Awesome Advice from Our Readers - How to Get to Sleep
Tuesday, May 8, 2012

IN TODAY'S ISSUE:

• 25% off Terrific Tuesday Coupon!
• What's New in the Scrap Girls Boutique?
• Life Muse by Ro
• Scrap Girls Club
• ScrapSimple Club
• Designer Freebie
• What's Happening at Scrap Girls
• Ongoing Opportunities for YOU

Rozanne Paxman

Awesome Advice from Our Readers – How to Get to Sleep

A couple of weeks ago, I told you guys about my sleep disorder and asked for advice about what I could do to get to sleep easier. Boy! Did you guys come through for me! I received so many superb suggestions that I thought it would be a shame to keep it to myself. After all, most people have trouble sleeping at some point in their life. Print out this list and save it. You'll be glad you did.

Thanks to everyone who took time to send me your suggestions. I'm excited to have so many neat things to try. I'm sorry that I couldn't send you all a personal email, but I want you to know that each email is so special to me. You're all awesome!

1. Exercise. (Lots of people advised me to exercise.)

2. Wear socks to bed.

3. No computers or television 1-2 hours before bed. This means no iPad either. The blue light the devices put out interferes with sleep. (Reading my iPad at night is a great weakness I have. I need to read a real book instead.)

4. No caffeine after noon.

5. Use a fan to create white noise. This helps block out noises that will wake you up.

6. Fill a long sock with rice, chill it in refrigerator, or freeze it and stick under neck or pillow.

7. Turn off the light on your alarm clock or turn it away from your face. It inhibits melatonin.

8. Find a calming word (a mantra), such as "peace, calm, nature...." At night, when you are laying in bed, repeat that same calming word over and over. "Nature, nature, nature." It helps quiet your mindand keeps your mind from wandering to other things.

9. Drink herbal tea. Lavendar, Sleepytime (by Celestial Seasonings), peppermint, and chamomile tea were recommended most often.

10. Spray your linens with lavender linen spray. (I've done this for years. I adore the scent of lavender! I also rub lavender lotion on my feet when I am feeling particularly stressed.)

11. Don't take a nap during the day, no matter how tempting it might seem.

12. Talk to your doctor about trying a new sleep medication. People get tolerant to the one they are using over time.

13. Try herbal sleep solutions (such as melatonin, valerian,L-Tryptophan, or HTP5), but before you do, check with your doctor to make sure that there won't be any drug interactions with the medications you take.

14. Yoga.

15. Meditation (A lot of people mentioned this one.  Twice a day for 20 minutes was recommended.)

16. Calm music. (Set your radio on a timer so that it automatically turns itself off after a period of time.)

17. Wine. (Since I don't drink, I can't try this one.)

18. Read something boring like computer manuals or technical books.

19. Curl up with a little dog. (A Pomeranian was strongly recommended.)

20. Have blood work done to see if you need supplements.

21. Lymph node massages.

22. Go gluten free.

23. Create a worry hour during the day and then forget them until the next day. If they pop into your head when you are trying to fall asleep, write them down so that you won't forget them. This will relax you.

24. Engage in a hobby during the day as a stress-reliever.

25. EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) - which is sometimes known as tapping. There are a lot of good websites, YouTube videos, and eBooks that teach this technique. (I have used this a lot for other things, but it hadn't occurred to me to use it to fall asleep. I'll do that.)

26. Hypnosis.

27. Reiki, which is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing.

28. DVDs or CDs that play music from nature (like ocean sounds). "Pillow Music" was recommended.

29. Tell yourself a story.

30. Breathing exercises like Dr. Andrew Weil teaches. You can get iPad apps that have them.

31. If you don't fall asleep after 15-20 minutes, get up and do something else for awhile.

32. Eat yogurt.

33. Put a square of plain chocolate in your mouth and concentrate on the taste as it melts. (Sounds fun!)

34. Jacobson Progressive Muscle Relaxation.

35. Do something relaxing for the two hours prior to bedtime. Do not work.

36. If you get five hours of sleep a night, you got your "core" sleep so don't worry if you can't get more than that.

37. Don't go to bed if you're not feeling tired.

38. Take all of your worries and set them outside of your bedroom door. Then close the door.

39. Get regular massages.

40. Play Solitaire.

41. Watch the same movie every night. (My daughter used to do this during high school. Her favorite fall-to-sleep movie was the old Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.)

42. Have a sleep study to see if you have a medical condition. (I've actually had one before. That is how I was diagnosed with my sleep disorder. But I've started to wonder if I could have sleep apnea, too, so it's worth checking into.)

43. Decide not to dwell on negative situations.

44. Keep yourself on a schedule – going to bed at the same time each night and waking at the same time each morning.

45. Limit your sugar intake before bedtime.

46. Read the Bible.

47. Breathe in for four counts and then out for four counts to relax you. Do this four times.

48. Look for your "sweet spot" of time when it is easiest for you to go to sleep. Get into bed at that time each night.

49. Get into a night time routine that you use each night to signal your body that it is time to sleep.

50. Write in a journal. (I love this one and use it myself!)

51. Get your hormone levels checked to see if you are in menopause or peri-menopause. You may need hormone replacement. (I had a complete hysterectomy in 1993 and have been on hormone replacement since I get really sick without it so I'll always be doing this one. I mention it because it can be so important!)

52. If your mind is chattering away, tell yourself that there is nothing you can do about it at night so you'll forget it until the next day.

53. Think about something beautiful that you enjoy.

54. Cross-stitch using big stitches in rows so that your mind isn't taken up with patterns.

55. If your spouse likes to watch TV, get them some earplugs so that you don't have to hear the sound.

56. Self-hypnosis. I received a nice method of doing this which is as follows: First, tense all of the various muscle groups one by one, and then relax them.Do this 2-3 times.Then, beginning with your toes, wiggle them and then relax them. Tell yourself how heavy and tired your toes are. Then move up to the arch of the foot and then the ankle. Next, do the same with your calves and onward to your thighs. Once you reach your thighs, change your focus to your fingers and slowly and deliberately work your way up to your shoulders.

    Once you have told all of the muscles in your limbs to relax, be tired and feel heavy, you begin the final step which is mental visualization. Imagine your favorite water spot. I personally remember a visit to one of my mother's best friend's home in Pennsylvania which we took when I was in my early teens. I remember sitting under a weeping willow tree on the banks of the Susquehanna River and watching and hearing the movement of the water going downstream. I concentrate on those sounds and think about hearing the birds, the sound of one of the neighbors mowing the lawn, and children playing in the distance.

57. Listen to the program Autogenics on your mobile device. There are two parts to it: a part that you listen to during the day to reduce your stress and a part that you listen to as you fall asleep.

58. Physical therapy/personal trainer to teach you how to stretch your muscles.

59. Practice the awareness of God's presence. Give Him your worries.

60. Count your blessings.

Want to read more of Ro's muses? Check out her blog at http://ropaxman.com! She invites you to swing by and say, "Howdy!" She looks forward to talking to you!

Muse: To be absorbed in one's thoughts; engage in meditation. Not intended to solve the world's problems, another person's problems, or to cover topics completely. One does not have to agree with musings to enjoy them, just as one does not have to be the same as someone else to appreciate who they are.

Learn to make digital scrapbooking layouts and more! – Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed Find out how easy it can be to learn how to create digital scrapbook layouts, edit photos, use and make brushes, recolor papers and embellishments, make your own simple backgrounds and embellishments, save and share your layouts and much more! Ready to learn advanced techniques? – MORE Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed Learn to use paper templates, embellishment templates, custom shapes, styles, and brushes to make your own supplies. Learn advanced clipping mask and lighting blend techniques. Learn to make and use patterns. Learn to make brushes from your own doodles. Learn to extract images from photos. Learn work flow techniques that will speed up the layout creation process and advanced photo editing skills and much, much more!

		Join the Scrap Girls Monthly Club and you can have fun with the newest traditional digital and printable scrapbooking looks while saving! (A $40.87 value for $9.99 or less!) The Scrap Girls Club contents are released on the 1st day of the month (or the closest business day to the 1st). With the Scrap Girls Club, you will receive: 1 Collection Biggie 1 Paper Super Mini 1 Word Art Mini 1 Embellishment Mini 1 JIF 6 Plus Set 1 Designer's Choice Item 1 CLUB EXCLUSIVE! Jiffy Easy Page Album 1 CLUB EXCLUSIVE! Designer's Choice Item 1 CLUB EXCLUSIVE! Color Palette May's Scrap Girls Club designed for you by Ang Campbell
Club Exclusive! JIFFY Easy Page Album	Club Exclusive! Designer's Gift	Layout by Ang Campbell using May's Scrap Girls Club

April's ScrapSimple Club has been created for you by Armi Custodio & Syndee Nuckles		Join the ScrapSimple Monthly Club and you can enjoy the newest ScrapSimple looks while saving! (A $13.95 value for $6.99 or less!) The new ScrapSimple Club contents are released on the 15th day of the month (or the closest business day to the 15th). A commercially licensed version of the ScrapSimple Club is also available here. With the ScrapSimple Club, you will receive: 1 ScrapSimple Paper Template Set 1 ScrapSimple Embellishment Template 1 Brush Set 2 Designer's Choice Item CLUB EXCLUSIVE! Nano Collection CLUB EXCLUSIVE! Designer's Choice Item CLUB EXCLUSIVE! 2 Tutorials
Club Exclusive! Nano Collection	Club Exclusive! Designer's Gift	Layout by Amy Flanagan using April's ScrapSimple Club

Layout by Syndee Nuckles
larger view

Designer Freebie by Syndee Nuckles coordinates with
her ScrapSimple Embellishment Templates: Wall Decor,
part of this month's ScrapSimple Club offering!

Commercial license versions of ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Room With A View, ScrapSimple Alpha Templates: Mismatched Letters and ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Butterfly Shadows 6301 Mini are also available.

Today's freebie designed by Syndee Nuckles

* There is a "free download" button on the details page for each gift. You don't need to put them in your shopping cart unless you are shopping for other items. Also note that if you are slow reading your newsletter, you may find this freebie has already been retired, as the freebies are only available as gifts for about two newsletter cycles.

East Coast High Noon Crop
Wednesday, May 9th - 10:00AM MDT

Join April (April Showers) each Wednesday at 10am MT for the East Coast High Noon Crop. All coasts and time zones are welcome! These crops are designed to allow you to work on your own photos and themes, simply giving participants a one hour goal and a fun, new challenge each week.

On May 9th, we'll do an "All About Me" Challenge! Create a layout focusing on you! You could choose to create a layout using childhood photos or you could make a list of your favorite things. Anything goes as long as YOU are the focus.

Create your layout and upload it to the special High Noon Crop Gallery. You'll be amazed what you can get done in just one hour, but there is no High Noon Sheriff timing you! Hope to see you in the chat room!

May's Forum Game: Boutique Alphabet Game!

The Boutique Alphabet Game is back! Do you remember playing the game "I am going on a _____ hunt and bringing..." where each player listed items starting with a specific letter? We are playing a similar game on the Scrap Girls Forum during the month of May. Each day except Sundays, a team member will post a new theme and starting letter in the game thread. Members then will search the Scrap Girls Boutique for a product that fits the theme and post it in the game thread. Entries are to follow the alphabet starting with the letter posted with the theme each day. Only one product per letter per round will be counted and products may not be used more than once. Collections and their individual parts count as one product. Time stamps will be used to determine credit in the case of duplicate letter or product posts. There is a limit of three game posts per person each day and another player must post before posting again. Member names will be added to a drawing based on the number of qualified product links posted in the thread.

Prizes will be awarded at the end of the month and winners will be announced in the June 9th Newsletter. Gift certificates will be awarded as follows: $15 SG Gift Certificate for first place, $10 SG Gift Certificate for second place and a $5 SG Gift Certificate for third place.

For complete details, visit the Monthly Forum Games folder on the Scrap Girls Forum.

May Monthly Layout Contest: May is a big month in the northern hemisphere for flowers. For this month's layout contest, we're going to give a little twist on the usual flower photos. We want you to try your hand at extreme close-ups. Be creative in point of view and angle. Even most point-and-shoot cameras have a close-up mode. Do the best you can with the equipment you have and scrap a layout with a photo or two – or three. Your submission will be judged on its merit as a layout, not necessarily the photography. Post your layouts in the May Monthly Layout Gallery before Midnight MDT on May 31st. Be sure to list your layout's product credits in the description or under the EXIF Properties. Two layouts will be selected to win a $10 Gift Certificate to the Scrap Girls Boutique!

Club Concepts Layout Contest: Post your new layout using the current club selection (either the Scrap Girls Club or the ScrapSimple Club) in our Scrap Girls Club Members Gallery or the ScrapSimple Club Members' Gallery. Be sure to list all of the Scrap Girls products you used. If your layout is chosen, it will be showcased as a Club Concepts layout winner, and you will win a $5 Gift Certificate to the Scrap Girls Boutique!

Check our Forum calendar if you have any questions about what is happening at Scrap Girls. All event times are given in Mountain Time Zone unless otherwise noted. Need help converting time zones? Check out the World Clock - Time Zone Converter. (Use 'USA-Utah-Salt Lake City' as the location for the Mountain time zone.)

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