Hello sweet viewers, Ahn-Nyung! That means
hi in Korean. I'm Christine from Kimbop
TV empowering you to live a happier and
safer life, especially if you're a fellow
domestic violence survivor. So if you've
been having trouble falling asleep and
staying asleep, there's probably a good
reason why and also some solutions that
may be able to help you. In the days,
weeks and months after I left my abusive
relationship, I had constant nightmares
and was actually afraid to go to sleep. I
still have a hard time dealing with
nighttime and have tried a variety of
things to calm myself down. So today, I
want to be able to share with you five
things that have worked for me. And I'm
going to walk you through my current
step-by-step evening routine that helps
me to get some quality rest. Let's get
started.
When I was growing up, my grandma and my
mom told me not to go outside at night.
It's dangerous for girls.
I'll get kidnapped. Ddae Ddae Ajussi,
which is a kiddie way of saying a bad
guy in Korean, is lurking behind a bush
waiting for me to come out. Does any of
this sound familiar? If you're a Korean
girl, chances are yes. To this day, when my
husband wants to go on a neighborhood
walk after dinner, I tense up and tell
him matter-of-factly, "Hunny, it's gonna
get dark soon.
We shouldn't be going outside." To which
he says... because he wasn't raised
that way. As you can see, this fear of the
dark lingers forever for me. But add to
that the trauma of having been in a
physically abusive relationship. Bad
things did happen to me at night, but it
happened inside my home which was
supposed to be a safe place. So when I'm
alone at home and it's dark outside, I
freak out. I can't stand the silence and
always have to have music or some other
sound on. That's my first tip. If you have
trouble falling asleep at night, play
something that is soothing to you. My
therapist suggested I get a white noise
machine. It works sometimes for me but
other times the sound kind of bothers me.
I prefer to listen to either mellow
music or a motivational audiobook. I'll
list some of my favorite ones in my
Patreon blog, but just think about how
nice it is to listen to a soft voice,
kind of like they're reading you a
bedtime story. My second tip is to try a
natural sleep supplement before asking
the doctor to prescribe you something
stronger. When I worked the early morning
shift for local TV news, I had to go to
sleep by 6:00 p.m. and wake up at 2:30
a.m.That's when I discovered the power
of melatonin and valerian roots. I also
had really bad allergies, so my allergist
recommend that I take 2 Zyrtecs
every night. That transitioned into
Benadryl, but recently I learned that
Benadryl may lead to an increased risk
for dementia. So I'm trying to take less
of that and rely more on melatonin. My
third tip is to play a game that takes
your mind off of whatever it is that's
stressing you out. Try to play a
non-violent game, so no shooting and no
fighting. Candy Crush used to be my
favorite game app for the longest time.
And then it became TsumTsum then Andy's
Golf and now it's Toon Blast. Clearly, I
don't own a Nintendo Switch yet. In fact,
I've never owned a video game machine
like that before and wonder if it's a
good idea to start now. For those who
play Toon Blast, I'm currently on level
1647.
Playing this mindless game until I get
really drowsy helps me to naturally slip
into a deep sleep without negative
thoughts invading my head. Tip number four
is to take a hot shower or bath right
before you go to bed.
It helps me especially if I'm feeling
really tense. My muscles loosen up a bit,
and the fragrance of the shampoo, the
conditioner and the body wash or bath
fist if I'm taking a bath, relaxes me.
After a hot shower, I love putting on a
lotion that has a calming effect.
I tried CBD lotion for the first time
because it was on clearance at
Anthropologie. Just fYI, CBD does not have
THC which is what makes you high, so it's
not intoxicating in any way. It's just
very relaxing. Mint lotion and lavender
lotion also worked very well for me too.
And finally tip number five is to try an
essential oil diffuser. My friend gave me
one for a birthday or Christmas, I don't
know, a couple years ago. It's one of
those things that stayed in that
unworthiness closet that I talked about
in my last video. After months of just
sitting there though, my husband's like,
'Let's give it a try.' So we did, and oh my
gosh I love it so much. My friend also
sent with it six essential oil bottles,
each with a different scent- orange, tea
tree, lavender, eucalyptus, peppermint and
lemongrass. My favorites are lavender
and eucalyptus. So now that I've given
you my five tips, I want to walk you
through what my nighttime routine looks
like these days. About an hour or two before I
go to bed, I stop checking all social
media and head up to my room with a tall
glass of water.
I have Alexa, and I ask her to play
soft jazz. Hey Alexa, play soft jazz.
Here's a playlist you might like,
laid-back jazz on Amazon music. Sometimes
I ask her to play songs from my current
favorite singer, whose name is Tauren
Wells. He's got a very pleasant voice, and
I love listening to his lyrics. I take
my melatonin with a few big gulps of
water, put on my essential oil diffuser
then head to the shower with the music
still playing in the distance. I take a
very hot shower and remember how my
conditioner smells like Bacchus-D, a
Korean energy drink my grampa
used to like. The body soap that I'm
using right now smells like baby powder.
These scents signal to me that it's
time to go to sleep soon. After brushing
my teeth and washing my face, I settle
down in bed and turned the lights off. I
switch from music to my motivational
audiobook. And I listen while I play
Toon Blast until I get very sleepy. Then I
go to sleep and usually don't get up
until early morning. I noticed that when
I'm anxious before going to sleep,
chances are, I'm gonna have to make some
bathroom breaks in the middle of the
night. So it's important for me to relax
as much as I can, so that my bladder
doesn't wake me up. This routine also
helps me to avoid unwanted thoughts from
seeping into my unconscious mind. Because
my head is constantly being filled with
either soothing music or motivational
words for the hour or two before I fall
asleep, it lessens my chances of having
negative thoughts creeping in and
causing nightmares. So I hope this helps.
Let me know by commenting below what
helps you to fall asleep. If you enjoyed
this video, please give it a thumbs up
and share it with someone you think it
could help. And don't forget to subscribe
if you haven't done so
already. Thank you so much for watching,
and I look forward to seeing you again
soon. Bye.
