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starsaboveyouadoption · 5 years ago

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I wanted to start this blog by saying how delighted I am to have now hit over 100 followers. I always started this blog with the view to help as many people as possible navigate life as an adoptive parent in the UK, but knew that reach may be difficult, so if only one person benefitted, I would have been really pleased. Thank you to those of you continuing to tune in and read my ramblings and I hope that the blogs are proving useful to you, wherever you’re at in your journey.

Without further ado, if you’ve stuck with me so far, by now we’ve arrived at the point of introductions. The most surreal, amazing, wonderful and yet draining, exhausting, and nerve-wracking of white-knuckle rides. For many of us, this is the first time we have seen our child in the flesh, and it just can’t be overestimated how momentous this time is. For those of us who have seen photos or videos, we’ve had to feast on scraps for perhaps months at a time before arriving at this point, and may have been surviving on a stack of paperwork and a handful of pictures to help us “know” our child. Much like how I imagine it must be bizarre and surreal (whilst deliriously joyful) to meet your baby for the first time on them being born, we adopters are meeting a child, however small, who already comes with a lot of history, their own established personality, and (hopefully) a bond with a loving foster family. So we are jumping right in cold to a world that already existed without us in it for some time, even if for just a few months or years, so it’s no wonder we find ourselves at times feeling woefully insecure, full of trepidation and on the verge of hysteria amongst all the amazing happy stuff!

I’ll start by saying that introductions, while all of those scary things, is also a really life-defining experience. It’s not really feasibly comparable to anything else and it’s hard to make an equation to birth parenting, but I guess there’s something of the transformative nature that comes along with having gone through labour and child birth, whereby you emerge with a totally altered perspective on the other side. It doesn’t feel how you expect it to feel (sometimes in all the right ways) and many of us will thankfully have our anxieties somewhat alleviated when we meet what is usually the warm and loving foster family who are raising our child, but of course as with anything, there is huge variation in each adopter’s personal experience of introductions (or “transitions”) and a myriad of factors at play which make each journey so unique. There are, however, some common steps to the process I can share with you, and I’m happy to share some aspects of my own experience that may prove useful. I’ll caveat by saying that my experience was with an infant under 18 months, and so I’m unable to advise on the experience of introductions with older children, but I hope that whatever age your child, there are some of my tips that may help you on your way regardless.

I guess it makes sense to start with what introductions actually are, and the rationale for them. Basically, introductions refers to a period of time pre-agreed with all parties which serves as a transitional time for your child to make the change from being parented by their foster carers to being parented by you. For young babies and infants, a typical timeframe would be between 5-10 days, and for older children this might stretch into several weeks. Anecdotally, most adopters I know who have adopted under 2s have been looking at under 10 days. Our introductions lasted 8 days. The rationale for introductions is as follows:

· They serve as a way for you and your child to familiarise to each other. Up until now, they won’t have had any more than a possible “bump into” meeting with you (see my previous blog), but likely haven’t had any contact with you whatsoever. Not only do you as adopters need time to get to know your little one, they most importantly need time to attune to you, to feel safe in your presence and to be comfortable in being cared for by you

· Trauma and attachment research in adoption consistently shows the benefit of gradual, managed introductions to helping the child securely attach to their adoptive parents, and securely transfer their parental bond away from their foster family. You don’t need to stretch your imagination too far to consider how you would feel if you were suddenly ripped away from all that you know, from the family who have loved and cared for you for your life so far, to be taken away to a faraway house to live with a group of strangers who until this day you have had absolutely no contact or bond with. Even with gradual transitions, it is well acknowledged that grief and loss are a central aspect of adoption, not only in the form of separation from birth parents, but from foster families – but the hope is that when the transition is handled with care, supervision, and steps to make the child feel more secure, placements will be much more likely to succeed, and the child is far less likely to be adversely affected by the change. Introductions allow you to get to know your child, and start the very beginning foundations of trust and bonding.

· On a practical level, this is a child who is already in an existing routine so intros give you time to understand key aspects of their care such as sleep, feeding, toileting, playtime, preferences/dislikes, behaviour, and better understand any additional needs and associated care.

· While the focus is primarily on the child’s welfare, adopters also benefit from the time and gradual transition in getting your own heads around the fact you are parenting this child now and process the huge amount of information that will be “downloaded” to you. Becoming a parent is a mountain of new responsibility hitting you like a train at the best of times, let alone the added layers of complexity that accompany adoptive parenting.

· Introductions allow for the child to understand from their foster carers in a safe environment that you are a trusted adult. They are learning about you too, and will take a lot of cues from their foster family as to how to warm to you in return. This system gives space for foster families to welcome adopters into the fold and provide a sense of security to proceedings.

On a practical level, you won’t actually be living at your foster carer’s house, but you may as well be for the amount you’ll be spending over there! Prepare yourself for an intense time ahead (hopefully the upcoming tips will help you get in the right mental space) as you live and breathe your child’s life and routine with their foster family over the next few days/weeks. The introductions plan will be a mix of time spent in largely your foster carer’s house but with room to transition by the end of the time to your child spending the majority of time in your space and your care as the foster family relinquish the reins. Our experience was a little different as we had a long distance adoption, so had to make use of some holiday accommodation to see Little Star, which added a little complication, but most adopters even if the match is quite a journey away can tend to use their own home for that part most of the time unless not feasible.

Again, I can only really speak of my own experience adopting an infant, but a typical introductions plan over a week for a younger infant might look something like this:

Day 1 – AM – Welcome meeting with foster carers, adopters and social workers. Final agreement around introductions plans and any tweaks needed. All agree way forward for the week, any specific instructions or arrangements, and time for any Q&A.

PM – First initial meeting with child at foster carer’s house, around 2-3 hours. You will probably be asked to hang back a little on too much affection, and to calmly greet and observe the child in their home setting, and have a relaxed visit with foster carer’s with some light playtime together. No expectation to provide care etc at this stage.

Day 2 – Half a day spent with foster carers to observe an aspect of core routine. This might include something like arriving for wake-up time, and seeing breakfast/nap time, and morning routine – observing rather than providing care at this time. Alternatively, you might observe dinner/bed and bath time. Usually you’ll have some downtime on this day.

Day 3 – similar to day 2, perhaps observing the other “half” of the routine, staying for a little longer with a break somewhere in the day. You will probably start providing some basic care like changing nappies, some feeding, and may be invited to do something like take the baby out for a brief walk. Foster carers may invite you to have some play time alone in the house, or to have a try at some things like putting baby to nap.

Day 4 – if this hasn’t happened already, things will step up a lot at this point and might get quite intense. By this stage, you will probably spend the entire day with the child and be taking the lead on their care, with guidance from the foster carer. You’ll probably start to arrive early in the morning before wake-up and handle the routine yourselves with foster carers on hand if needed – so be there as they wake, take downstairs, give breakfast, change etc, and get down for their nap. If things are going well, you may go out for some kind of community trip out with your child, and foster carers will be in a separate area away, to give you space – perhaps a shopping trip, trip to a soft play, lunch out etc. You’ll probably be putting your child to bed and continue to do so for most of the week. Foster carers should be giving you kind feedback throughout to let you know how you’re doing and any tweaks that may be helpful.

Day 5 – Another full day with you taking the lead in all aspects of care and play. Likely you’ll be invited to go out and about with your child, and probably to take them back to your space for a few hours to have time alone as a family and start them getting used to their home. You might put them to nap in their bed at home, feed them a meal, and bring them back to the foster carer’s in time for bed, which you will probably take the lead in. There will probably be a mid-way review meeting around day 4/5 to review how things are going from all perspectives, perhaps observe you informally with the child, give you the opportunity to make any tweaks, and to make extensions to introductions if necessary. Usually around now, you’ll be invited to start moving some of your child’s toys and things into your home day by day to help them feel more at ease with some of their familiar objects around them while they get used to your house.

Day 6 – Another full day, probably by this point spending almost the whole day in your own space, much like day 6 with the emphasis on collecting them from the foster carer’s straight away and bringing them home for bed last thing at night, doing this yourself. If able, you might take them for a trip out somewhere in your immediate area, though the focus will probably be on getting them used to life at your house. In some introduction plans, the child stays a night at the adopter’s home, but I’m not too sure how often this is the case.

Day 7 – Perhaps a half day with your child again likely in your space, but usually adopters are given some time on the last day for a bit of a break. You might have a private review meeting just between you and your own social worker, and will be given some downtime just to decompress, and take a breather. This gives you a chance just to have a step back before coming home day – and the foster carers a chance to say their goodbyes in private and get your child’s stuff ready for the big move. There will usually be an end of introductions meeting with all the professionals and foster carers on the last day(s) to give the green light to bringing your child home (and occasionally to extend intros by a few days if deemed needed)

Day 8 – Moving home day. Typically, you might arrive slightly later at the foster carer’s house in the morning in order to give them time to say emotional goodbyes without being “watched” and as a favour to you on what may be an intense day, they may do a little of the care in the morning (all depends on everyone’s preferences). You’ll collect the last of your little one’s things, all say your goodbyes…and it’ll be homeward bound! Our foster carers drove Little Star home as it was a long journey and their policy was they liked to do the drop off but ordinarily you will drive your child home and say goodbyes at the foster carer’s home. Usually if distance allows, arrangements will be made for foster carers to visit in a few weeks’ time to see how the child has settled in and as an important step to the child realising they haven’t disappeared or vanished, giving them a sense of permanency. Needless to say, this will be a hugely intense day and you will feel both emotionally and physically drained! We’ll move onto looking at life after moving in (or what is commonly referred to as “cocooning” in the next blog.

Introductions struck me as, similar to matching, another one of those “mysteries” about adoption where it’s hard to visualise how you are going to feel and how it’s all going to work in practice. The truth is everyone’s journey with introductions is very individual; you’ll hear some adopters sing their foster carers’ praises and others speak about the relief of saying goodbye. Some will have had much more intense plans in place, drawn out over many weeks and you’ll hear the occasional person talk of as little as 4-5 days. So it can feel especially hard to provide catch-all advice, but I tried to ask myself what things I wish I’d have known or thought about ahead of introductions that would have made our lives easier and helped us feel better prepared for the experience. Hopefully these are universal to most adopters…(in no particular order)..

· Wherever possible try to ensure introductions have a structured plan as far in advance as is possible. One of the things I would have changed is that our intros were a little ad hoc and “go with the flow” – which was lovely in some ways as it allowed for flexibility, but it did feel at times we were drifting and it was hard not always knowing how long the day would be or what exactly to expect to cover. It’s tempting when you find foster carers that are so warm and friendly to feel you can sort it as you go along, but you really will feel the benefit of knowing where you’re coming and going on each day

· I cannot emphasise enough how draining introductions are – they can be a wonderful type of draining, but exhausting nonetheless! It is almost a guarantee that you will collapse in a heap at the end of the day so plan as much sleep and rest as it’s possible to in your downtime. This was a real challenge for us as we had to stay away for ours and were a long way from home – I think the comfort of coming back home to our own bed/sofa would have made a huge difference to how recharged we felt for the next day. We definitely didn’t sleep enough out of trying to “make the most” of our free time, but to be honest, if I did it again I would prioritise early nights and not try to cram anything else in. I was utterly exhausted by about 8.30pm most evenings, and long after Little Star came home, I was still adjusting to the change of lifestyle and fatigue! Any opportunity for a lie-in grab it with both hands! On a serious note, it can really help your emotional state (which is bound to ebb and flow throughout the process) if you are running on good sleep and restful evenings.

· Don’t be afraid to ask for tweaks to the plan. I think we sometimes felt however lovely everyone was in our case, that it wasn’t really for us to define how the days went, but in actuality, there were a couple of things we’d have chosen to do differently. For example, it was planned for us to take Little Star out the second evening to a local event with the foster carers and take more of a lead in handling them. The trouble was, they really didn’t know us very well at that stage, and Little Star was visibly uncomfortable and a little distressed being handled by us and confused by the presence of their foster carer at the same time, plus it was a late night for them. It was a lovely gesture, but personally, I think this was too much too soon and it did make for quite a stressful evening as we worried that Little Star was crying and agitated so much. This may have been more appropriate say the 4th or 5th night in. Introductions can be made longer (and sometimes shorter) at different parties’ request – so for example, if you feel that your little one needs a little extra time to get comfy with you performing certain tasks, or there have been some hiccups along the way, any good social worker/foster carer should be accommodating to this. Similarly, sometimes it is felt more expedient introductions would be helpful – say if an older child has been scheduled in for several weeks and it is felt to be confusing for them or drawing things out unnecessarily in a way that may prompt further trauma.

· Don’t beat yourself up for little mistakes – much easier said than done, but I can’t count the number of times we felt like complete idiots for not knowing basic things about how to look after a baby. But why would we? Babies don’t come with a manual and they certainly don’t when you are going in cold to introductions with a baby who has established needs and preferences, who you’ve not had the chance to get to know organically from birth. I remember taking Little Star out for a trip just us in the car on something like Day 4. We made the rooky mistake of forgetting they were due a bottle and wondered why they were going bright red in the face screaming for about half an hour, our anxiety ratcheting up with every new banshee cry, until we realised the obvious! I also felt incredibly silly not to feel able to dress Little Star easily – they hated it and resisted it and with foster carers looking on through the glass fish tank which was their living room doors, they could see us chasing Star around trying to get them to sit still for just one minute to get even their vest on, let alone their whole outfit. We had countless times we forgot to pack essential things only have to scramble around buying alternatives last minute whilst out. And don’t get me started on the death-defying challenge of trying to fit a car seat! There will be times like this. Plenty of times. It will happen and you’ll feel like a twat, and like everyone might change their mind and decide you clearly can’t be entrusted with the care of this tiny child, but somehow, by the end of intros, you will feel at least somewhat differently. Don’t be afraid to ask even what may seem the stupidest of questions, or to ask the foster carer to repeat something you didn’t quite catch, or to Google the hell out of how to change a nappy if that’s what needed. You’ll get there. It’s also natural at times to feel your child is “rejecting” you which of course is unlikely to be true but can be the way it feels on a hard day – I’ll always remember Little Star screaming when we tried to put them down for a nap and just rocking and rocking them and nothing working. With hindsight it was day 3 and of course they weren’t comfortable yet but at the time I truly felt it was their way of telling me “you’re not my mum”. Be kind to yourself.

· One of the weirdest things for us was practically living in someone else’s space for over a week. Intros are such an intimate process and they involve a huge amount of trust between two sets of adults who have never met each other, not to mention the child involved. It feels so odd to help yourself to cups of tea at someone else’s house, or just grab things out of the nursery without checking, or go and give your baby a bath in someone else’s house. You’ll feel awkward and conspicuous at first, but please know, as our foster family continually reassured us, this is normal for them, they’re so used to it. Any experienced foster carer should make you feel at home as possible. They should show you round the house, where you can find things, and if you really feel awkward, there’s no harm in just checking in informally with them which rooms they’re happy for you to use so you don’t feel on edge. On day 2 we had to lie with Little Star in the foster parents’ own bed(!) because that’s what Star needed to soothe them when they couldn’t sleep. It’s surprising how quickly these inhibitions drop once you’re a few days in and priorities have shifted, and it’ll become a new normal. On a practical note, it can’t hurt to set the right tone at the beginning by bringing some bits of food with you so not to assume the foster carers will “put you up” for everything. This is at their discretion – ours were lovely and insisted on feeding us, even asking us which meals we would like in advance, but some may be slightly more stand offish in this respect, so I would advise on the side of finding ways to contribute and bringing along a few bits on the first day to show politeness. Chances are you’ll be raiding their cupboards/fridge without a thought by the end though!

· On a similar note, it can help to establish from the beginning how the foster carers like to work intros, if they have any particular methods they use, and when and how they will show you when it’s okay/not okay to take the lead. Ours were brilliant in this respect. They were more of the type to let us just have a go but would be around if we needed them. They explained they would quietly exit the room if they felt that things were going well, and we could take the lead on a task. Equally if they observed us struggling they pre-warned us they’d kindly step in and help coach us which they were brilliant at doing without making us feel patronised or like failures. Talk about how you’ll check in with feedback – we had dinner mid-way through in an evening after Little Star went to bed to chat about how we felt things were going, what we could try the rest of the week, how we could ramp things up a notch etc. Continual feedback is really important, and any good foster carer should be trained in how to facilitate this in a way that makes you feel comfortable.

· A really crucial part of intros for us was a debrief call with our social worker every single day. You may feel you don’t need this at the beginning but as intros wear on it’ll become clear why these are so imperative – the foster carers will likely be doing the same with theirs. This was our safe space to share any frustrations, worries, happy moments, anxieties or just “info dump” about our day so we could then move onto enjoy our evening and rest. It needn’t be long but just a 10-minute chat as you pull out of the foster carer’s drive in the car home can make all the difference. It also really helps with perspectives on those wobble days (you’ll have one or two) to have an outside person cheer you on form the side-lines and help you to see how much progress you’ve made in such a short time.

· This may not be your thing, but I journaled a few (v brief) bullet points every evening as a debrief. I did it because I wanted to remember how everything felt for Little Star’s life story and also for myself and my partner to look back on years from now. I included happy moments, emotional wobbles, any top tips or observations from the foster family, and any special memories I didn’t want to forget. It also goes without saying but take loooooads of pictures. Our foster carers took a video of when we first met Star, and we’ll always have that which is amazing. Don’t also be afraid to make some discrete notes about aspects of your little one’s care you envisage doing differently. Now’s not the time to make immediate changes but observing and noting down can help you reflect when back home and gradually transitioning to your own way of doing things.

· Towards the end of intros, you’ll ordinarily have a bit of a break day planned in – this may not be a whole day but may be say just spending the half day with your child that day. This allows for all parties to take a breather and recalibrate, and is invaluable time for you (and your partner if applicable) to sit and enjoy perhaps a nice drink or dinner, decompress from intros and enjoy a “last supper” if you will before madness descends on your home! We didn’t really get this and probably with hindsight would have asked for this, but on our last night, we did go for a nice meal and arrived slightly later the following morning (foster carers got Little Star ready for us so we could have a slight lie in as we were facing a long drive home). I remember the evening fondly. It was a mix of exhaustion, relief at having a nice hot shower, a wonderful memory for us both as a couple, and the dawning of a new chapter – it felt very apt. Try to find time for a little ritual to mark the end of an era, and to celebrate what’s to come before the really hard work of parenting begins. It’ll be something you look back on with a (perhaps wry!) smile.

· A big note on bonding – I feel so strongly about this and want to make it as clear as possible for anyone who may be struggling with this thinking they are alone. In the adoption community (as with the birth community), you will hear a lot of people claim to have fallen in love with their child at first sight, and to have instantly formed strong attachments within the timeframe of introductions. It’s not my place to comment on others’ emotions but what I will say is take this with a strong pinch of salt. It would be entirely normal when meeting a child you have never met before and who doesn’t know you from Adam, to not feel “love” as such just yet. Introductions can go really well, you may feel joy, excitement and positivity about the match and there can be some really encouraging signs that your child feels comfortable with you – some light bonding. I would argue it’s unlikely anyone could form a secure attachment within this time, and that building true attachment with your child is the work of months, if not years, if not indefinite. Don’t place yourself under this pressure. I felt very conscious about this and it made me feel like an awful person a few weeks into moving home that I only felt warm affection and protectiveness towards Little Star, rather than a genuine feeling of being their parent just yet. I, and lots of other honest adopters I’ve spoken to, have described more of a warm feeling of “recognition”. I’ve said before I believe matching is a science rather than destiny, but there was certainly a feeling of Little Star being the best “fit” for us, of wanting to comfort them, care for them, and protect them from harm – and a strong affection. I would be lying if I said I loved them straight away. I think a lot of people may be doing a disservice to others by claiming that they loved their child in a true sense from the moment of birth or meeting, but I did definitely feel a sense of us having “chosen” each other. The feeling of “falling in love” with my child over time as I got to know their quirks, their laugh, their tears, after having rocked them to sleep, fed them, held them, kissed and hugged them day after day, was more magical than any “thumbnail moment” I could have framed superficially from intros. I’ll write about this in more depth but I just wanted to share this because there is such humungous pressure on introductions and the last thing I’d want is for anyone to feel that things “weren’t working out” due to an absence of this feeling. There will be plenty of times you may even feel slightly disassociated or disconnected from your child, and this is all part of growing to learn about them, nothing to be ashamed of.

· If like us, you are travelling away for intros and won’t be back home until they’re over, think about getting everything ready for that first night home in advance to save any panic stations at the time. Get your beds made up, perhaps an outfit ready for them for the next day, some pyjamas, a few toys for them to play with on the floor when they arrive, and my advice? Do a deep clean as you’ll not have the chance to do one in a loooong time!! This’ll help you come back to as calm an environment as possible.

· Nothing has to be set in stone but how you get on with your foster carers during intros may give you an indication of how much future contact you’d like to continue with the foster family. A visit a few weeks in is typical, and you may wish as a minimum just to send a short message with a photo to say little one has settled and arrived okay. Don’t forget the foster carers will be grieving their loss too as well as your child, and a small kindness of letting them know how things are going for the first few days may be really helpful in reassuring them. Some may want to stay in continual contact as we have done (we view our foster family as aunts and uncles to our Little Star and plan to visit twice a year), whereas others may not be comfortable with more than the occasional text – you don’t have to make any concrete decisions but intros is a good way of getting to know them and making this call.

· If like us you are travelling, you may feel, as we did, very homesick. It’s a really intense thing to be doing away from home, and this is where your support network kick in. Something simple like giving your Mum a call each evening can be enough to help you hold your nerve and remember you will be home and secure soon. We were just so exhausted that we settled on a daily update text with a few photos so our family could track our journey without us needing to make calls, but this is personal to you.

· There’s no such thing as a stupid question, and I’d encourage you to ask your foster family as many questions as you feel you need to even at the risk of bombarding them! Questions could be about:

o The early days of when your child came home – how they presented, what they may know about the birth, how they settled into their foster home and built bonds (which will be useful for you)

o Information about how contact with birth parents went – foster parents will have facilitated this and will be in a position to share with you how the birth parents interacted with your child and any special moments they remember, For example, we know a special thing for Little Star and their birth Mum was looking at the sensory room together at the contact centre. It’s these little details, especially any loving moments they can recall, that really help to fill the gaps for life story work at a later point

o Any challenges in behaviour, soothing, fiddly things like dietary preferences or needs

o Any special foster family memories they had with your little one you can tell them about

o I really wish I’d asked more about what was “typical behaviour” for my little one. Asking something simple like “I noticed X responded like this when I tried to do X. Is this normal for him/her? What’s typically worked for you when this has happened before?” can be very reassuring and help you call to mind tips and tricks when you’re having a down day at home

· I’m not usually one to “start in the deep end” but I do feel there is no better way of making the most of intros than this. It’s hard to push aside politeness or anxiety but as much practice you can get in caring for your child within the foster home with the family’s coaching before you bring them home will pay dividends in your confidence. If you feel yourself hanging back a bit, do try to push yourself to ask if you can “have a go”. It may be something that terrifies you or you feel silly trying in front of the foster carers but don’t be afraid to ask them if you can take over.

· For those with partners, depending on the dynamics of your relationship, I felt strongly it was important that we both got equal exposure to trying to do some things on our own. Throughout intros we both had some “alone” time with Little Star where perhaps one of us tried to put them down for a nap, or gave them a bath while the other chilled with a cup of tea just to ensure we didn’t get into a situation where only one of us could handle a certain task. I didn’t want to arrive home and find Little Star was comfortable with one of us, but would refuse the other, or get into a weird pattern of not both being capable of each thing. In practicality, you do find that sometimes the bond is there of certain aspects of their care with one parent over the other, but trying to keep things balanced from the start has really helped us. Our foster carers were brilliant but if you are a heterosexual couple, don’t fall into the trap of the foster family just directing advice to the Mum. Dads need to get stuck in too, and feel included in the process.

· You’ll have been asked to send a “transition” object such as a blanket or teddy along with perhaps a photo book for your child prior to intros. We found these really helped facilitate and reinforce the bond with our Little Star – constant repetition of showing ours and our family’s photos (“Look, it’s Mama/Dada”) and offering them comfort with the same object really built up a sense of familiarity.

· Finally, and this is another big one that I’ll write about another time, but there is what’s known in adoption circles as the “honeymoon period” in many adopters’ experience of the intros period and early days of being at home with your child. Your child will almost certainly not act completely the same once they are home, outside of the warm familiarity of the home they are used to, and in the care of new adults, in a strange environment, as they did in intros. When you think about it logically, it makes total sense, but in the dead of night when your child’s woken up, is screaming ,and nothing will help settle them back to sleep you can be left wondering what you’ve done “so wrong” or if things are going to work out. The reality is there’s probably very little you’ve done wrong. You can follow all the foster family’s advice to the T, but undoubtedly the complicated mix of factors on arrival home will impact your child’s presentation. If someone asked me what I wish I’d known going into introductions it would be that the placid child who was very happy to be handled by us most of the time, who was smiley and bubbly, and seemingly an easy sleeper, would not necessarily always be the same baby when they came home, and that that is to be expected. Giving myself some grace on this would have saved me an awful lot of neuroses.

Well, it’s another mammoth entry but one which I hope has been of some benefit. My next entry will focus on those first weeks and months of having your child home, and the process of “cocooning” and lessons learned. From then, I’ll take less of a linear approach and we can start delving into some separate topics intertwined with the adoption world.

Til then, take care and thank you.

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howtotrainyourteacher · 8 years ago

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About to become an NQT? Here’s everything you’ll need to prepare for your new class!

After getting an ask about what to prepare for starting as an NQT, I thought I’d make a detailed starter pack/list of all the things you will need to successfully start the year in an organised way!

(Disclaimer: I have undoubtedly missed off a few things, but this is everything I used to start the year off with and I’ve been okay so far!)

Transition days - If your school is organising a transition day/afternoon then I strongly recommend attending. This will give you a great first introdcution to your class as well as a feel for your classroom and the school routine in general. Make sure you have some exciting transition activities too (here’s a link to what I did with my new class). If possible, ask to come in for additional days before the summer holidays to get to know the children, staff and general day to day routines of your new work place, it’ll help hugely for September. (I went in and sat at the back of the class making resources all day and supporting group work, it was so useful).

Class list and handover day - Get a class list as soon as you can so you can get learning names of all your children. They’ll be with you for at least a year so it’s essential to learn them all by the end of the first day, if not the second day of term. Try to get copies of recent assessments or assessment results too so you can determine the spread of abilities in your class too. Some school have an official ‘handover’ day or afternoon where the current class teacher cn discuss with you everything you need to know about the children you’ll be teaching and ‘hands over’ all their classes results, groupings, files and other information about the children.

Classroom preparation - If you can come in over the summer, or early September, then do so to prepare your classroom. You’ll need to back displays, get working walls up and running, sort out pencil pots/staitionary, organise provision areas (reception/KS1), make classroom labels, create peg and draw labels for children, noticeboards will need filling, resources will need laminating - as well as plenty more bits to prepare!

Classroom organisation - This relates more to how you want your classroom to work, how to set your tables out (rows or grouped, horseshoe or islands etc), to have or not to have a carpet area, areas of continuous provision, where to keep books, where your desk will go, places for children’s things (drawers, trays, fruit/water area etc..). Play around with the structure/furniture of the classroom as much as you are able to, you need to be teaching in a space that works for you :)

Teaching file - Buy yourself a nice, shiny teaching file (with plenty of dividers) ready for the start of the year. Start filling it with any class information, school information, assessment results and policies before the school year starts.

Assessment file - Have a seperate assessment file for all your class’s results. Divide it by pupil so that you have a section for each child’s results/examples of work. If you have any previous assessment results for your class, add these too as a year starting point.

Year long plans and curriculum - Check if your school has a curriculum/year/two year rolling long plan for you to follow. If they do, then use this to base your planning and topics off of. If not, then print off the relevent pages of the National Curriculum and highlight roughly which bits you plan on teaching in Autumn, Spring and Summer terms, to ensure you cover everything over the year.

Schemes and resources - Find out if your school plans from/uses any schemes (My school use Hamilton Trust and Mathletics a lot). This will save you a lot of time if you have these schemes ready to hand!

Medium term plans - Create your medium term plans from all the resources you have gathered so far. Or if you work in a school with 2 or more form entry, ask your collegues in the same year group whether you can split the planning and plan half the topics between you to save on paperwork!

School and exam policies - Not fun to read, but familirize yourself with school policies (and SATs ones if you teach years 2 or 6) to get a feel for the sort of school you are in. Definitely read the teaching and learning, curriculum, marking and feedback and behaviour policy as soon as you can as these will impact on daily teaching from the word go.

Behaviour management systems - Most schools these days have a policy that runs throughout school. Make sure you know it inside-out and it is clearly displayed in the classroom.

School familiarisation - I work in a tiny school, but even so, I am always finding new spaces, new places where resources are kept and more interesting things in the back of my predecessors cupboard! Make sure you know where things are kept in school and get familiar with the outdoor spaces, everyone’s classroooms, the hall and basically the entire building as soon as you can.

Tidying and new equipment - There will always be things in your new classroom to tidy, my predecessor left me a whole cupboard full of files which I am still sorting out! Whilst cleaners will clean, you will need to tidy the classroom and sort out any larger items that need throwing out or replacing. Before you start the year is a good time to get requests in for new equipment too.

Fun things! - Always plan for some fun things to do in your first few days of term. Whether it’s buying a class mascot soft toy for the children to bond with or getting heaps of stickers in to reward children with, make preparing for your new class fun :D

DON’T PANIC if you can’t do/get hold of everything on this list straight away! Most things can wait until summer term has finished and you may well have to wait until September inset days to be fully prepared.

If you have survived collecting all of this information (there was more to write about than I originally thought), here’s a list of all the useful blog posts I’ve previously written that will get your NQT year off to a flying start:

Essential stationary for any teacher

What’s in my teaching bag/s

Tips for making marking quicker

NQT advice and tips

5 Things I learnt as an NQT

How I plan now I’m an RQT

Reflecting after a day’s teaching

Strategies to help deal with parents

Also here’s a link to a post about classroom procedures whichyou may want to discuss with your new class on their first day. (it’s very long and ery American but has lots of good ideas you might like to borrow for your own classroom procedures).

Best of luck to all trainees who are very nearly NQTs, not long until you’re all qualified and finished with training!

#nqt #primary teaching #pgce #NQT year #pgce advice #hints and tips

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children-psychologist-redcliffe · 6 years ago

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12 simple tips to improve your sleep

Sleeping asleep may seem like an impossible dream when you wake up at three in the morning, but good sleep is more in your control than you think. Following healthy sleep habits can make a difference between insomnia and restful sleep. Researchers have identified a variety of practices and habits - known as "sleep hygiene" - that can help anyone maximize the number of hours spent sleeping, even those whose sleep is affected by insomnia, jet lag or alternate work. Here are some simple tips to make your dream sleep a reality at night:

Avoid caffeine, alcohol, nicotine and other chemicals that interfere with sleep Improve

Caffeine products reduce the quality of a person's sleep. As any coffee lover knows, caffeine is a stimulant that can keep you awake. Avoid caffeine (found in coffee, tea, chocolate, cola and some painkillers) for four to six hours before bedtime. Similarly, smokers should refrain from using tobacco products near bedtime.

Although alcohol may help to sleep, after several hours it acts as a stimulant, increases the number of awakenings and generally reduces the quality of sleep later at night. Therefore it is best to limit alcohol consumption to one or two drinks a day, or less, and avoid drinking within three hours of bedtime.

Turn your bedroom into a sleep-stimulating environment

A quiet, dark and cold environment can help boost sound hibernation. Why do you think bats are clustered in caves to sleep during the day? To achieve such an environment, reduce the level of external noise by ear plugs or "white noise". Use heavy curtains, blackout shades, or eye mask to block out light (light is a strong signal that tells the brain it's time to wake up).

Keep the temperature comfortably cool and the room well ventilated. Make sure that your bedroom is equipped with comfortable mattresses and pillows. (Remember that most mattresses wear out after ten years.) Also, if a pet wakes you up regularly during the night, you might want to consider keeping him out of your bedroom. It will help reduce your bedroom activities to sleep and sex only. Keeping computers, televisions and work materials out of the room reinforces the mental connection between the bedroom and sleep.

Create a calming routine before bed

Reading light before bed is a good way to prepare yourself for sleep. Ease the transition from waking time to bedtime with a period of relaxation activities for an hour or so before bedtime. Bathed (rise, then hypothermia promotes drowsiness), read a book or exercise relaxation exercises. Avoid stressful and stimulating activities - doing work, discussing emotional issues, etc. Physically and psychologically stressful activities can cause the release of stress hormone cortisol, which is associated with increased alertness. If you tend to take your problems to bed, try to write them down, then set them aside.

Go to sleep when you are really tired

The fight for sleep is only conducive to frustration. If you are not asleep after 20 minutes, get out of bed, go to another room, and do a comfortable job, such as reading or listening to music until you feel sleepy.

Don't be a 24-hour night watcher

Stare at the clock in your bedroom (either when you are trying to sleep or when you wake up in the middle of the night) can increase stress, making it difficult to sleep. Turn the watch face away from you. If you wake up in the middle of the night and can't go back to sleep in about 20 minutes, wake up and engage in a quiet and relaxing activity like reading or listening to music. And keep the lights dim. Bright light can stimulate your inner clock. When your eyelids hang and you're ready to sleep, go back to bed.

Use light to your advantage

Natural light keeps your internal clock in a healthy sleep cycle. So, let the light first thing in the morning and out of the office for the sun holiday during the day.

Keep your inner clock set with a steady sleep schedule

Having a regular sleep schedule helps ensure better quality and steady sleep. Going to bed and waking up at the same time each day puts the "internal clock" in your body to expect to sleep at a certain time night after night. Try to stick to as much of your routine as possible on weekends to avoid sleeping leftovers on Monday morning. Waking up at the same time each day is the best way to set the clock, and even if you don't sleep well the night before, helping you sleep extra helps you unite the next night.

Snap early or not at all

Many people make naps a regular part of their day. However, for those who find that sleeping or staying asleep during the night, afternoon napping may be a culprit. This is because the end-of-day nap reduces sleep while driving. If you need a nap, it's best to keep it short and do it early in the day.

Lighten in evening meals

Pepperoni pizza at 22:00 may be a recipe for insomnia. End dinner a few hours before bedtime and avoid indigestion foods. If you feel hungry at night, snacks (in your experience) won't bother you.

Balance Balance Intake

Drink enough fluids at night to prevent waking from thirst - but not too much and near bedtime, as you'll wake up from having to go to the bathroom.

Early exercise

Exercise can help promote a restful sleep if done several hours before going to bed. This can help you sleep faster and sleep better, as long as it's done at the right time. Exercises stimulate the body to release the stress hormone cortisol, which helps stimulate the brain's stimulating mechanism. That's good, unless you're trying to sleep. Try to finish the exercise at least three hours before bedtime, or exercise early in the day.

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Follow through

Some of these tips will be easier to include in your daily and night routines than others. However, if you stick to it, your chances of a comfortable sleep will improve. However, not all sleep problems are easily addressed and can indicate a sleep disorder such as apnea, restless leg syndrome, narcolepsy or another problem in clinical sleep.

If your sleep difficulties don't improve with good sleep hygiene, you may need to consult your doctor or psychiatrist. Doctors often refer their patients to The Psych Professionals for more in-depth interventions to manage behavioral sleep, a more advanced approach than sleeping hygiene.

So, if you tried the above twelve tips and still find yourself counting the sheep night after night, it is time to make an appointment with one of our experienced psychologists.

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marclefrancois1 · 6 years ago

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Daylight Saving Time — 9 Tips for Springing Forward

The post e0a9e1e9e6412908cf53cee25f32209b62d23d03e119cd2df63e6855e8fc22eee0a9e1e9e6412908cf53cee25f32209b62d23d03e119cd2df63e6855e8fc22eepostlinke0a9e1e9e6412908cf53cee25f32209b62d23d03e119cd2df63e6855e8fc22eee0a9e1e9e6412908cf53cee25f32209b62d23d03e119cd2df63e6855e8fc22ee was originally seen on MLF Blog

It seems like the winter holidays just ended, and it’s already on the horizon — Daylight Saving Time! In the US, we spring forward on Sunday, March 10, and it’s Sunday, March 31 in Europe. The week afterwards is usually one where everyone feels a little tired and cranky, or just a little “off”.

Nobody feels it the way babies and small children do. They’re the least likely to understand why, and the most likely to be upset. But with a little preparation, you can transition your little ones to their new schedule before the change hits, leaving you with a well-rested baby even when the clock jumps ahead. Here are some tips on how to move to your new spring schedule with ease:

1. Transition Slowly

For some children (especially young babies), making the one-hour change will be overwhelming. A slow transition to the new bedtime before the actual time change can make spring just a little easier. The idea here is to adjust everything earlier before the actual time change. That way when 6 p.m. becomes 7 p.m., your child will already be used to the new schedule. About a week before the time change, begin putting your child to bed 15 to 20 minutes earlier, moving the time back every few days until you reach a full hour. A week ahead usually works best. So, if your child has a 7:00 p.m. bedtime, you want to begin with bedtime around 6:40 p.m., then 6:20 p.m., then 6:00 p.m.

2. Make Naps a Priority

One of the best ways to prepare your child for Daylight Saving Time is to make sure they are getting good naps for the few days before the time shift. This will help take the edge off of the discomfort associated with the upcoming changes.

You want to set them up for success by ensuring they are well-napped so that they are not extra cranky headed into this weekend. Moving naps back 15 minutes at a time along with their bedtime will help keep their schedule consistent.

3. Consider Blackout Curtains

To help your baby sleep more soundly, consider installing blackout curtains and using a sound machine. This will help all summer! It’s important to maintain their bedtime all year, but summer can be difficult when it stays light very late.

4. Use Dramatic Wake-ups

While you’re moving backwards before the change, your baby may begin waking early. Remember that waking an hour earlier will be the goal, so if it’s just an hour, great!

If it’s more than an hour, consider using The Shuffle to encourage your child back to sleep in the morning. Follow that with a “dramatic wake-up”, where you go into their room at the appropriate time, open the shades, turn on the lights, and give a cheerful, “good morning!”

5. Watch Wakeful Windows

With both naps and bedtime, be sure to pay close attention to your baby’s wakeful windows. If you’ve moved naps backwards along with bedtime, you’ll need to maintain the same amount of time between naps and bedtime. For example, if your 6-month-old starts her morning nap an hour early and then wakes up early, you’ll have to put her down for her afternoon nap early. The end result is the same amount of time between periods of sleep.

6. Get Outside

Take your baby outside first thing in the morning, or if it’s too cold, open the windows and let in some natural light. If there is little light in the morning early on, turn on the lights and make sure to either get outside later on for some sun. This will help “reset” her internal clock.

7. Flexible Schedule

Be as consistent as possible with your baby’s food and sleep schedule. This means that you need to shift all meals, snacks, and naps earlier as well. Watch the clock to stay on the new schedule of 15-20 minutes earlier, depending on what you’ve done with bedtime. Don’t forget to wake your child a bit earlier to help with this transition schedule. Adjust all meals, snacks, and naps to fit the “new” schedule on the same day that you shift to your child’s new, fully-adjusted bedtime.

8. Age Appropriate Bedtime

A time change is a great time for a “reset” if you’ve been a little off your schedule. Infants and babies do best with a bedtime between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m. If things have been sliding a little, a time change is a great opportunity to gradually move their bedtime to an ideal hour. Take advantage of this short disruption to get on track!

9. Soothing Bedtime Routine

Babies and young children thrive on routine. Most likely you have a set of activities that communicate to your child that it’s time to get ready for sleep. A bath, story, jammies on, a kiss and a song — these will all need to move back in order to make up for that lost hour. Like the bedtime, move the routine backwards during the week before Daylight Saving.

This is also a great opportunity to start a routine that calms and soothes, or to shorten your routine if it has become too long.

The Alternative: Doing Nothing

Adults and older children may be successful going “cold turkey” and just moving the clocks on the Sunday of DST. Undoubtedly, everyone feels it for at least a week when done this way. But with young children, a little planning the week before can make things much easier after the change. If you do decide on this method, be sure that you get outside to the sun the morning afterwards to help re-set everyone’s internal clocks. Naps and bedtime will then all be according to the new time.

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Kim West

Kim is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has been a practicing child and family therapist for more than 24 years, and the creator of the original gentle, proven method to get a good night’s sleep for you and your child.

She is the author of The Sleep Lady's Good Night Sleep Tight, its companion Workbook and 52 Sleep Secrets for Babies.

Click here to read more about her.

Did you find this article helpful? Please share it with your friends by clicking below, or ask a question on The Sleep Lady Facebook page.

The post Daylight Saving Time — 9 Tips for Springing Forward appeared first on Baby Sleep Coaching by the Sleep Lady.

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lilianding3910-blog · 6 years ago

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Back To Faculty Tips For Divorced And Separated Dad And Mom

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sebastiankurz · 6 years ago

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How To Fall Asleep With Insomnia The Ultimate Guide

The inability to fall asleep faster or stay asleep naturally can be both distressing and disorienting. Yet at some point in your life, insomnia simply happens. For some people, it can be short-lived, yet for others; it can be a prolonged and life-threatening issue.

Insomnia is a common sleep problem that results in trouble falling asleep that mainly affects adults that have difficulty falling or staying asleep throughout the night even though the person has the opportunity to sleep. Insomnia usually results in mood disturbances, difficulty concentrating, low energy, fatigue and decreased performance at school or at work.

People with a bad bedtime routine often feel, that their sleep quality is not as satisfying once compared to that of other people. There are two types of insomnia; acute insomnia and chronic insomnia.

Acute/transient insomnia – Brief disruption of sleep patterns due to life events such as the night before a big interview or exam, or receiving stressful or bad news.

Chronic insomnia – Sleep disruption that lasts at least three months and that happens at least three nights every week.

The Causes of Insomnia may be caused by psychological or physical factors. Chronic insomnia is in many instances caused by underlying medical conditions while acute insomnia is typically a result of recent occurrences or events.

The following can be the cause of insomnia:

Circadian Rhythm Disruption – Extreme cold or heat (the body’s temperature), jet lag, environmental noise, job shift changes, high altitudes.

Hormones – Estrogen shifts during menstruation.

Psychological Problems – psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, depression.

Medical Conditions – stroke, chronic pain, tumors, chronic fatigue syndrome, high blood pressure, heart disease, nervous systems, brain lesions, congestive heart failure, arthritis, angina, hyperthyroidism, acid-reflux, Alzheimer’s disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Parkinson’s, sleep apnea, asthma.

Some types of prescription drugs such as antidepressants and stimulants.

High levels of stress about life. Issues such as work, school, health, and even family or finances can be keeping your thoughts elevated, making you unable to fall asleep. Again, life transitions including death of loved ones or loss of job can bring about insomnia.

Environmental factors such as loud noise, extreme light, bad sleep positions and severe temperatures, whether hot or cold, could make it difficult to get to sleep.

Other factors – pregnancy, sleeping next to a snoring partner, an overactive mind, parasites, medications, medications, media, and technology in the bedroom.

Symptoms of Insomnia

There are several symptoms that could be an indication of sleep disorders though the condition itself could also be an indicator of other underlying medical conditions. The following are the most common symptoms of insomnia:

Difficulty falling asleep at night

Worrying about being able to sleep

Waking up in the night

Gastrointestinal disturbances

Waking up earlier than desired

Difficulty socializing

Feeling tired even after a night of sleep

Tension headaches

Daytime sleepiness or fatigue

Uncoordinated movements and actions

Anxiety, depression, and irritability

Poor focus and concentration

People who have insomnia may also report not being fully refreshed and may not feel fully awake. They could also feel sleepy and tired throughout their day.

How To Get To Sleep With Insomnia – Sleeping Tips

A number of critical sleep aids steps can be applied to ensure quality of your paradoxical intention sleep, and bring an end to sleep difficulties. One of the best ways to prevent and stop insomnia is adopting good habits. These habits include :

Having a consistent bedtime and wake up time every day including on weekends.

Coming up with a consistent bedtime ritual which may be something like listening to soft music, reading or taking a warm bath.

Have regular activity that requires some exertions – Engage in some exercise such as running or swimming which promote a better night’s sleep.

Make your bedroom as comfortable as possible for your nighttime sleep and use the bed only for sleep and sex, and not for reading your Kindle or working.

Avoid alcohol and limit caffeine and if you must use them, ensure you do not have any for at least 5 hours before bedtime.

Avoid or limit any naps during the day particularly during the late afternoon.

Check with your doctor that your medications are not at fault and remove any that may result in insomnia.

Stick to regular sleep and waking times; these should include your weekends and holidays. Such consistency sets your biological clock and makes your body to naturally adjust. Eventually, you are able to get back to a sleep routine that is regular.

Check that your bedroom is uncluttered, cool, quiet and free from noise. It helps your mind to remain calm and ready for an interrupted sleep.10. An over the counter natural sleep aid can stop the poor sleep and help replace with quality sleep.

Try breathing techniques such as inhale deeply hold your breath for 10 seconds then exhale completely and repeat the process.

What happens after 24 hours of sleep deprivation?

Sleep is important as it keeps your whole-body system in regeneration mode while you rest.

There are several people who may miss a night of sleep due to having to take care of a sick child, study for a test, or work overnight to beat a deadline.

Even though staying up for 24 hours without sleep will be an unpleasant experience, you will likely not experience any significant negative experience on your health.

Nonetheless, missing sleep might still have some side effects. Several studies have shown that not sleeping for up to 24 hours is comparable to having .10 percent alcohol in the blood. This is well above the legal limit for one allowed to drive in most states in the US.

Other effects of sleep deprivation over 24 hours include: drowsiness, increased risk of accidents, irritability, tremors, impaired decision making, increased muscle tension, impaired judgment, reduced hand-eye coordination, altered perception, impaired hearing and vision, and memory deficits. Most of these symptoms will disappear once you get some sleep.

What to do when you can’t fall asleep – Tips To Beat Insomnia

Learning how to sleep better with sleep hygiene helps in improving the quality of your life. If you realize that you are unable to sleep and struggle when hitting the sack, this is what you can do to remedy the situation and stop you feeling tired.

Insomnia usually involves either problems staying asleep at night, falling asleep when you want to, or waking up too early in the middle of the night. The following are some of the things you can do to break these patterns:

Set a wind-down time of about 30 minutes before you head to the bed – during this time you should establish a routine such as dimming the lights, some breathing exercises such as deep breathing or reading a physical book (not kindles).

Shutdown all electronics including tablets, phones, and laptops as the blue light from these devices can mess with the Circadian rhythm in the brain making it difficult to fall asleep.

Have a set time when you go to bed and wake up every day. Even when you have a hard time falling asleep and feel unrested in the morning, you need to have a fixed schedule that you follow religiously even during the weekends. This helps to adjust the circadian rhythm and makes it easier to fall asleep.

Sleeping pills from your doctor can be another option, especially if your sleep issues are becoming severe.

Use mind and body relaxation techniques such as meditation, music, and reading to help you descend quickly into healthy sleep.

Avoid eating and drinking a few hours before you go to bed, don’t eat carbs and start forcing yourself in to this as a routine, this is because your digestive system is put into active mode which then keeps you up for longer.

Choosing a luxury bedding that is soft, smooth and feels luxurious on your skin such as TShirt bedding 100% woven cotton can help you drift away that little bit easier.

Do not force sleep – If you get into bed and find yourself unable to sleep after 20 minutes, get out of bed and find a relaxing activity such as listening to soothing music or reading a book. This helps to reinforce the bed as a place for sleeping rather than wakefulness, which makes it easier for your brain to associate it with sleep.

Muscle relaxation techniques such as a hot bath can help with improving sleep quality and your sleep cycles so you fall asleep quickly.

Can you die from Insomnia?

Death from insomnia is associated with rare genetic conditions and abnormalities that over time results in a progressive illness that could cause one to die of sleep deprivations.

The most common illness that can cause death by sleep deprivation is Fatal Familial Insomnia, a genetic illness in which a person loses the capacity for deep sleep, lapses into dreamy sleep from quiet wakefulness and has difficulty staying or falling asleep.

It is a relentless progressive illness whose symptoms include rapid breathing, rapid heart rate, excessive salivation, tremors and eventually coma and death. Persons who develop the illness will typically die from between 8-72 months after they report the first symptoms.

Other than that, insomnia or difficulty falling asleep can only negatively affect the day to day functioning and quality of life of a person. Notably, death could occur as a result of accidents due to lack of proper judgment; especially when operating machinery or traffic accidents.

What is the longest anyone has ever stayed awake?

The longest anyone has ever stayed awake was 264.4 hours or roughly 11 days 25 minutes. The feat was achieved in 1964 by high school student Randy Gardner of San Diego California. The previous record has been held by Honolulu resident and disc jockey Tom Rounds, who had set the record by staying awake for 260 hours.

What happens to the brain when you don’t sleep?

According to a recent research study in the Journal of Nature Medicine, sleep deprivation makes it hard for brain cells to communicate effectively.

This is the reason you might feel sluggish the morning after a restless night as the brain cells are tired and can’t send messages fast enough. This could result in short term mental lapses that could affect visual perception and memory.

In the study, it was found that neurons fired weaker, responded more slowly, and their transmissions lacked the usual rapid reaction times when the participants were deprived of sleep.

This could explain why you would find it so hard to concentrate or think after having a sleepless night. According to the study, sleep deprivation affected most the regions of the brain that typically exhibited a lot of brain activity when a person is asleep.

These are regions normally associated with perception and memory. As such, these regions would have mental lapses when a person is subjected to sleep deprivation even as other areas of the brain would be completely fine.

The effects of sleep deprivation were compared to those of persons who have had too much to drink and have less control over perception and concentration.

How long can you go without sleep before hallucinating?

You can go up to 72 hours without sleep, after which you will start experiencing significant deficits in perception, motivation, and concentrations. It is at about the 72-hour mark that you will start experiencing hallucinations that usually are related to the environment in which you are in.

For instance, if you are on guard duty, you may be convinced that there is someone with a rifle in the nearby forest waiting to sneak up on you when there is nothing there but shadows and branches.

Hallucinations are a dangerous side effect of insomnia. Some of the observed forms of hallucinations include:

Imagined sounds such as hearing voices.

Seeing things creepy that are not there.

Sensing of unfounded smells.

Feeling as if someone is touching you which are not true.

Conclusion

every person has their own unique causes and experiences of insomnia. Sleep being a key ingredient of overall good health; it is important to take necessary measures to prevent suffering from insomnia.

From your environment to food intake and medications, it helps to be acutely aware of what could be causing your lack of sleep and make quick remedies. When mentally counting sheep is not helping with your quality of sleep and upsetting your nights rest you need to make the changes.

You can also check out more information from sleep experts at the national sleep foundation website.

from https://www.tshirtbed.eu/how-to-fall-asleep/

from Sebastian Kurz Blog http://tshirtbedeurope.weebly.com/blog/how-to-fall-asleep-with-insomnia-the-ultimate-guide

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tshirtbedeurope · 6 years ago

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How To Fall Asleep With Insomnia – The Ultimate Guide