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[archmage]

-- Dragged out their lawnmower this past weekend to get the yard under control. Thing hasn't been run since last summer, so it was very ornery; still, it eventually got going. Got that done, and got out this morning with the string trimmer, shovel, and broom, and got the things edged and cleared. Job well done. This is now my responsibility,

Comments

[random_girl]

What has always worked for me with nightmares (and I recently read an article on but cannot find to cite), is to wake up, sit up, and think about the bad dream where it starts to go bad. Then I empower the me in the wake state to change the dream at that part; so if I open a jar and spiders flood over me, I instead leap away before they get me and use the fire from my hands to destroy them all (or I'm boring and don't open the jar--but setting things on fire that have scared me at 2 am are usually more appealing). I think about the dream and how I have control and I tell myself the story of the dream as I lie back down and head it in a direction that I enjoy and control.

It really helps me get the most out of my sleep.

Other things she can do:

--No caffeine after 2pm
--No sugar two hours before bed
--In the last hour before sleep, read or watch something that attracts the mind but is less likely to be a nightmare (David and I like to watch the Colbert Report or The Daily Show we've recorded from the night before).
--Get in 20 minutes of some kind of movement/exercise at least three times a week (a tired body can quiet the mind and the endorphins from the work out work to control serotonin re-uptake)
--Eat a little protein with every meal or snack (will prevent sugar crashes during the day which also crash serotonin levels).

Good luck to her (and you).