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Regina Wolgel

By Amy Landolt | Published October 29, 2024

Regina Wolgel

Regina Wolgel has been a licensed occupational therapist for more than 40 years and is certified by the International Fitness Professionals Association as a qigong instructor.  Regina has integrated qigong into her hospital-based and private practice OT with rave reviews. She also teaches group and one-on-one classes in the well-population and widely lectures on the health benefits of qigong.

What is your bedtime ritual?

My bedtime ritual is still a work in progress.  CBT-i Coach is a great app on cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia that gives lots of strategies to improve the quality of your sleep. If you need motivation to make sleep a priority, read Mathew Walker’s book, Why We Sleep. 

What do you do during the day that has the biggest impact (positive or negative) on your sleep?

The biggest positive impact on my sleep is a good exercise workout. When it is bedtime, my body winds down easily and feels relaxed enough to doze off into a sound sleep.

If you have had a particularly challenging day and your normal bedtime routine isn’t enough for you to fall asleep, what do you try next?

If sleep is elusive, I used the following techniques:

       a. I place 4 fingers of both hands on my sternum and apply pressure while I do abdominal breathing.

       b. I use a diffuser for lavender essential oil, or I spritz deep sleep pillow spray by thisworks.com on my pillow.

       c. I was really having a hard time sleeping the other night as I was anxious and worried. I took 2 capsules of magnesium glycinate 350 and my body relaxed quickly, and I fell into a deep sleep. I will definitely add it to my sleep hygiene routine in the future!

       d. I teach this technique to my clients to use when they wake up in the middle of the night and can’t fall back to sleep:

Next time you find yourself squirming like a disgruntled toddler as you’re trying to fall asleep, try this relaxation and sleep-promoting move taken from chi-gong (qigong):

1.

Rub your hands together to warm them. Place your right palm over your right eye, left palm over left eye.

2.

Press the center bone above each eye with your index fingers.

3.

Press the outside corner of your eyes at the bone.

4.

Press the bottom center of your eyes on the inside of the bone.

5.

Press the inside of each eye.

6.

Use your thumbs to push where your jaw and cheekbone meet.

7.

Move to your ears and pinch along the edge of your ears from top to bottom.

8.

End the sequence with a move called “Beating the Heavenly Drum.” Tap the back of your head nine times with the palms of your hands and your thumbs resting on your neck.

From Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen’s book, You:Staying Young

 

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