old me and the new me is that I don’t panic or even get anxious about it anymore.  Instead, I get curious.

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February 9, 2016

Putting Sleeping Pills to Rest with EFT

When “Jim” contacted me, he was pretty frustrated and upset. For the past couple of months he had been on a roller coaster ride of stress, insomnia, and sleeping pills. While the sleeping pills knocked him out most nights, he was afraid of becoming addicted and spent several nights each week not taking them.  On those nights he might not sleep at all, and this was, of course, very disturbing.  Then it happened that even on the nights he did take medication, he was no longer getting the knock-out conk-out effect that is so alluring for insomniacs, and sometimes not even sleeping at all. This is the point where Jim called me.

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December 1, 2015

New Research Finds EFT Effective Treatment for Insomnia

New Research Reports EFT Effective Treatment for Insomnia

Do you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep at night?  Do you often find yourself tossing and turning, watching the clock in frustration while anxiously anticipating how tired you will be the next day?  If so, you are not alone.  In our modern, fast-paced world insomnia is an ever-growing problem.  An estimated 70 million Americans suffer from some form of sleep difficulty, with about 10% of the population suffering from severe, chronic, debilitating insomnia. The problem is even more prevalent in our senior population, with over one-half of adults over 60 reporting chronic sleep issues.

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October 27, 2015

To Nap or Not to Nap?

To Nap or Not to Nap?

That is a big question in the world of insomnia

Most insomnia programs that do not simply mask symptoms with drugs focus on behavioral and life style choices that affect sleep.

Most of this is good overall health advice.  Who can argue with recommendations such as getting regular exercise and exposure to sunlight, sleeping in a peaceful dark, quiet room, or monitoring caffeine and alcohol intake?  Good suggestions for everybody.

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September 30, 2015

Racing Thoughts That Won’t Quit? Find the Off-Button

Finding the Off-Button for those Racing Thoughts

By far the most common complaints I hear from my clients and workshop participants concern racing thoughts in the middle of the night that won’t quit.  I can sympathize with this.  For years I wanted an “off button” like the one on my CD player, so I could turn my noisy brain off and get some sleep.  Why didn’t human beings come equipped with one of those?  Now at last I have found mine and would like to share two recent experiences with you.

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September 4, 2015

Working with Middle of the Night Wake-Ups

Probably the most frequent question I get asked as a sleep coach is, “What do you do about middle of the night wake-ups?” Most of my clients are able to fall asleep easily, but then wake up sometime between the hours of 1:00 and 4:00 in the morning and can’t get back to sleep. I wish I could say I had the magic cure-all for this problem and that it no longer happened to me anymore… but that would not quite be true. What is true for me is that I no longer experience panic, anxiety, anger or loneliness when this happens, and have even learned to embrace the peace and stillness of the night as a time to do deep inner work or creative writing. This not only means a more enjoyable night experience with a better chance of resuming sleep, but less exhaustion and a better mood the next day, which in turn leads to less anxiety and better sleep the following night. Since I have found Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT or “tapping”), I have developed the following steps for dealing with middle of the night wake-ups:

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