I struggled for years with anxiety and depression. At the same time I had very little regard for my sleep. Sleep was basically an inconvenience.
I became interested in sleep about 10 years ago when I started to hear more about the benefits of sleep and how critical these processes are for everything from warding off disease to having a healthy mind. I started to take sleep much more seriously. I began to notice the positive impact of a good nights sleep. More optimism to take on the day. More curiosity. More courage to be authentic. Eating better. Exercising more.
This was when I really began to notice the challenges of getting a good nights sleep. Long, good quality, restful sleep, for many people, is very hard to come by on a regular basis. I was the same. Now I really wanted sleep, sleep became more and more elusive! Unfortunately I think there will be many people out there who can relate to this. I truly believe that I tried almost everything. Natural and pharmaceutical pills, teas and potions. Audible aids, from guided meditations to rain falling in some far away rainforest. Routines and sleep rituals. You name it.
One product that made a big difference for me was getting a weighted blanket. I have written about this experience in another blog post- Weighted Blanket vs My Insomnia. As my sleep started to improve, I began to notice that my periods of anxiety and depression got shorter and weaker. I am not saying that sleep was a magic bullet for my struggles. But what sleep did give me was a foundation to build upon. For me, defeating anxiety and depression was very hard. It was not a linear recovery either- there were peaks and troughs. But I can hand on heart say, sleep gave me the courage to do the work needed.
I created Somni to help people be their best. Somni is less about sleep and more about who you can become if you are sleeping well. My overall motivation for Somni is to help people be their best by empowering sleep.
Hamish