How to Finally Get a Good Night’s Sleep (with Sleep Expert Katelyn Anderson)

In life there are times famous for sleep deprivation: the arrival of a baby, the all-nighters studying in school, the tossing and turning before a big life event, the crazy schedule that makes getting enough sleep a pipedream. What happens, though, when not getting the rest we need becomes a persistent problem? We called on sleep expert Katelyn Anderson  to help us finally get a good night’s sleep (hopefully lots of them!) If you or someone you love could benefit from better sleep or you just want to make sure you’re doing all you can to promote the proper rest your body needs, this episode is for you!


Katelyn is a therapist, Founder/CEO of Equip Sleeping Company, and creator of Cozy Case. She says her mission is to highlight the intersection between sleep and mental health. Indeed, a good night’s sleep can do wonders for our state of mind. Conversely not getting our rest can lead to moodiness, anxiety, depression, and other issues. It can also affect our memory and ability to concentrate. Then there are physical problems which can range from high blood pressure, weight gain, weakened immunity and even heart disease. 

It’s true that sometimes life circumstances prevent proper sleep and you just have to do the best you can, but if you are like millions of people who are simply having trouble falling or staying asleep on a regular basis, this episode is full of honesty and answers. 

Katelyn’s official mission is “evidenced-based, solution-focused, cognitive and behavioral strategies to support individuals in creating the ideal conditions for falling asleep and staying asleep.”  So, basically it’s what can you do that can actually give you results.  She takes us through a sleep hygiene checklist that includes our surroundings, what we should or shouldn’t be consuming at night, how to get in a proper state of mind to rest and so much more.

We always hear how important to get 7 or 8 hours of continuous sleep a night, but Katelyn tells us why for some people “fragmented sleep” is OK. We also dive into the question of napping. Should you be doing it and how long? Also, what do you do if your partner has different sleeping habits, snore or other issues? Spoiler alert, this affects all three of us and we’ll look at strategies that help keep everyone happy (and sleeping soundly!). We'll also talk about affirmations and things you can do to stop a racing mind from keeping you from sleeping. And, the physical things like bedding that can affect rest, this includes the new Cozy Case!

 Ready to finally get a good night's sleep? Grab a listen!

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Transcript

Lanée Blaise [00:00:01]:

We're talking about sleep today at Imagine Yourself. I'm Lanee here with Sandy, and we recognize that sleep is such a crucial part of living a healthy life and that some of us are struggling to get sound sleep. Some people would pay or do anything to get a good night's sleep. And today we have someone who can help. Our guest, Caitlin Anderson is a therapist, founder, and CEO of Equipped sleeping company and creator of Cozy case. Katelyn's mission is to highlight the intersection between sleep and mental health. She offers tips and advice and resources and sleep products to help create the ideal conditions for falling asleep and staying asleep. So we need you and your secrets to sleep.

Lanée Blaise [00:00:52]:

Katelyn, we want to welcome you to Imagine Yourself.

Katelyn Anderson [00:00:55]:

Oh, my goodness. What a lovely introduction. Thank you so much, ladies. I'm so happy to be here.

Sandy Kovach  [00:01:01]:

Katelyn, we're so happy to have you and can't wait to learn a lot of good tips about falling and staying sleep. I know there are many effects on our body and our mind when we lose sleep. One of them is not being able to pay attention for that long or be easily distracted. So for the sake of all of us who are easily distracted, let's get right to, let's say, a first tip.

Katelyn Anderson [00:01:28]:

Oh, my goodness. I love it. I think that the concept of sleep hygiene in general is so important. When we think of hygiene, we think of washing our hands or taking a shower, but the concept really is attributed to the pattern of sleep and how important it is and that sleep hygiene looks different for everybody. But the main tip is that it requires coping skills and certain techniques in order to sleep well and that you have to find what works well for you in that routine and stick to it. So sleep hygiene and a sleep routine go hand in hand, and I think that that is like, the number one tip, but it's also very general and broad and needs to be narrowly defined.

Sandy Kovach  [00:02:15]:

For the individual sleep hygiene. I'm looking forward to breaking that down. More specifically, I know I have terrible sleep hygiene. Going to sleep, watching Netflix, having my phone out doesn't seem to affect me, though, really. I seem to sleep okay. My husband has some issues, but I'm probably way off pace with all that screen time before. Huh.

Katelyn Anderson [00:02:38]:

Well, as a therapist, here's what we say. It's not about what you do. It's about the impact that you have. So, Sandy, if you're engaging in certain behaviors and it doesn't have an impact on your sleep, by all means, if it doesn't have a negative effect, then keep doing it. But if you're going to be watching Netflix till 02:00 a.m. And then doom scrolling through social media and tossing and turning for another hour, not a healthy pattern to engage in. It's not so much what you do, but it's the effect that it has.

Lanée Blaise [00:03:12]:

This all reminds me the main reason that I gravitated towards you, Katelyn, on Instagram, which we're going to share that with everyone too. You're on at Equipped Sleeping Co, but I was looking at everything that you posted because my husband really suffers from insomnia. And just like you and Sandy are kind of talking about the different routines that you have before you go to bed, sometimes when you suffer with Insomnia, you are going to have to do some things that you have never done before, and you're going to have to stop doing some things that you notice are causing problems. And you might even have to find yourself getting sleep where you can get it. I know my poor husband, he finally had to just accept the fact that he has this weird thing where he goes to bed around 10:00 at night, falls sleep, but he has problems staying asleep, so he pops back up fully awake at 02:00 A.m.. And so he has these different little things. He can either go in the basement and exercise and then take a shower. And then he'll do that whole routine like before.

Lanée Blaise [00:04:19]:

You go into bed again, like you take your shower, you put your lotion on, you brush your teeth, you go to the bathroom, you go to bed. Almost as if it's all started over again. Like back at ten. And then he does sleep. By the time he's into this, it's about 04:00 A.m. Now and he can sleep from like four to seven. And he no longer has the stress about it anymore. He no longer feels this stigma.

Lanée Blaise [00:04:42]:

He's just like, this is the way it is, I guess, until I retire. When he retires, I guess he can do whatever he wants, but you have to be careful because you got to go to work the next day. So sometimes you find yourself doing things that seem weird, but if it works and if it gets you some sleep, you got to embrace it, right?

Katelyn Anderson [00:04:58]:

Caitlin absolutely. And what you just described is called fragmented sleep. It's actually a thing. Fragmented sleep is what our ancestors used to do. There are certain cultures we're way, way back, we're talking centuries ago. It used to be part of the culture to go to bed early after like a long day in the field, right? So come back exhausted, wake up and in the middle of the night either visit a neighbor or have sexual intimacy. It would be another waking period, and then they would resettle themselves and go back to bed. So it's super interesting.

Katelyn Anderson [00:05:34]:

The research is currently saying is to embrace your sleep pattern and that actually you can be worse off having sleep anxiety than if you just allow yourself to settle in and accept the routine that you have if it works well for you. If he's waking up bright eyed and bushy tailed and feeling fully rested regardless of the amount of hours that he got. That's what matters. So that's actually a thing. The fragmented sleep, never knew that.

Sandy Kovach  [00:06:05]:

Now my husband's very similar too. He doesn't go down and exercise, but he'll do the same thing. He'll fall asleep 10:30, 11:00, wake up in the middle of the night. And I don't think he doom scrolls. I think he may look at YouTube or something. He's up for a while, but then he goes back to sleep. But then he'll take a nap in the middle of the day. That suits him well too.

Sandy Kovach  [00:06:25]:

And he has a little place that he works in the basement now because his office is working at home and he has a little place set up where he can go and take a half an hour, 45 minutes nap. And that works for him. So is that another form of fragmented sleep or does he need to do something different?

Katelyn Anderson [00:06:41]:

I think it can be defined differently. But the napping piece is interesting too. This is a lot of questions that I get is should I nap? When should I nap? How long should I nap? And it's so tricky because it's so individualized like they say, meaning who is they? Right? But researchers suggest that 20 minutes is the ideal nap time. And you say that to some people and they're like, well, that seems like a little blip. But I'll take myself as an example. I can't nap. I am not a napper. If I nap, I do this lucid dreaming thing where I wake up, I feel super groggy, irritable.

Katelyn Anderson [00:07:18]:

I can't get back into the functioning of the day and then I end up delaying my sleep at night. So for me, I am not a napper. And then you'll hear some people religiously, like when their child naps, and I'm talking about their child, like five year old child, still, they will take that hour and a half nap for themselves during the day and it can even be as late as 04:00 p.m.. And then they can be fine going to bed. So physiologically and our biological clocks, they all function differently.

Lanée Blaise [00:07:46]:

We have to embrace that. I mean, there are definitely things, as far as I even saw in your post the other day, considering the different things that you use to snack at night, especially instead of potato chips or ice cream. Okay, ice cream is the best. Then you switch to you mentioned roasted chickpeas, you mentioned tart cherry juice, but some of these different things and you can play around with it and see what works for you and what doesn't work for you. I was watching with my husband again too, CBS Sunday Morning, and they had this guy on there named Drew Ackerman and he has the most boring podcast in the world and he owns that, right? He loves that. It's called Sleep with Me and it's a podcast where it helps you fall sleep because voice is so boring and I guess he wasn't able to make it work for a vibrant podcast, so he just made it a sleepy podcast. Different things like that that are boring. I keep little boring books next to my bed so that either one of us rolls over, you can read.

Lanée Blaise [00:08:48]:

I mean something that has no excitement, no wow factor to it, to just help you maybe get so bored that you just kind of go back to sleep.

Katelyn Anderson [00:08:58]:

So true. Because what you're talking about is stimulation, right? So let me go back to the snack piece. I posted that because I have been eating Pringles and like processed Cheese Its before bed. Don't know I'm putting a stop to this. And I love having my Instagram page because I can hold myself accountable. And so I posted that and sure enough, the other night I had a little bit of a late night. I was up at 10:30 and I was like geese, I'm getting a little hungry before bed. I don't want to go to bed too hungry.

Katelyn Anderson [00:09:28]:

So I went into the fridge and I got myself a little slice of the rotisserie chicken that was left, just a little bit of protein and it worked wonders. I didn't go to bed super hungry. I also didn't wake up super hungry. Like it was just satisfying enough, small enough, and with the right amount of protein, where I felt really good about that choice. I was patting myself on the back for that one.

Sandy Kovach  [00:09:52]:

So it's not a case of don't eat anything before bed, because I've read that too. They have said that the infamous council of they, whoever they are, have said that don't eat before bed. It's going to keep you up because of your digesting. But you're saying depending on what it is, it might not be a bad thing.

Katelyn Anderson [00:10:11]:

I mean, the recommended time frame that's all over the research is two to 3 hours before bed. You shouldn't eat like a full meal. But I certainly think a light snack, especially if it's preventing you from going to bed too hungry, is ideal. And then the other thing that you guys had just mentioned was stimulation. You don't want to stimulate the body whether it's through caffeine or nicotine or alcohol, which is depressant, but it also has a stimulant effect. So you're talking about physiologically stimulating your body, but also cognitively, like choosing the type of music. Are you going to listen to techno before bed or are you going to listen to calm and soothing music too? So you just want to put yourself into a state of relaxation, whatever that looks like for you.

Sandy Kovach  [00:10:59]:

But what about Netflix? I mean, that's what I binge. And again, it doesn't affect me. But my husband has different sleeping issues and I want to do what's best for everybody here. , he wants to watch it too. When he's ready to go to bed, we cut it off. That's just my habit, watching TV before bed. And I know a lot of people do that.

Sandy Kovach  [00:11:22]:

But again, the infamous "Council of they" always say put your screens down and don't watch TV before bed and have these dark curtains and it's almost like feels so ritualistic what they want you to do before bed. None of that is bad information. But I guess I'm wondering, for the sake of not just me, but for my husband, should we be doing something different? And what part of that is what you recommend?

Katelyn Anderson [00:11:50]:

What's the difference between ritualistic and realistic? That's so interesting. And also what we haven't talked about is how to navigate your partnership. If it looks completely different, what do you do there? So that's super interesting. I would just say, okay, here's a good example. My husband snores so loudly that at one point we were sleeping on other ends of the house and I could still hear him like it's that what we came to compromise with because I'm a very light sleeper, I'm easily disrupted. So now you guys, this is how I sleep. I sleep with white noise earbuds at a level nine in my ear just so I can sleep in the same bed. But it works for me.

Katelyn Anderson [00:12:40]:

That's a non negotiable. I feel like you have to figure out what is a non negotiable. That for me is like a boundary that's a hard line we can't bed share unless I have that because I know that my sleep will be so significantly impacted, which ultimately is going to impact our relationship negatively and my ability to parent the next day and be a functioning mother. So I guess it would just be a matter of figuring out what are the non negotiables? Do we watch Netflix together? What is your boundary? What's the hard deadline of a time? Is it 11:00 p.m.. That's it, no more. So coming to compromises like that might be a helpful thing.

Lanée Blaise [00:13:18]:

Do you want me to give an actual confession right here that might just help people listening? That's do it really vulnerable here. I have not slept in the same bed to sleep at night with my husband in 16 years because how about this? I snore and remember, my husband has insomnia. So if he is lucky enough to finally go to sleep and then you hear Linnae over here with a he's just going to probably strangle me one night. I have my own bedroom and my own bed routine and he is able to do that weird routine that he does with the ten to two and then the four to seven. And we have been happily married for 22 years and the majority of that was not with us sleeping together because his onset of insomnia didn't start until 2010, even though this was still something we had started before, but because of kids and just life and my snoring and everything. But sometimes you have to do what you got to do to keep your life and your health and your marriage and your sanity intact. And I only share this. I don't usually share this, but this is something that might help some people who are either considering this or who do this and feel bad about it.

Lanée Blaise [00:14:42]:

Like I said, this is just for sleeping purposes. I got to get that sleep. And he does, too.

Katelyn Anderson [00:14:47]:

I think it's time to normalize the unconventional, because what we think of as picture perfect, conventional, the ideal, is actually quite the opposite. Not sharing a bed for married couples is actually quite common. I wouldn't say it's over 50% or any large number like that, but it's more than you would think. And it's a conversation that's often not had because you just in your mind and in our culture, you get married and you share the same bed and you cuddle each other at night and you wake up and you roll over and you're like, oh, my gosh, I love you so much, honey. And it's just not like that. Still love you. I love you from a distance where you're not going to disrupt me and my safe space, essentially. Right.

Katelyn Anderson [00:15:37]:

Because we all need that. We all need to feel safe and rested and going back to the beginning, that looks different for everybody.

Sandy Kovach  [00:15:44]:

So you've got something that really helps sleep that we haven't talked about yet in our tips. And that's the pillowcase that you have coming out, right?

Katelyn Anderson [00:15:54]:

Yeah. It's called cozy case. It's the world's first therapeutic pillowcase. And I am so overly passionate about it. I never thought I would be so excited to sleep and be a part of what I think is reimagining, this piece of bedding that has not been revised or reimagined, I don't know, since, what, the beginning of its invention, ever, really.

Sandy Kovach  [00:16:22]:

Right. So how did this all happen?

Katelyn Anderson [00:16:25]:

During the height of the pandemic, I was waking up way more often. And when I was waking up, I sleep with a stuffed animal. I always have. It helps ground me. Super comforting. And I've always had one. When I do wake up at night, I usually find it and then I'll go back to sleep. So if I'm in a deep sleep, apparently it'll get lost a little bit or I won't notice that I've let go of it.

Katelyn Anderson [00:16:51]:

But then if I wake up from sleep, I'm like, well, where's my comfort object? And that was happening more and more often, but at the height of the pandemic, I was waking up, it was like lost in my bedding or on the floor. And then I was so sensitive because I was so stressed that then I was awake and the racing thoughts started going and I wasn't able to easily resettle myself. So there was a couple of weeks of that and then going in the morning and stumbling over all of my son's stuffed animals on the floor, then, I kid you not. There was a light bulb moment that they say that some entrepreneurs have. I have it all written down. The time frame at 12:53 A.m. In the middle of the night. One night, the light bulb went off for this product as a permanent solution of how do we create that plush comfort in a way that's not going to get lost or misplaced or dirtied on the floor.

Katelyn Anderson [00:17:48]:

How do we solve that? And then there it was. I had the name of the company, the brand, the design all in my head by 02:00 A.m.. Whoa. And I kept track of it because I just felt like it was this monumental AHA moment. Like I can't explain it, but I knew it was going to be something special, so I wanted to document it as best as I could. My husband said that over the next 48 hours, he goes, I came in the house and it was like Rain Man had exploded. Yes, because it was just me, just like getting all of my thoughts out there. And so here we are.

Katelyn Anderson [00:18:23]:

It's a pillowcase that has two plush sides attached and for the listeners, right, so you're talking about your rectangle traditional pillowcase. And the plush sides are about four inches in diameter in a cylinder type shape on both ends of the rectangle shape of the pillowcase. And the pillowcase part, like where you insert your pillow and rest your head, that's like a nice cotton. And then the plush sides are filled with this luxury down alternative stuffing. So it give like this really nice plush feel and then it's covered in this minky fabric. So it has just like this amazingly soft and comforting and it's a soothing, tactile experience is what it is, which is a scientific term. You're talking about this feeling that does something to your mind and your body in a way that's going to decrease cortisol and increase dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, all of these feel good chemicals. So it's scientifically backed.

Katelyn Anderson [00:19:28]:

It's similar to what the weighted blanket would do, especially when it comes to the cortisol and decreasing that. So decreasing the stress and increasing the feel good hormones. I would say cozy case is a little different with the oxytocin piece because you're really talking about cuddling something. And oxytocin is a love hormone. So whether you're cuddling a baby or your pet or your partner or a stuffed animal, it has that same effect that it gives off that oxytocin love hormone feel.

Lanée Blaise [00:20:00]:

I love all this because okay, so then if people want to purchase this cozy case, what's the best way for them to do so?

Katelyn Anderson [00:20:07]:

So we are on Kickstarter right now, which is a huge it's a really exciting time for us. This idea was conceived on December 9. Don't even let me get emotional. And it is incredible what can happen in such a short amount of time, right? We're talking in six months how it went from just a simple idea in my mind to now what is like I'm calling it a social change movement. That's what I want this to be. Mental health awareness and merging sleep and mental health into one. And so the support of the campaign would mean everything to me to be able to bring this to the stars and the moon and beyond. So that's our big focus right now is to get through this campaign and bring cozy case to all of you and be able to take it from there to see what our next steps are.

Katelyn Anderson [00:21:03]:

But we're so excited about that.

Sandy Kovach  [00:21:05]:

Awesome. And of course, if you want the link to Katelyn's Kickstarter program, we'll put it on our website as well. Imagine yourselfpodcast.com. We'll put it on Katelyn's blog page and on the links We Love page as well. This is very exciting and it seems like it's going to help a lot of people sleep. And we'll get back to that again right before we wrap up the episode, just to remind people where to go. But okay, so we talked a little bit about food, eating the proper food, we talked a little bit about the pillow and the comfort and everything else and we touched on atmosphere and we agreed that it's going to be different for everybody. But what do you recommend as far as should we be making sure to close our curtains all the way? Are there things that we can do to help us stay asleep?

Katelyn Anderson [00:21:50]:

Yeah, so if we're talking about back to the sleep hygiene checklist, there are some things on there that I recommend and then I always say take what applies and if I don't let it fly. Meaning if this is something that resonates with you that's going to work, well, take it and use it. And if not, then forget I ever said it.

Lanée Blaise [00:22:09]:

Love that. Yes.

Katelyn Anderson [00:22:11]:

Let me just go down what I have on the checklist because I do think that it can be helpful. So getting sunlight during the day, so letting your biological clock know that it's daytime and then when it does become the evening and the night, having it be a cool, dark and comfortable environment. I don't think people have to necessarily go as far as standard getting the blackout curtains, but definitely having your shades down and cool it's between 65 and 68 degrees. And I definitely fall within that category. And that above that or below that. I am too hot or too cold, not going to bed too hungry or too full. We touched on that. Excessive liquid consumption, especially for us.

Katelyn Anderson [00:22:55]:

Moms, if I have a glass of water right before bed, I'm up peeing all night.

Lanée Blaise [00:23:01]:

Right.

Katelyn Anderson [00:23:03]:

If you have a bladder and you're going to be waking to have to use the bathroom, you might put yourself at risk where if you tend to be an anxious person to then have those racing thoughts kind of have an opportunity to slip in there and start keeping up. So watch out for the excessive liquid consumption. We touched on the caffeine and the nicotine and the alcohol as part of the stimulants, just being careful not to ingest anything that might cause your body physiologically to react as increased energy.

Lanée Blaise [00:23:34]:

Because I tell you, for some people, they think that having a little bit of alcohol before bed is so awesome because they do tend to fall asleep. But you got to be careful because it certainly can have an effect where you're not able to stay asleep. That's what I've noticed.

Katelyn Anderson [00:23:51]:

That's exactly true. So alcohol is a depressant, technically, but it has stimulant effects. So for some people, you might ingest alcohol and fall right sleep. But it also has this property in it where once that property wears off, you're more likely to wake. And for some people, the alcohol that they consume has a whole bunch of sugar in it, and that definitely plays out biologically in a different way and how the body processes it. So it's scientifically proven that you do tend to wake from sleep after drinking alcohol, which isn't good. I know. I experience that.

Katelyn Anderson [00:24:27]:

And then sometimes I've been up for three, 4 hours in the middle of the night. Not good. But then you hear from some people and they're like, well, I have a nightcap every night, and I sleep like a baby, so you never know.

Lanée Blaise [00:24:40]:

I feel like we're on American Idol where they say, make it your own, do your own arrangement. Because sometimes that is the truth. Sometimes you've got to abide by that too.

Katelyn Anderson [00:24:49]:

So true. One thing we haven't really talked too much about, though, is not going to bed angry, worried, or upset.

Lanée Blaise [00:24:57]:

Yes.

Sandy Kovach  [00:24:58]:

Don't let the sun go down on your anger.

Lanée Blaise [00:25:00]:

Yes.

Katelyn Anderson [00:25:01]:

If you are in a negative space and having negative moods, trying to simultaneously settle yourself for the night, those two things don't really seem to fit together in harmony right. Or anxious, worried, upset, anything like that. So for me, I have an anxious brain, so I have to work really hard at night to combat the racing thoughts, to put behaviors and practices into play to stop them.

Sandy Kovach  [00:25:32]:

What do you do, Caitlin?

Katelyn Anderson [00:25:33]:

A lot of times I'll use bedtime affirmations. So for like, once the house is quiet and the kids are sleep, I have this tendency to think about what I would have, could have, should have done, and it's just like these thoughts that are just zooming. So I really have to take the time to ground myself. There are different bedtime affirmations I let go of. Today is one that I really love to just give myself permission to not hold on to the day or to say to myself, looking forward, tomorrow is a new day. Anything that you say to yourself, whether it be silently or out loud, your brain can't simultaneously think about two things at the same time, we feel like it can, but it really can't. Sometimes I will say to myself over and over, I let go of today or I'm okay, I am safe. It's time to go to sleep.

Katelyn Anderson [00:26:33]:

And sometimes I will literally put that on repeat until those interjecting racing thoughts stop coming in so quickly.

Sandy Kovach  [00:26:42]:

Love it. Now, Lanee, you had one, I remember you talked about it. It was a podcast that we did about Mornings, but you were talking about your nighttime routine and what helped you get to sleep.

Lanée Blaise [00:26:53]:

So mine is a combination of there's the two things going on. Sometimes it's just a regular day and it's been whatever. And that's when I do the devotions before bedtime because I have teenage kids, I will sit with my son and we do these conversation cards. It has a little question and we talk about that and that just kind of lightens the mood. In general, they're usually fun questions, not too deep. So we do the conversation cards and then we read a devotion together and then we pray and then he goes to bed. And then I just kind of continue to do my own women's devotion and my own prayer and go to bed. But there's the other nights when you have something big and pressing and most of the time I have to admit it's something that I actually know in my heart.

Lanée Blaise [00:27:36]:

I can't control it. There's a big storm coming and there's nothing that I personally can do to stop that storm or not. And maybe that's kind of figurative right now, but what I'm getting at is I have this little practice when it's like that in something very tangible. I'll write it down on a sheet of paper, stick it over on my nightstand, put a big, heavy book on top of it and say, okay, I want you to stay there, and I can worry about you or think about you tomorrow. And I'm not going to worry about you or think about you tonight while I'm trying to sleep. And I don't know what it is about that big old book on top of it that makes it feel like it's over there. It'll wait for me. And it does with the combination of the devotions and the prayer, it does tend to allow me to get a good night's sleep.

Lanée Blaise [00:28:23]:

Not every time, but a lot of times it does. And a lot of times those things do work themselves out the next day. Some way the storm comes and it does what it does. But it's just that part of trying to remove the anxiousness that accompanies it all. And that works for some and not for others. I'm really loving, though, the affirmations of that part, saying I am safe, I am okay and it's time to go to sleep. I love that you said that. I'm going to say that to myself as well.

Katelyn Anderson [00:28:51]:

I mean, you were just. Touching on how visualization can be so powerful. Like there's this worry jar exercise where it's something similar. You take an empty Mason jar or whatever that has a lid. You have postits. Write down what your worry is. Fold it up, put it in that jar you put the lid on and it's symbolizing that. Okay.

Katelyn Anderson [00:29:11]:

I have this worry. I'm going to close that up and I'm going to set it over here for right now. That act and the symbolization and the visual. It does help to ease the mind. And two, I'm begging the simple Serenity Prayer.

Lanée Blaise [00:29:24]:

Yes.

Sandy Kovach  [00:29:24]:

Things that I can't change and the wisdom to know the difference.

Lanée Blaise [00:29:28]:

Yeah, we're going to put that in our blog as well.

Katelyn Anderson [00:29:32]:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can't and the wisdom to know the difference. That piece right there, that makes all the difference for me sometimes to just remind myself So that's something else that I go to. Like you said, Linning, if you're having a day where something big is coming up, or that there's something that's going to be out of your control to just practice what you can and let go of the rest.

Sandy Kovach  [00:30:02]:

Wow. I love it. Now, I want to remind folks again about your cozy case kickstarter. But before we do that, did we get through your whole list?

Katelyn Anderson [00:30:12]:

Only two left and we already touched on them. Digital Devices. Be careful of the blue light. Essentially, if you're more sensitive to blue light and scrolling through and watching television, don't do it. And then the last one is as best as you can set a regular sleep schedule. So just try to within an hour window or so, go to bed at the same time each night and wake up at the same time each morning. And that was it. We pretty much touched on all of them.

Sandy Kovach  [00:30:41]:

I love your tips.

Lanée Blaise [00:30:42]:

Yeah, I think we always have a time at the end called takeaway time. I just want to remind people, too, that as far as sometimes therapy is necessary, sometimes speaking with your medical doctor is necessary to make sure that you have the proper amounts of magnesium and vitamin B. And vitamin D. Make sure you've got your water and your electrolytes and things going on within your body to help with your sleep as well, because it can be something that's psychological and physiological and medical consider stretching. I love stretching. Sometimes in the morning or in the evening. Kind of a nice, long, relaxed stretch where we're not rushing it or anything like that. Just to get that body feeling good.

Lanée Blaise [00:31:23]:

And then I love meditation and apps, the calm app. And like I said, that little sleep podcast. Different things to give you affirmations if you don't already have them, or to do like Caitlin said, and have some that are readily available to you, even if you have to stick them up on the wall or put them in your phone or something, so that you have something tangible to say to yourself and to have it handy. Any other takeaways that you have for us?

Katelyn Anderson [00:31:50]:

One takeaway that I feel like directly relates to your podcast and your mission is hope to understand that whether it be an anxious mind or medical conditions or other mental health symptoms or disorders, there is hope in being able to find the right tools to equip you to sleep better. And I think patience and self love and self compassion are huge when it comes to sleeping well. And the self compassion and the self love are two things that people seem to struggle with. And I think that that's something that really needs to be highlighted as being patient and kind to yourself in order to be able to practice and be consistent, to see what works well for you. So there is hope even when there seemingly doesn't feel like there's any when people lose hope, that's when you start to not give yourself opportunities that really might benefit you.

Sandy Kovach  [00:32:50]:

Yeah. And there are so many things that can happen to you mentally and physically when you lack sleep. So make this a priority. Take some of Caitlin's tips and get her little cozy pillow. Right? So let's do that. Remind one more time on that cozy case.

Katelyn Anderson [00:33:09]:

The link to the Kickstarter campaign will.

Sandy Kovach  [00:33:12]:

Be where, again, imagine yourselfpodcast.com.

Katelyn Anderson [00:33:15]:

Imagine Yourselfpodcast.com is where you can find the link to our Kickstarter. And it's bigger than just me or my company. It really is to support the mental health community, to disrupt the adult bedding and sleep industry, to say that mental health as it relates to sleep is so important and that adults need comforting too. And there should be no shame in finding comfort in something that's soft and plush and makes you feel good.

Lanée Blaise [00:33:46]:

Absolutely. Oh, Caitlin, we want to thank you so much for being our guest, for sharing these tips and resources. We just want to make sure that everybody out there understands who's dealing with this. You're not alone. We see you. We understand. We have compassion, and that there may not be a magic formula that fits everybody. But as you can tell from the different things that we've talked about today, there are solutions.

Lanée Blaise [00:34:13]:

Some work for you, some don't. And if you're patient with yourself and loving with yourself, you can find a road that works for you if you keep that hope. That's what Caitlin was telling us. Thank you for being with us.

Katelyn Anderson [00:34:26]:

Thank you so much. This was a blast, ladies. I appreciate you having me.

Lanée Blaise [00:34:31]:

Absolutely. We appreciate having you too. And we just want to say to everyone, imagine yourself gently lovingly regularly getting the restful and restorative sleep that you need night after night. Sleep well, my friends.

Sandy Kovach  [00:34:48]:

Thanks for listening. Hope this information was helpful for you. If you or someone you know has sleeping issues, you can get more info, and that includes contact info for Caitlin and her cozy case at Imagine Yourselfpodcast.com. You'll also find ways to contact us and our social media links Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. We'd love to keep in touch with you all of our info, as always@imagineyourselfpodcast.com.