You’ve laid out your clothes for tomorrow morning’s run. You’ve got your water bottles ready and filled with your electrolyte recovery drink. You’ve set your alarm for dark thirty in the morning. Your head its the pillow and your proud of yourself for getting to bed at a decent hour. You’re thinking how good it is that you will be rested and ready not only for your early morning run, but to take on the rest of the day.
Then it happens…your mind wanders to another thought and then to another and another. The next thing you know you are wide awake. You cannot shut your brain down to fall asleep. An hour later you are still tossing and turning. Frustration! That perfect amount of sleep you thought you were going to get is dwindling away and now you keep reminding yourself how tired you will be in the morning. Ugh!
This has happened to me too many times to count. I tend to be a night owl and so when I make the commitment to start getting to bed earlier and get my run in the first thing in the morning I feel so proud of myself. Then for some reason I just can’t shut my brain off and fall asleep. Why? I’m really tired, yet my brain is on go like I just sucked down a pot of coffee!
Then there are those time I wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom or to let the cat out. I crawl back into bed and spend the next hour and a half trying to fall back asleep. When my alarm goes off I feel so groggy because I had finally just gotten back into that deep sleep.
What’s a runner to do? Our sleep plays a key role in our training!
Good news! I am going to share with you a strategy that I have found to work like a charm! You see today we are so overstimulated by our environment that it is hard to turn off our minds and just relax. From, laptops, to tablets, to smart phones, not to mention the TV or background music. Think about it, how many times do you get in your car and just drive along in silence? This constant stimulation can wreak havoc on our bodies because we are always on go!
So what is the solution? It’s the Gratitude Prayer.
Take the focus off of yourself, off of your to-do list, off of your worries and concerns. Instead focus on your blessings. Think about the things in your life for which you grateful. From material blessings to intangible things such as health or a special skill. They can be big such as vacation, a new job, or new running shoes or small and simple such as soft pillow, a clean car, or the sound of rain outside.
Now when your head hits the pillow express your gratitude to God for your blessings. Try to list 10 things that make you happy and grateful. Try as you might to list 10, you will fall asleep before then. You see when you worry or allow yourself to be on constant go, it takes over and consumes your mind. But when you give thanks for what you already have, God returns the favor and allows you to slip into peaceful sleep. “And my God will meet all of your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Philippine 4:19
Time to quit counting sheep and start counting blessings with the Gratitude Prayer! Make sure to leave a comment below and share your blessings! Got a strategy to fall asleep that works for you? Share it below!
