Difficulty Getting Out of Bed
Difficulty Getting
Out of Bed
An a.m. Jump-Start for Mind and Body
There's 50 times more information written about an exotic virus that most of us probably won't contract than there is about a problem that's likely to affect every single woman at least once in her lifetime: the ubiquitous, but seldom fatal, disorder unofficially known as "difficulty getting out of bed in the morning."
WHY ARE YOU STUCK?
No self-help group, no 12-step program, no not-for-profit support organization, no newsletter exists to aid those in need of a little push in the morning. But happily, there are some medical experts familiar with the problem. Here's what they advise.
Think like Scarlett O'Hara. "Women sometimes have trouble getting out of bed because they exhaust themselves ruminating over their problems in the middle of the night," says Margaret Jensvold, M.D., director of the Institute for Research on Women's Health in Rockville, Maryland. "Then they feel too tired to move in the morning. So when they go to bed at night, I urge them to put aside their worries until the next day."
What Women Doctors Do
The Rosemary Alarm Clock Jeanne Rose As president of the National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy and author of The Aromatherapy Book, Jeanne Rose knows the link between pleasant scents and well-being--and uses selected scents to help her start the day fresh. "In my bedroom I have two scent diffusers set on timers. In the morning I wake to the reviving, refreshing aroma of rosemary; at bedtime, I go to sleep with the relaxing scent of ylang-ylang. I always wake refreshed and raring to go." You can buy essential oils of rosemary and ylang-ylang, among other relaxing or refreshing scents, at aromatherapy shops. Look for true essential oils, not synthetics. Scent diffusers can be purchased at aromatherapy shops or by mail order from Amrita Aromatherapy (call 1-800-410-9651). They cost about as much as a good toaster.
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Make plans. "Having difficulty getting going in the morning can be linked to depression," says Dr. Jensvold. "Though you may feel like withdrawing, you must make an action plan to carry you through the day. Account for every hour to give your day structure and to help you feel less anxious."
Think of a mental carrot and stick. "Plan your day while you're still in bed. Be sure to include some things that you really want to do," says Dr. Jensvold. "Maybe it's lunch with a dear friend, a manicure or an uninterrupted bubble bath. Make sure that you have spots of pleasure worked into every day's plan."
Take a wake-up bath, not a shower. "Showers are for cleansing; baths are for the mind," says Jeanne Rose, president of the National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy and author of The Aromatherapy Book. Rose recommends scenting a morning bath with essential oils like stimulating peppermint, rosemary or grapefruit. Spikenard oil, she says, is especially euphoric.
Take baby steps. Borrowing a technique that she uses when treating women for depression, Gillian Kaplin Adams, M.D., a family physician in private practice in Bel Air, Maryland, suggests taking one step at a time--literally. "Set very short term goals for getting out of bed." Tell yourself to first put your feet on the floor. Plan your path to the bathroom. Concentrate on how you'll literally walk through each step--then do it.
Get a life. "Sometimes women who have the most trouble getting out of bed each morning are those who have the least to do," says Carol North, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "Having nothing to do is an energy sapper. If no one needs you or wants you, you may feel as if you have no reason to rise each morning. Volunteer your services, offer your assistance to an overburdened friend, join a club or take some classes."
