Sleeping duty

Some people sleep because they are sleepy. Some people sleep because people are supposed to sleep at night. Some people sleep because doctors say so. Some people sleep because they have been up 24 hours straight, and their eyelids can't stay open any longer. Some people sleep because there is nothing else to do.

And others... can't get to sleep.

Fortunately, I have never really had a problem falling asleep. I'm the kind who, if sleepy, can fall asleep on a haystack full of crushed glass in the middle of the highway.

But I know people who have sleeping problems. Some have work stress, some have family problems, some have personal issues, some are feeling guilty, and some are in love.

Being someone who's fallen in love exactly 1.5 times in her life, I can say that no one is worth losing sleep over. Insomnia is really bad because it's not a problem you face only at night, it stays with you till the next day. And the next. And the next...

So I always take special care to ensure that I enjoy a good night's sleep. Though I don't get much sleep due to my late-night classes and super-early working hours, I compensate quantity with quality.

So today, I have decided to collate a list of all the tips that have supposedly helped in getting insomniacs to fall asleep. (Many of these tips came from other people.)

Have you got any to share?

• Take a warm shower.
• Soak your feet in a tub of hot water. (If you can't sleep, you'll at least get a semi-pedicure.)
• Listen to soothing music. May I suggest Sonu Nigam's 'Meri kahani mera kissa ho tum'? Or Hariharan's 'Aankhon se baatein karein'?
• Put on Jagjit Singh, turn off the lights, lie down and close your eyes. (His 'Silsilay' and 'Sajda' albums work very well.)
  
• Listen to an intense song and sing it in your head, making sure that you're singing every note correctly. You will be concentrating so hard that you will forget everything else. Soon you will be sleeping. (One song that works very well for me using this method is Kavitha's 'Yeh dil sun raha hai tere dil ki zubaan' from 'Khamoshi - the musical'.)
  
• Read a book.
• Or even better, read my statistics book.
• Drink warm milk before sleeping. (Eeeyucks!)
• Avoid a heavy dinner.
  
• Talk to me about the stock market or US politics. I will fall asleep, and looking at me, so will you.
• Change your sheets. Something pastel is good.
  
• Check your pillow. Is it too high? Too low?
• Don't study on your bed. Associate your bed with sleep. That way, the moment you lie down, you will sleep.
• Remove your mattress and make your bed on the floor.
• Create a night ritual, and follow the order every night. For example, blog, brush teeth, put on music, apply moisturiser on hands and feet, switch on night lamp, read for fifteen minutes, etc.
  
• Think of the biggest crush you ever had. Now play all your interactions with that crush in your head, in slow motion.
• Think of the greatest compliment anyone ever gave you. Play it in your mind a couple of times.
  
• Switch off the air-conditioner and open the windows, especially if it is a breezy night.
• Stare at the moon and the stars.
• Hum a little lullaby to yourself. ('Surmayi akhiyon mein' by Yesudas works very well.)
  
• When you're in a bus or something, the right kind of shoulder comes in handy.
• Think of the whole-day-course titled 'And more things you will never need to use at your workplace' that your company forced you to attend.
• Watch something on the lines of Krishi Darshan (anyone remember this? apparently a big hit with the farmers in India).
• Watch Katrina Kaif's or Tanushree Dutta's attempts at acting. (Oh but wait, you may laugh so hard, you may feel more awake than before.)
  
• Read 'Sayesha's World'. (Tip courtesy Kini)
• Remove guilt from your mind. Guilt about anything. What you did is what you did. You stumbled, fell and you got up, with lessons learnt. There is no point losing sleep over it.
• Try not to ruin anyone's day, and you'll have a peaceful night.

But my most tried and tested one is this:

Exhaust yourself so much during the day, that the moment you hit the bed, you're sleepin' like a baby.

Works like a charm. Every time.

Touchwood.