If you have ever gone to an
Overeaters Anonymous (OA) meeting in your efforts to gain control over your
eating, you may have heard the acronym HALT which stands for Hungry, Angry,
Lonely Tired. OA teaches the importance of recognizing these states of being
and how to best respond to them, and I agree. In my books, I talk about the ”H” (hungry)
and its role in physical and emotional hunger. In this blog, I want to address the ”T”
(tiredness). Many people eat when they are tired because they are looking for a
burst of energy, something that will get them through the rest of the day.
In my book The Best Diet Begins in Your Mind –Eliminate the Eight Emotional
Obstacles to Permanent Weight Loss, I identify eight emotions over which
people eat. Tiredness is not listed among them. I was once asked why not? The
answer is simply that being tired is not an emotion. It is a physical need
which needs a physical response.
So what should you do when you are
tired? The answer is sleep! But what if sleep eludes you? That’s where the
practice of sleep hygiene comes in. Sleep hygiene tells us what to do to get
goodnight’s sleep. Here are some suggestions:
1. Keep
your bedroom as dark as possible. Use
blackout shades or a sleeping mask to block any extraneous light.
2. Set
a sleep schedule. Go to bed and wake up at the same time 365 days a year.
3. Avoid
caffeine and nicotine. These are both stimulants and can interrupt sleep.
4. Unwind
before bed. Turn off the TV, end heavy discussion and quiet your mind.
5. Avoid
the clock. Noting how much or how little sleep you are getting can be
counterproductive.
You can find more in my book Self-Fullness: The Art of Loving and Caring
for Your ‘Self.’
Until next time,
Dr.
Sheila
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