I was going to do another installment of Baking in the Bathroom, but I want to share with you something that has really helped me. It’s off topic, but worth it.
For well over a decade I have had sleeping issues. I’ve done a lot of reading and research to try and figure out what was going on, and what exactly was wrong with me. I don’t want to call it insomnia; I know insomniacs and I feel it would belittle their condition to compare mine to it. It’s not regular, or even the same each time it happens, but sometimes I just can’t sleep. Well, I can’t fall asleep. I could sleep all day given the chance, but it takes me forever to get there. It’s not that I’m not tired. I’m always tired.
I have tried Counting Sheep
I have tried Tensing and Relaxing
I have tried Soothing Music
I have tried Relaxing Baths
I have tried Lavender Oil
I have tried Melatonin
I have tried Teas
Yes, it was all very relaxing, but if my body decided it wasn’t going to sleep, I wasn’t sleeping. With things like Benadryl, even though I was sleeping, it didn’t feel restful and I woke with a hangover.
My problem, I have discovered, is my racing brain. Come the quiet of night, it will not shut-up. I knew this, but I didn’t realize it was the bulk of my issue. I have the kind of mind, that even if I’m not worried or excited about anything in particular, it will find something to latch on to and run with. Re-hashing personal scenarios, re-writing books and TV shows, placing furniture, designing outfits, inventing systems, anything.
Enter L-Theanine. I came across this amino acid via Nature Made’s Sleep. I had been looking up another sleep aid that I saw during a Wheel commercial break. Everyone said it was crap, but to try Sleep (Melatonin/L-Theanine). So I did. I liked it. I had used Melatonin on it’s own before, but it made me groggy the next day. I researched L-Theanine and decided to pick some up at Whole Foods.
L-Theanine creates the calm I need to shut down and drift off.
While I use it primarily to help with sleep, it is also useful for daily stress. It helps with social stress and emotional stress, especially if you are like me and it’s beyond “normal”. And for the ladies: if you have cyclical ups and downs, it will help there, too. One thing I noticed when I took the Sleep, the next day I felt calmer, much longer, when dealing with my daughter. Less irritable in general.
** If you are going to use this during the day, as with anything, make sure you know how it will effect you before you do anything important. Since I tend to be low energy, it can make me sleepy during the day. Paired with coffee I’m usually alright. **
This is not a miracle drug. Everyone has different issues and root causes. I know this will not work for everyone. BUT if you cannot sleep, it is worth a try.
** Prior to finding L-theanine, I had relied on Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Extra for help. It contains Valerian root, and I still use it on nights when I don’t need much help. **