Chicks, Cows, and Sleep Hygiene, Marh 25, 2022

Day 85 of 365 blogs

Friday our chicks all made it through the night. They are drinking water with some apple cider vinegar in it for better health. They have plenty of space and here is hoping they all stay alive. We came up with a great solution for our cows. The pasture next to the corrals is where they are spending the winter. We put up a dividing fence today to split the pasture into. We have double corrals with each having access to the pasture. Now all the cows have access to grass, water and a corral, but Missy and her calf are separated. We will get milk in the morning. By the way, we love our Titan Gas Post Pounder. We are able to put posts in so quickly without strain on our bodies.

Chicks in their brooder
Chicks in their brooder

Nutritional and Sleep Education

As promised, I will talk about sleep hygiene today. This is a routine that allows the body to realize that it is time for sleep. I used to teach this to my participates in the residential rehab because they all had insomnia. My daughter is the best example of how to do sleep hygiene. She started it with her babies when they were just a few months old. With twins she was not getting any sleep so she devised a plan. After dinner, they were taken out of their high chairs, and either given a bath, or cleaned up and lotion was rubbed on them. They were put in their pajamas and then got to quiet play for a little while. Then the curtains were closed, lights turned dim, music put on and they were put in a sleeper jumper that had soft beads on their chest that felt like a human hand resting on their chest. The ocean sound maker was turned on in their bedroom and each baby was cuddled and fed their night bottle. Then they were, one by one, quietly carried into the dark room and placed in their crib. And they stayed there asleep for 10 – 12 hours every night and it continues to this day and they are over 30 months old. Imagine being the parent of babies, then toddlers, who do not wake up all night or get out of bed or crawl in your bed. Now liken this to you. When it

is evening and the chores of the day are completed, the entertainment is done and it is time to head to bed, here is a routine.

Choose the same time to go to bed each night as much as possible.

Prepare your body and mind for bed.

Make sure you are not hungry, but don’t eat sweets before bed, but do eat something if you need to.

Take a bath

Put on soft music

Get in cozy clothes

Turn off phones and blue screens.

Read a book

Have the room at a comfortable temperature

Sleep with “white sound” if that will help you.

Turn out your lights and sleep.I

f you need to take Melatonin once in a while, take 1 mg to 10 mg depending on your body. Your body can become used to melatonin so use carefully. It is harmless but if used every night may lose its effectiveness. Tomorrow we will talk about stress reduction to sleep.