I have a form of PTSD that screws my sleep. If I follow a fairly strict evening routine, it activates my parasympathetic nervous system and makes a good sleep highly likely. The trouble is, I find it hard to be consistent every single night. Does anyone have any tips/books/practices for sticking to some fixed actions regardless of whether or not I feel like it?
The routine regards my dinner time, doing a few simple calming exercises before bed, having a bed time around 10.30pm. I need to do it every night. I can do it about 80% of the time. The remaining 20% is when I'm over-excited, or tired, or socialising. One of these skipped nights, and it can be a couple of weeks of craziness before I'm regulated again. I'd much prefer to have the ability to guarantee that I'll follow the plan.
Over the years, I have tried an accountability partner, which works quite well, and I tend to do a 'risk sheet' in the morning that predicts likely obstacles in the evening. Even these have flaws - fundamentally, that it's possible for me to not exactly do what I said I'd do. A side effect of PTSD is a tendency to be kind of hyperactive and impulsive, and resist relaxing, especially in the evening.
Any thoughts on this are welcome - tips, names of authors, methods, personal experience, etc. |
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