85: Tips for Getting Sleep When Grief Keeps You Awake

Sleep is a place where our bodies heal, process trauma and information that we’ve experienced in our lives. Sleep is so healthy for us to get but what do you do when you can’t sleep at all? 

Here are my tips for you :
1. Brain Dumping  

• This is especially helpful for when you try to lay down and you cannot turn your brain off. When all the things going through your head are on repeat and you can’t sleep, you should try it. Brain dumping is where you just take everything that’s going on in your head and put it on to a piece of paper. For some reason, writing it down helps lessen the racing in your mind. Write for as long as you need, and keep the journal by your bed, so that you can continue to get things out of your head as needed.

2. Prescribed Sleep Medicines 

• For a time period, I needed to take something to help me sleep. I had originally asked my midwife for a medication that was safe in pregnancy. In the meantime, I never ended up taking it because I found other things that work. Like I say- I’m not a medical professional and I’m not giving you medical advice, but this is what I ended up doing for a little while to help me sleep. I took Melatonin, along with Tylenol PM. I also had to sleep in my own room because of my trauma.I could not sleep with anyone else. Otherwise, I spent the whole night checking on everyone around me. 

3. Essential Oils :

• I used an essential oil called Tranquil from Plant Therapy. I have used this ever since Aria died, and anytime I have insomnia. It’s amazing. I put a dab behind each ear and a dab on the sole of each foot. This has helped me in many ways get a good night's rest.
• Recommendation : Plant Therapy Tranquil Essential Oil Blend

 4. Magnesium Lotion

• I’m not sure why I started trying this in the first place, but I had made a foot salve that had magnesium in it. And ever since then, I’ve noticed that when I put that on my feet as well right before bed, I’m able to fall asleep much faster, and be able to stay asleep longer. I made my own magnesium foot salve, but you can buy it online somewhere. I’ve also bought it from a local shop that sells lots of natural products.

5. Rescue Remedy/ Rescue Sleep 

• Another product I’ve used, not for myself, but for my kids who have been affected by sleep, anxiety, or nightmares, I’ve given them Rescue Remedy. You can buy this online, or at Whole Foods or Fresh Thyme or that kind of place. I’ve been absolutely amazed by how when I give this to my kids after a nightmare or they can’t sleep, it’s been so helpful. For some reason I’ve never thought to take it myself, maybe because I have so many other things to help me.

If you want more tools to help you, I have a workshop called Stop Talking Start Feeling, it’s a workshop that dives into emotions, what they are, and how you can begin to feel and process them and get them out of your body instead of stuffing them down. It also goes specifically into processing and releasing the emotions of guilt and sadness. You can get access to this workshop and all the extra things I have in there for only $27. Go to www.stoptalkingstartfeeling.com to check it out. 

If you are a grieving mother and looking for others who know the pain of child loss, come join my free Grieving Moms Community Facebook group: www.meganhillukka.com/community