There is a rather silly-sweet irony with this post: I came up with it during the early dark hours of this morning…while I was very much awake.
But last night was one of a few exceptions to an otherwise record-breaking sleeping achievement.
Three months ago we started this rather epic road trip. After the first few mornings of waking as if I had been drugged in the night, I asked Kevin how he was sleeping. He was having the same response. He couldn’t remember when he’d last slept so well.
At first I thought we were just exhausted from the previous months of sorting, editing, packing and generally dealing with all our stuff before we could start this trip. But then another week went by and another and it became increasingly clear that something else was going on.
So I’ve been thinking about the new conditions of our life and came up with this:
Nature – The latest studies now tell us that it doesn’t even matter if we are outside. Apparently, even just looking at a picture of nature helps destress and relax our brains. We amp that effect up dramatically when we are actually living our day-to-day life outside. The nature effect referred to in this National Geographic article demonstrates that if we immerse ourselves in the natural world for only three days, our brains show a huge improvement in creative problem-solving and our stress markers plummet.
Birdsong – we spent two nights at Lac Le Jeune Provincial Park (just south of Kamloops, BC) where we heard the endless calling of the loons. There is no other bird call that brings me so much pleasure. It embodies everything beautiful, haunting, mournful and hopeful. For me, there is only one other sound (that is not in the natural world) that conjures up the same response; the sound of a far-off train whistle. Apparently birdsong also calms our brains and a calm brain is much more likely to release itself into sleep-mode.
Darkness – We spend many evenings staring into a crackling fire before digging into our little cave bed in the back of the pod to read paper books. No television, no computer screens, a completely digital-free night time ritual that I (and many studies like this one) can’t recommend enough.
Cave – I don’t have any studies to back this up but it just makes sense to me. Maybe it’s why I’ve always been drawn to attic-rooms. Maybe it’s why dogs love their kennels…it’s the safety of the vault. Our bed is tucked in the back of the RPod, the back wall sloping down into a nice cave-like grotto. Is that one of the reasons that I feel like someone knocks me on the head with a huge rock, tumbling me down into the depths of cavernous sleep each night?
Hiking – We’re certainly not hiking every day. There are quite a few days that entail a lot of driving. But even then we are looking at incredible views. Years ago I used to sit in the passenger seat and read. Now, I just watch the shifting landscape, completely gobsmacked by the mountains, meadows and forests. But exercise from walking and hiking out on trails adds a whole other level of heart-healthy exhaustion. Exercise and immersion in nature is a remedy for just about anything we can imagine.
Cold – We’ve been joking throughout this trip about our summer that never happened. Aside from a brief period in Saskatchewan in June, it has only been in the last few days that I’ve gone to bed without throwing our wool blanket on top of the down duvet. But the chilly night air is one of the conditions that is conducive to a deeper sleep. Not sure what will happen as the summer progresses and our trailer heats up but I’m sure all the other conditions will help keep us dropping down into that wonderful well of sleep.
Sleep is a beautiful and restorative remedy. I am feeling so blessed and grateful for its gift. I hope this post (with its linked studies) is helpful for anyone who is struggling with insomnia. Happy Sleeping!
PS – if you enjoy reading my posts, I would really appreciate it if you would please share them in any way you can.
Colleen, I love the sound of the loon (the black throated diver in Britain), I have seen them but never heard them. It is a haunting sound conducive to sleep….. The Radium Hot Springs look impressive. Thank you for the photos.
Sleeping …. Never had any problems with that , I notice that when I spend the day either walking, gardening or working outside for conservation I sleep much better and deeper.
I remember when we walked the TMB (Tour du Mont Blanc) after every hike, by 9.30 pm in the evening I would drop to sleep and sleep soundly to the next morning for another hike.
Yes, nature and physical exercises are a marvellous soporific.
Thank you for the blog.
Catherine, it sounds like you’ve been living the prescription all along. Being physically spent, especially when it’s combined with the outdoors is the answer to probably most of our modern maladies.
I hope that one day you hear the divers/loons in nature. It’s something that I can’t get enough of. I know that with your love of nature, would especially appreciate the calls.
Colleen, I’m going to have to agree completely with your conclusion. The first few nights we spent at our cabin in Blue Ridge – where we had no cable, no Internet… and no city lights to wreck havoc with our starlit evenings on the back screen porch — we both slept like logs. I remember thinking that it was probably the first time I’d slept through the night in years! Cool mountain breezes. Chorus of tree frogs outside our window. Nature. Darkness. Quiet. It all makes sense to me. No Ambien needed!
You are the living proof Gwen.
Your cabin sounds divine and clearly the required antidote to city living. I love imagining your screened back porch.
This experiment is teaching me a lot.
These reasons are every reason that I choose to live where I do. Nature, dark, birds , all of it and more. I can never go back to a land of high population and light pollution, the spell has been cast. ????????????????
I totally get it Kathy. It’s hard to give up the connection to nature.
Yet another reason to do a year in an rPod. I suppose you have a waiting list of folks who want to inherit yours… 😉
Ha! No one lining up Shelly. I recently met a woman at a campsite. Her husband dragged us over so that he could try to convince her to downsize as he thought it all looked great. She came inside, looked around and said, “How long have you been doing this?” I told her. She looked at me and said, “You’re crazy.”
I think her husband has a little more work to do…
We recently returned from the very windy, very fresh Magdalen Islands, where my family and I slept like babies, especially on the nights we slept in an oceanside room with the window open. I am certain it was the fresh air, the sound of the ocean and the wind, the salt from the sea. It was wonderful!
Hi Helen, I’m sure you’re right. I don’t doubt the miraculous effects of the ocean air. We lived by the Pacific for years and now that I think about it, those nights were rather epic for sleeping too. Hmmmm…I think I’m making a correlation with my city living and interrupted sleep. OH. OH.