Daily writing prompt

What do you do to improve your sleep?

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This is a simple answer, but for other people they have their own ways to get the sleep that they want. As for me I used to have problems getting to sleep, but aside from using Valium, or other medications that have made me have a tolerance to these pills, they do not help very much, so I have had to find alternative ways of being able to get better sleep. So when I was training with this personal trainer that I hired to get me in the best shape. And may I say that it can get pricey for the better health you want, but you have to stay committed to it. During the middle point was when I saw that he, himself, would cold plunge. At first I was like that is crazy, but having the knowledge that I have tells me, maybe I should try it. Don’t get me wrong, my trainer was plunging at 45 degrees fahrenheit. 

Of course I did my research and knowing that a lot of athletes use cold plunging to recover, I figured it may be good for me too, especially with everything I have endured over the years. Before literally taking the plunge I would ask my trainer some questions, like how much time should you stay in? His answer and if you look it up too, you will see that it says that the max is like 11 minutes a week. In my case I wanted to make sure that I could get used to it and I started cheap and easy. I also started in the winter when I could get the best temperatures for the plunge. So now I have a watering trough used for horses and I would fill it with well water. I would then use a thermometer to make sure that the plunge was right. I would only plunge on the weekdays and rest on the weekends. At the time I was taking my plunges at 54 degrees fahrenheit and at 5 minute times. 

This pretty much means that you need to become mind over matter since it is cold, your body will start to shiver and your teeth will click together, but what I would do is bite down on a rolled up cloth to settle my mind down, listen to some music in some cases and then just meditate. After a while you start to see that various things are easier and that it helps. Nowadays I have purchased my very own professional plunge tank and I am able to start out slow since it’s been awhile. I will be starting at 65 degrees and then slowly move down. I hope to make it to maybe 35, and yes you are probably saying “you’re crazy!”, but guess what, look up the Russians, Swedes, and Norwegians and they could plunge and the coldest I have heard so far is -33 degrees, yes. True story, lol, if you know you know!