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Feb 13, 2023Liked by Jacqueline Nesi, PhD

Re: footnote 6: Uggghhhhh the signup windows and the web sites from 1998!!!!!!! WHY?! I feel you.

Unqualified advice based on an anecdote from one person's life: I never had a problem sleeping in my life until a couple years into a really stressful job. When I quit the job, my sleep got better. Everyone quit your job! You can just do that, right? Right?!

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In the middle of very difficult period in our life, my husband and I started to read travel books out loud to each other before we turned out the lights. We are not big travelers, but have, over the years, traveled up and down the Amazon, paddled around Alaska, crossed the Sahara, climbed the Himalayas, and gone on many journeys together. We have also found this a very soothing before bed ritual. You can stop anywhere (or fall asleep while partner is reading) and not lose the plot, it provides a kind of intimacy that helps repair some of the stresses of the day that are pushing you apart, and it definitely helped us both go to sleep.

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We have a new rule about not talking about politics or work in the bedroom after a 11pm

argument about whether it’s economically/environmentally better to drive our civic til it dies or replace with an electric. (Drive it til it dies, clearly...)

My son has a soothing (for him) routine of audiobook, made up story, happy thoughts, and song. It’s a palaver but he goes to sleep 5 minutes after that.

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Feb 13, 2023Liked by Jacqueline Nesi, PhD

I always ask my husband existential questions right before sleep, he “loves it” and finds it very relaxing when I wake him up just as he’s falling asleep. I also remember stupid grocery list items, work to do’s and random kid related things as well.

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Yes! This is so important. I'm better at doing this with my kid (making him unplug and go to bed) than I am with myself, and the consequences are always unpleasant.

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