How to Catch Those ZZZ's
If you have trouble sleeping, you’re not alone. According to a recent poll by the National Sleep Foundation (www.sleepfoundation.org), 58% of adults in the U.S. experienced one or more symptoms of insomnia at least a few nights per week. The adults in the survey experienced common symptoms of insomnia—waking up feeling tired, waking up during the night, difficulty falling asleep and waking up too early. Stress was the number one reason for disrupted sleep, followed by health problems, children, environmental factors, and partner’s snoring.
There are many things you CAN do to improve your sleep. First, consider your sleep patterns by going through following quick checklists. An awareness of what is causing your sleep difficulty can guide you to a good solution.
OBSERVING YOURSELF
· Are you able to fall asleep readily?
· Do you wake up feeling rested and well?
· Is your sleep often fitful or interrupted by nightmares?
· Do you awaken needing to eliminate?
· Do light or sounds frequently wake you up?
IDENTIFYING YOUR SLEEP PATTERNS
· Is your insomnia frequent or does it coincide with specific events (i.e., argument with spouse, incident at work, after overeating and drinking)?
· When did your insomnia begin?
· Are there specific stresses occurring in your life? What are they?
· Do you lie in bed worrying over troublesome events?
· Do you have aches, pains, and specific discomforts as you attempt to fall asleep?
COPING WITH YOUR SLEEP PROBLEMS
· How have you coped with your sleep problems?
· What worked? Were you consistent in your method?
· Did your method remain successful? What happened? What interfered?
LEARNING FROM YOUR SLEEP PATTERNS
- Do you remember your dreams? What do your dreams tell you?
- Do you quickly forget them, dismiss them as nuisances, or do you allow yourself to learn from them?
- Even the terror of nightmares offers a message.
- Does your pattern of sleep indicate you’re worried, relaxed, tense or depressed?
Sleeping difficulties often coincide with stressful events in our lives. Annoying as it is, once the stressful situation is over, our normal sleep patterns will return. Since most stress-related insomnia is short-term, it’s important not to worry excessively about your sleep at such times so that you don’t prolong your insomnia even after the stress is gone. Developing particular sleep habits can facilitate sleep, and you can find out more by selecting the articles below.
An awareness of your sleep patterns often can guide you to practical solutions. If light wakes you up early or makes falling asleep difficult, one solution may be to install dark window shades or thicker drapery. Waking up during your sleep due to stomach pain, indigestion, and the need to urinate can be signs of tension from a stressful lifestyle. Practical solutions may be to limit fluids prior to sleep and to eat a small, non-spicy evening meal. Also, eliminating or reducing your intake of alcohol may help as it is dehydrating to your body and causes a more frequent need to urinate.
Food and Drink Matters
Hold the pizza and beers! Your diet can create stress on your body during sleep, so it’s beneficial to pay attention to what you eat and drink near bedtime. Here’s how to prevent your diet from interfering with your sleep:
1. Eat a light supper. Stop when you begin to feel full. Eating requires your stomach to work while your body is at rest during sleep, and overeating may cause indigestion and discomfort.
2. Minimize late evening snacks. For the same reasons that you would want to eat a light supper, you don’t want to snack too close to bedtime and put additional stress on your body during sleep.
3. Limit your intake of liquids. It’s a good idea to drink fewer liquids at least two hours before you sleep. The need to urinate can wake you up in the middle of the night or early morning. If you find you awaken frequently to "go," try limiting beverages after 6:00 P.M.
4. Avoid nicotine, caffeine and alcohol. Nicotine and caffeine are stimulants to your central nervous system that keep you awake. Avoid these at least a few hours before bedtime. Although alcohol may help you fall asleep initially, it can disturb sleep because your body has to metabolize the alcohol. Too much of it can give you an acid stomach and abdominal cramps. Some alcoholic beverages can cause the heart to beat faster with a fluttering sensation, which can disturb sleep. Want to be able to enjoy an occasional glass of wine? Eat a bit of food with your drink. Did you know that foods that are high in sugar, especially honey, help your body metabolize the alcohol and reduce its negative impact on sleep?
Set the Right Environment
There are some disruptions over which you have no control and others you need to contend with (i.e., neighbor’s dog, sirens, children). However, there are many things you CAN do to set up an environment conducive to sleep. Here are some ideas:
1. Provide sufficient bed support. When was the last time you replaced your mattress? They don’t last forever! Usually ten years or so is what you can expect with a quality mattress. Some mattresses are too soft to adequately support your body. Firm support is usually the most effective. Always choose a mattress by its comfort and support for your special needs.
2. Eliminate noise. If you’re sensitive to sound, your rest environment needs to be quiet. Noise from clocks, heaters, neighbors, and the street can be disruptive. Thick carpeting and heavy drapery frequently can help reduce the noise. Sometimes it may be necessary to oil creaking door hinges. If you have to lie beside someone who snores or has trouble sleeping, it often becomes your problem too! Help your partner get the professional advice he or she needs.
3. Dim bright lights. If you’re a person who is sensitive to light, you may want to install dark window shades or drapery to shield the room from morning and night-lights. If you’re unusually photosensitive, you may need to shield lights reflecting from other rooms through doorways and cracks.
4. Keep your room at a moderate temperature. Extreme temperatures can interfere with sleep. Most people are comfortable when the room temperature is on the cool side (65-68 F).
Adopt a Sleepy Attitude
Sleeping is, in part, a learned behavior. Many people who suffer from chronic insomnia that lasts for months often need to retrain themselves on their sleep behavior and attitudes. To improve your sleep, adopt these sleepy attitudes:
1. Accept adequate sleep as a normal part of life. If you resent not having enough hours in the day to do everything you want, you may have trouble falling asleep and ruminate about unfinished business. To enjoy sleep, you need to accept it as a normal and healthy aspect of life.
2. End the day with a peace of mind. Approach bedtime with a positive attitude, with a feeling of closure to today’s events and a positive expectation of tomorrow. When you have unsettled business or dread tomorrow’s activities, you may easily become anxious and tense.
3. Go to bed when you’re ready. Instead of going to bed when you’re awake and spending hours tossing and turning, it’s better to do quiet activities such as reading or taking a warm bath. For many people, a relaxing routine before sleep helps them feel calm and gets them in the mood for a night’s rest.
4. Use your bed as a place to sleep. Avoid eating, watching TV, working or even reading in it. Your bed should be associated with sleep.
Develop Relaxing Bedtime Routines
Your parents were wise to read you a bedtime story and tell you to count sheep when you were a child. A calming routine before you go to bed "signals" your brain to get ready for sleep. Here are some ideas for relaxing bedtime routines:
1. Develop calming routines. These include: a warm bath, a small glass of warm milk, massage, lovemaking, quiet talk with spouse or partner, reading relaxing materials, listening to calming music, visualizing pleasant scenes, meditation, and relaxation exercises. Choose a routine that is calming to you.
2. Avoid activities that are arousing or agitating. These include television programs, movies and reading that are frightening or overly stimulating. It especially means NOT beginning a discussion with someone on a sensitive subject (don’t talk about money!) right before you go to sleep.
3. Avoid vigorous exercising near bedtime. Regular exercise helps release tension and improves sleep, but you may want to exercise at least three hours before you go to bed so that your body has a chance to unwind.
4. Give yourself a positive self-instruction. To end your day, it’s helpful to give yourself a positive self-instruction. As you drift to sleep, you might repeat, "When I wake up, I will feel fresh, alert, and relaxed." If you have health concerns, this instruction is useful: "Every day in every way I grow stronger and healthier." This routine can encourage peaceful, full sleep.