That being said, when my husband got a job that he loves and it requires both night and day rotations I encouraged him to be take the job. Of course, initially it didn't cross my mind that it would mean that with 12 hour shifts and working nights, I would be spending hours alone, at night, in my home. Once that realization hit me (like a ton of bricks by the way), I was less than pleased.
I live in a small-ish town, that is super safe. I am sure that most of my neighbors still don't lock their doors. I live in a upper-middle class neighborhood. I really have nothing to worry about.
However, the first several night rotations kept me up and/or struggling with nightmares, purchasing a gun for home protection, and in general being a bit jumpy and cranky.
This time around I took a different approach. Gratitude and mantras. I started with the mantra "I am safe." I fell asleep repeating it and slept like a rock. I tried it again the second night and slept through the night. The third night, I still slept, but I woke up scared and did something different. I made myself wake up fully. Then I started over, instead of falling back to sleep immediately. I did this for a few days and it seemed to work.
The second week of nights, I started listing off what I was grateful for as I fell asleep, a few of the things I listed were my safety, the safety of my husband, and the safety of friends and family. I was able to sleep, much to my relief and my husband's.
It has worked. I don't think I sleep as hard when my husband isn't around, but I think it's pretty neat. I should have thought of it sooner. I know for a fact that listing what I am grateful for makes me see the world a little brighter, makes the day a little nicer. It follows that it would make my nights more pleasant.
I think if we ever have kids, instead of night time prayers like most kids are taught, I should teach my kids to be grateful.
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