Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Rest better tonight

Welcome if you’ve come over from my devotion published at P31 today. Pause and go read it if you missed it.  And if you like to write, be sure and check out my last post and jump in on the carnival fun – you could win a prayer journal. As promised, here’s six practical tips for better rest.

1) Declutter your bedroom. Begin this today – finish it as soon as possible. Work on it section by section this week until you’re done.

What you’re thinking when you nod off affects your sleep, and your mood when you wake up.  If you are surrounded by stuff, projects, things that need sewing, things that need cleaning, things that need putting away, things that need giving away, things that belong downstairs, when you lay down you are going to feel like there is so much you still need to do.  When you wake you will feel already behind.  (Translation: you will feel self-defeated and guilty about resting.) Get that stuff out of your resting space!

2) Strictly limit what comes into your room.  This is how you hold the line once you’ve decluttered.  Let your bedroom serve a few main purposes: relaxing or sleeping, dressing, and intimacy with your spouse.  You may be surprised at how much decluttering can help with that last one. It’s not that you can’t read in bed or wrap a present on the bed sometimes but don’t make your home office in your bedroom.  Or set up your crafting business in your bedroom.  If you have no place else in your home to do such things, figure out how to put it all away or out of sight at night. That will signal your brain that creative/work time is over.

3) Pray. Spend sometime unwinding with God.  Pray through stressful issues from your day – turning your troubles over to Him.  Give Him thanks for blessings from your day – reminding yourself He is good, powerful and trustworthy.  This is how you turn laying down to sleep (or a warm bath before bed) into a spiritual discipline. Drift off with your worries released and your mind centered on Him.

4) Keep a notebook by your bed. If to-do type thoughts come to you while you are trying to fall asleep, or trying to pray,  jot them down and then let them fall from your mind.  The paper will remind you tomorrow. You can also jot down things that come to you as you pray.  Or write down a few things you are thankful for from that day to jumpstart your prayer time.

5) Give yourself permission to invest in your rest. Do you like it dark?  Get lined curtains. Put your bedside lamp on a dimmer switch.  Sleep better when cool? Invest in a programmable thermostat that automatically makes it cooler at night but brings the temp back up in time to wake.  Is it time for a new pillow or mattress? We spend 1/3 of our lives asleep.  Think about how quick you are to go buy something you will wear once to a special event!

6) Exercise. As a small little shoe company would say, just do it. What ever time of day works for you. Whatever exercise works for you – even a 15-20 minute brisk walk around the neighborhood works wonders.  Just do it several times a week.  You will rest better.

So, which of these do you need to do? Got any strategies that help you unwind for rest? Post a comment and be entered to win a copy of my new book It’s No Secret: Revealing Divine Truths Every Woman Should Know (follow the link to preview the first couple chapters or peek inside at Amazon). Tomorrow I’ll announce the winner, post more tips, link to some articles, and share some specific products that help me rest.

Sweet dreams!

53 comments:

  1. I need to do just about everything on your list. Clutter is the biggest though. We are living with my in-laws so my room becomes the catch all for stuff that I don't want to be in their way or that I don't want someone to throw away.
    Robin

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'll take one of everything please...my husband uses our floor for his laundry basket and the dresser for his junk drawer...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Rachel,

    Your devotion & post was exactly what I needed today. The last several weeks have been extremely busy. I had already blocked today out as a day of rest. When I read your devotion it was God's way of saying "rest in me".

    I will be linking to your devotional carnival tonight or tomorrow.

    Have a blessed day,

    Mary

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you for your "unknown" support. Recently I moved to housing on campus at the seminary I attend and "uncluttered" belongings. Plus I left a job that required three hours of driving for eight hours of work. Somehow the studying for a full-time courseload didn't happen. The idea of "rest, rise, work" seems sensible and I will try living that way. Thanks again!

    MaryMac

    ReplyDelete
  5. My husband and I needed this today! We have livestock; we both work OFF of the farm and we are renovating a 120 yr old house.. Needless to say we are exhausted! The concept of putting rest first is one that I would happily adopt...but it also triggers a need to put God, home and family first as well! Thanks for the reminder.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Rachel--did you look in my bedroom before you posted this??? Did you see the stack of t-shirts--about 100--on the chair that will hopefully be turned into a quilt for my senior child? Or, did you notice the clean clothes that didn't quite make it to their respective drawers last night'cause I was simply too tired to put them away? Or...the list grows! Declutter the bedroom is on my agenda! Thanks for the subtle and sweet reminder!
    Hugs!
    Susan

    ReplyDelete
  7. Dear Rachel,

    These restful tips were very encouraging and definitely were pointers toward what I have to do get better rest and to increase my exercise regimen. God wants me to be at rest when I sleep, and to not be anxious every time I wake in the morning, as well as reorganizing my room.

    God Bless,

    Dori

    ReplyDelete
  8. Rachel - your words on Encouragement to day were great! Just last night I was reading a devotion before bed and it reference Psalm 16:7 about God instructing us in our sleep! I thought that sounded wonderful. Then your words telling us about how sleep was the "beginning" of our day - it makes perfect sense!

    Angela

    ReplyDelete
  9. I appreciate your words about sundown to sundown being the day - I think there's a lot to that. And uncluttering the bedroom - mine is pretty good, but my new husband and I are "discussing" rather a TV belongs in there or not.

    ReplyDelete
  10. How true your advice is! I matches the advice I was given at "Pain Camp" - three weeks of thereapy and counseling learning to handle my chronic pain of fibro-myalgia. Another good idea - is to remove the TV from the room if possible - to listen to relaxing music instead of distrubing news or action show before trying to go to sleep. I like CD's with nature, ocean sounds - I can imagine relaxing on beach somewhere and let the waves carry me out to float to sleep in the arms of my Heavenly Father.

    Once again, Thanks - and hoping to win your book!
    Patricia Grable
    patricia.grable@wsdtx.org

    ReplyDelete
  11. Emily B (emleepc@yahoo.com)October 20, 2010

    I do keep the paper by the bed, and sometimes see some interesting stuff scrawled on the notepad the next morning. It does work! Women especially have troubled turning our brains off, so to speak, the get proper rest, and it even wakes us up in the middle of the night.

    I know that I need to have more prayer time before I sleep, as that will go a long way to helping me get complete rest.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I loved your devotional today about beginning our rest at sundown. Awesome! and thank you :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. My tip is to not feel guilty about resting. God has commanded us to take a Sabbath and yet we feel like we have to keep going to get it all done. Take a rest...God will help you do the rest for sure!

    Prayers and blessings,
    Rebecca

    ReplyDelete
  14. God spoke through your devotion today. This morning I awoke to a wet ground outside, thanking the Lord for rain after weeks of dryness. The weeds were even dying. He definitely does His work while we rest. And when we awake, if we look, we can see it!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thank you for giving me a new perspective on rest, sleep, and when my day truly begins. Rest is always the last thing on my "to do" list...now it will be the first. Resting in Him!
    Thank you!!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Rachel, I so enjoy your blog and this one was nothing less than awesome! It makes me want to go home and finish decorating our master bedroom! I have already tried to make it a "haven of rest" but still need to finish! This blog has motivated me!

    Thanks for your dedication to Christ and for your blog!

    Cleta

    cleta.greene@lexisnexis.com

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thanks for this post, Rachel, as I think it is such a critical message for our generation. Everyone is stumbling around like zombies! How can we accomplish God's will in such a state? And just FYI: before the invention of the light bulb, people slept an average of 10 hours a night, while the current average is 6.9 on weeknights and 7.5 on the weekends.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thanks for the tips on how to rest better. I rise and feel as if I was working in my sleep. This message is for me. I need to start exercising and applying prayer before I sleep. Definitely going to incorporate some of these tips.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I needed to read your list today. I think clutter in my bedroom is my issue. I did not realize it was "such a big" issue, until I read it in black and white. Thank you for sharing your wisdom.

    ReplyDelete
  20. We seem to run in and out for all our family activities and the bedroom is the "hiding place" for all the stuff not put in it's place. Yikes, I better go declutter!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I try to hand over my problems or worries each night so I can rest peacefully. I need to work on de-cluttering though! Thanks for this giveaway!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Our bedroom is really not cluttered, but my mind is when I go to bed. So, I'll start by decluttering my mind through prayer. I also need to exercise!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Thank you for that post today. The pile of laundry that I walk around as I get up to feed my baby each night really does have me constantly feeling like there is so much to be done everywhere. I will start there today! :)

    ReplyDelete
  24. I need to turn off the t.v. earlier!

    ReplyDelete
  25. I love this list! It is so hard not to combine our bedroom and office space because we are still in an apartment. . .we have to be creative :-)

    Thank you for the advice!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Another thing that can be added is that the new day starts in the evening so why do we not set apart the most valuable thing we have and that is time for the Father. I have understood this for some time now and I tithe at least one hour of my new day to the Father before I go to sleep so that in turn I may hear from him in peace and stillness what he wants me to hear from him.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I have to unwind before going to bed. I cannot sleep if my mind is racing with thoughts of the day or the things to do the next morning and afternoon. I have found keeping a notebook next to the bed to jot down thoughts really helps. A cup of hot tea and a good book help me unwind too.

    Thanks for the insight on Jewish tradition. I have never thought about my day beginning with rest.

    ReplyDelete
  28. I heard a pastor say once that to sleep in means to go to bed earlier. If the evening is the beginning of the day, it makes sense. I think he is on to something. I love to go to bed early and rise early feeling refreshed.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Rachel, Thank you for this devotion. I have so many things running through my brain from work and our kids, that I haven't been sleeping at night. It's been a cycle because the less I sleep, the more fretful and stressed I am during the day. Seeing your suggestions showed me that I need a space to be calm in so that I can hear God talk to me. Thank you..Sharon

    ReplyDelete
  30. Permission to rest, that one hits home the most. Women are constantly feeling as if we have to be everything to everyone and if we don't get it all done we are a failure. We can't get it all done and I along with so many of my friends have stories of staying up all hours trying to clean the house and get cookies baked for bake sale. God uses those blissful hours of sleep to speak to us in our dreams and we rob ourselves of those moments by not allowing ourselves to slow down. Thank you for the wonderful reminder.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Thanks for the info. I have gotten the word last year "If your house is cluttered your mind will be cluttered also". I have started the process of decluttering my bedroom of paper.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Listening to soft music before sleep is something I really enjoy, but don't do often enough. Also, after reading your devotion today, I decided to try adding an evening prayer time of gratitude and requesting His help with whatever issue arose that day.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Ashley BenderOctober 20, 2010

    Thank you for your reminders on how important rest is. We are able to rest because God never does! One of my favorite ways to unwind is a nice soak in the tub. There's something so old-fashioned about a bath that helps me to re-prioritize & relax. The other? Praying myself to sleep....

    ReplyDelete
  34. I stretch and do a little progressive relaxation to help my body unwind. I pray and lift my thoughts to the Father to help my mind and spirit unwind. mheard11@frontier.com

    ReplyDelete
  35. I have been exercising more, and I've noticed that I feel less tired, even though I still don't get enough sleep. I live in a small room that has everything in it, but my bed faces the window so when I'm in it I don't see all the papers or the clutter along the wall. Also, my husband (we are living separately because of my studies) and I started praying every night by phone, and when we don't, I don't sleep as well. He has odd days, I have even. That really helps me sleep better, because we can never go to bed angry.

    ReplyDelete
  36. For me, the decluttering is a HUGE undertaking. We have a very small closet, we have shelves that hold some of our pants/shorts that have no room in our dressers, shelves of books, and my dresser is piled high with clothes, laundry, mending, etc. I can't imagine... but yes, the clutter is less than restful. If I can get it done, I am for sure gonna need to draw a line at what can come in the door. We have such a small house, that it is nearly impossible to find a place for everything... a 2 bedroom house, with 2 kids and 2 cats! Very small square footage!

    I think those two are my biggest problems. Thanks for the devotional and for this post. It has given me a lot to think on, and a realization of the rest coming BEFORE the work.

    Thank you!
    Heather

    ReplyDelete
  37. I need to do all of the above. Wow - what a great reminder. Thank you, Rachel!!
    I especially appreciate the thought that sleep is a gift; not a must...

    ReplyDelete
  38. I need to fit in more intimate, quiet time with God. I pray frequently throughout my day, but I feel this sense of rushing around so I have a difficult time stopping and just "being"----being in His presence, being still and quiet. This is something I struggle with and I ask for His help and guidance with this.

    Amy Vitale

    ReplyDelete
  39. Definitely exercise! We're traveling many miles by car, visiting family members and the exercise has been very limited, so that's a priority the next few days for me.

    ReplyDelete
  40. This was very timely for me since last night was one with the least hours slept in a long time. I needed to get up after tossing in bed for 45 minutes to pray and read for another hour or so and let my mind unclutter. Thanks Rachel for the tips and the insight on the priority rest should receive rather than only getting the amount of rest that is left after we have tried to get everything on our list done. When I prepare for rest, which didn't happen last night, sometimes a bath, but using the essential oils of Lavender and Frankincense for resting and prayer as a spritz on my pillow or in the hot wax of a burning candle, helps to declutter my mind and puts it in a prayerful state.
    Thanks again. Great reminders.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Shannon RiceOctober 20, 2010

    I never realized how important it is to get rest! I usually only get 4 or 5 hours of sleep each night, if I'm lucky. I know my exhaustion has effected my relationship with God as well as my family. After I post my comment my son and I are going to go declutter my room...hopefully tonight I will reconnect with God in prayer the way I used to. Thank you so much for the tips and especially for your ministry!

    Shannon Rice

    ReplyDelete
  42. Your post today was just the impetus I needed to keep working on getting my bedroom finished. It was put off until last while we worked on the rest of the house this summer, and it became a place to put alot of stuff that didn't need to be in the rest of the house. I definitely am trying to get a little more rest each evening, whether I feel like I need it or not. I love the idea of beginning my "day" (evening) with rest.

    ReplyDelete
  43. So It's almost time for rest and I am just now reading the devotional and blog. Loved it! So much truth. I have much to ponder!

    ReplyDelete
  44. I love the idea of starting my day by resting. I have a hard time giving myself permission to relax. Perhaps if I saw that time as the opportunity to give up my control of the waking world to God and use it to offer back my thanksgiving, it might change my view. I'm sure my family would appreciate being more relaxed at night. They're probably tired of putting away their laundry I've been folding on their way to bed.

    ReplyDelete
  45. I follow all your practical tips but the Exercise. I used to play tennis 3 times a week and I slept like a baby. Now that I don't, I don't sleep well. The "Dog Whisperer" says if you exercise your dog it will be much calmer. I guess the same is true for us humans. I am going to get moving! Thanks for spurring me on.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Thank you so much for this post! Viewing your day as starting in the evening is a great idea! I have an established routine before resting because I have anxiety attacks at night. Having a routine before sleeping is a good way to get your body and soul ready to rest. I drink hot tea and read an inspirational book every night. I use a book light so I don't disturb my husband, and I don't have to get up to turn off the light when I am sleepy. When I close my eyes I focus on how God is "working the night" shift for me. He is my never sleeping Father who holds me in his arms all night long.

    ReplyDelete
  47. I am so bad about that bedroom clutter!

    I just loved your devotional about the rest part of the day coming first. I learned that several years ago and have always been struck by the beauty of that.

    in fact, I have resolved that tonight is all about rest. no writing time, no reading time, just going straight to bed.

    thanks for keeping it real.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Laying Me Down to Sleep was really good. We all need rest. But sometimes it is hard to do. We have to unwind our minds before we try to go to sleep at night. Go over the things that happened today, sift through them-the good with the bad. Praise God for the good and give Him the bad. I also like your idea about the notebook beside your bed. Think I will give that one a try. It's No Secret sounds exciting!

    ReplyDelete
  49. I like to unwind before bed by reading. I definitely need more rest...as a mom of two young boys I never seem to get enough! Decluttering my bedroom needs to become a priority...everything that doesn't have a home seems to end up in our bedroom! Thanks for these tips and reminders!

    ReplyDelete
  50. I haven't slept well since I got married, six years ago. I used to wake up naturally, without an alarm, and slept through the night. Now I wake way before my husband's alarm goes off at 4:45 most mornings. I've tried Melatonin, 5-HTP, bedtime teas, yoga, sleep masks, therapeutic oils. I've gotten so used to not sleeping now that I've just accepted it!
    I can't wait to read your book!
    Caroline

    ReplyDelete
  51. Thank you for your devotion today. What an intriguing difference in switching how we look at our days and the importance of rest!

    As for what I need to do, I especially need to declutter and limit what comes in the room. Our room is just about everything right now: laundry sorting place, playroom with my son, reading station, library (books EVERYwhere), resting place (what? rest?), and more!

    I also do need to invest time for sleep and in solid sleep (hard to do with a young one, but s-o-o-o important).

    Thanks for these great tips!

    ReplyDelete
  52. Jennifer W.October 21, 2010

    Your devotion on P31 was absolutly what I needed. I have recently been struggling with not being able to wake up in the morning and it setting our family up for a bad day. Getting better rest at night I'm sure will help. Decluttering my room is up there on the to do list, the others are a VERY close second!!

    ReplyDelete
  53. Rachel, thank-you so much for your devotional. God's timing is amazing! I have been dealing with lack of sleep for a few weeks now, and cannot keep functioning like this. Waking with a busy mind during the night when you know you need to be 'on' in the morning is sooo frustrating! Your devotional is a reminder for me to lay my cares in the Lord's hands as I go to sleep. I really like the concept of beginning our day with rest and ending with the work. It definitely put a different perspective on sleep.

    pam

    ReplyDelete

Chime in.