This is a collaborative post
When you are struggling to sleep there are so many things that go through your mind. Whether that be your to-do list at work, childhood trauma or perhaps a film you recently watched it is rarely something that is positive and will help you to actually have a good night’s sleep. Instead, I want to share with you the idea of reminiscing and thinking happy thoughts to help you sleep.
What are happy memories?
There is nothing that says happy memories have to be from your childhood or from a friendship or relationship. they can be whatever you look back on and it makes you smile.
Many people have happy memories of childhood as we, as children, are naturally more adventurous and more carefree when we are young. Our lack of life experience means we often are braver and do things that as an adult we can’t quite believe, usually because of our understanding of their dangers!
A friend of mine shared with me recently that her happiest memories were walking on a frozen canal in the UK. Anyone in the UK knows they are never that well frozen this could ever be safe! Another friend said playing board games with her sisters is something from her childhood that she always remembers fondly.
If you were perhaps abused as a child maybe your happy memories are of starting afresh when you moved into your own home. If you had an unhappy marriage then maybe they aren’t your wedding day but the day your child was born.
My happy thoughts
When I think of the happiest times in my life a few things come specifically to mind. My uncle Eddie teaching me to play chess always makes me smile. Sometimes I even play chess online when I am feeling a bit down or can’t sleep just to make me smile. As I child I didn’t realise how much I actually have in common with that uncle and he always spent so long teaching me how to play chess. So many happy memories!
A lot of my other happiest memories are around being a mum, finding out I was pregnant before the morning sickness was too horrendous and holding Ben as a newborn as well as more recently the pride in his face on getting his GCSE results.
Why do happy memories help us sleep?
Happy memories help us to sleep because we are less anxious and less uptight about anything so the sleep we have is deeper and more restful. In the same way as a book or relaxing music helps us to sleep, happy memories do too.
When you think about things which make you feel relaxed your whole body relaxes and goes into a similar state to that you felt at the time the memory was created. These are generally times when we are relaxed, happy and our whole body feels good.
Are there times this would not help?
There are times when thinking of happy memories may not help you to sleep. These include that if the happy memories then lead you to think about sad or hurtful memories because your body will be tense and stressed instead.
Another time when this may not help you to sleep is if your happy memories are all based on adrenaline-producing activities. For example, if your happy memories are when you did some skydiving or were doing a tightrope in the circus this might not be a helpful sleep method for you!