 Health & Nutrition
Thoughts on
Aging
Tricks to Falling Asleep - December 8, 2011
(2 minutes: 13 seconds)
 WMA (audio
only)
Audio/Video Script:
Dr. LaVona Traywick
Assistant Professor - Gerontology
[Announcer] Welcome to Thoughts on Aging with Dr. LaVona Traywick,
Assistant Professor of Gerontology with the University of Arkansas Division of
Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service.
[Dr. LaVona Traywick] For some senior adults, falling asleep at night
isn’t as easy as it used to be. For me, I have a hard time falling alsleep
because I can’t turn my brain off. I keep thinking of all sorts of other
things, like what I have to do at work tomorrow and what should I get Austin for
his birthday. What helps me is I focus on the tip of my nose. I block out all
of the other thoughts except the tip of my nose. Not that my nose is so special, but it
keeps me from thinking my random thoughts and as I focus on one topic,
everything else fades away then I fall asleep.
Now in case you don’t want to think
about your nose, here are some other tricks to help you fall asleep. Now you don’t
really have to count sheep—but you could try counting slowly to 100. Some people
find that playing mental games makes them sleepy. For example, tell yourself
it’s 5 minutes before you have to get up, and you’re just trying to get a few
extra winks. Other people find that relaxing their body puts them to sleep. You
might start by telling yourself that your toes feel light as feathers and then
work your way up the rest of the body saying the same words. You may drift off
to sleep before getting to the top of your head.
If you feel tired and unable to
do your activities for more than 2 or 3 weeks, you may have a sleep problem.
So talk to your doctor about changes you can make to get a better night’s sleep.
If you want more information, check out our website
at www.uaex.edu. Thanks for
listening.
[Announcer] Thank you for listening to Thoughts on Aging with Dr. LaVona
Traywick. To learn more about this and other topics, contact your local county
Cooperative
Extension Service office.
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