Submitted by: Connie Beaudry
Community Resource Coordinator, Services to Seniors Swan River

Coffee and A Chat, sessions were held at the Northern Neighbors Birch River Drop In Center, and the Swan River Senior Citizen Center on July 23 and 25, 2024 and all started at 10 am. This month’s topics were Sleep Hygiene with Jessie Lacasse Health Promotions Coordinator. Who knew?, that there was so much to learn about sleep?

Some steps to ensure a good night’s sleep:
– Create a sleep diary to understand your sleep
– Develop good sleep habits like having a routine, brush your teeth, put on pj’s is part of a routine
– Dispel the myths that older people need less sleep (only 1hr per decade), insomnia is not normal
– Managing stress by deep breathing, muscle relaxation, offering gratitude for the day, and thinking of a positive part of your day or past, write a to-do list for the next day are some types of managing stress.
– Sleep Hygiene can mean a clean physical space, black out curtains, brush teeth, put on pj’s, change your sheets, avoid caffeine 10 hours before sleep, avoid food/drink 3 hours before sleep, avoid working or exercise 2 hours before sleep, avoid screens/phones/tv 1 hour before sleep. DO NOT use the snooze button if you are waking to an alarm. Just sleep those few extra minutes.
– Sleep Divorce is just a term that allows you to sleep in another room than your partner, if/when your partner causes you to have loss of sleep. Talk about it and don’t forget intimacy and your partner’s feelings and concerns.

For more sleep information feel free to call 204-734-6602 and ask for Jessie or another health worker. They can lead you in the right direction to having a successful good night’s sleep.

We had a coffee break with nice snacks and coffee and freshly made banana/strawberry ice-cream. Yum!

We finished the sessions with Jesse Genaille, who played some old-time favorites and entertained us with his guitar and stories. He has a wonderful voice and keeps our toes tapping and some danced a bit. He can be reached for bookings with his wife Violet at 204-731-4529.

We are looking forward to the next sessions on August 27 th in Birch River and 29 th in Swan River. We will have Linda Carpentier lead us in how to write your memoirs, stories and thoughts. Zoe Peters will help us to understand youth slang language with games. Swan River will have Matt Linnick instructor with the Swan River Fire Department. Thank you to everyone who participated and we look forward to seeing you again next month.