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Donna
Hale, M.A, CBT,CHT
InnerFitness Programs
(415) 408-8839
donna@donnahale.com
Oh Mr. Sandman……..
What To Do About Insomnia
It should be so easy. You’re tired. You close your eyes. You fall asleep. But for the millions of Americans, who are sleepless in Seattle, Manhattan, etc., this simplest of human functions is but a dream. If there’s any comfort in numbers, the insomniac may find solace in knowing they’re hardly alone while they pine in the wee hours for Mr.Sandman.
Up to 40 million Americans suffer from sleep disorders, which tend to worsen with age, yet most sheepishly hide it in the closet. (afterall, it’s only sleep, not a life-threatening illness. And doesn’t everyone seem tired these days?”) Too many people think insomnia is something to be embarrassed about, that it’s some sort of weakness,” says Tom Roth, director of the Sleep Disorders Research Center as the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. And this prevents a majority from seeking the help they need.
Many of us experience temporary insomnia from a few days to a few weeks.
This kind of insomnia usually results from normal events in our lives
such as:
- A stressful event
- Emotional stress
- Illness
- Temporary pain
- Disturbances in sleep hygiene (environmental factors under your control
that may contribute to disturbed sleep and insomnia)
- Disruption to circadian rhythm (the 24-hour rhythmic regulation of our
body processes.
- Psychological stressors (like deadlines, exams, marital conflict, and
job crises.
When stressful situations resolve, when you recover from illness, when the pain goes away, when sleep hygiene improves – then sleep usually improves.
We can do without sleep for short periods of time, in the knowledge that
our bodies will find a way to recoup our sleep deficit. Take, for example,
bringing up children – one of nature’s big sleep experiments.
If parents, had not evolved to cope with the way that babies and small
children interrupt our sleep, we would never have survived as a species!
Parenthood, jet lag, shift work often create disruptions in our natural
body rhythms, and may contribute to insomnia because the times you fall
asleep and wake up are temporarily shifted. Proper sleep hygiene particularly
the amount of and timing of light, can help re-set your circadian rhythm
and improved the symptoms of insomnia from these causes.
If we are lucky, any bad effect on our sleep will be only temporary, but
if we are unlucky the stress might cause us long-term sleep problems.
If this has happened to you, take heart – you CAN re-learn how to
sleep well, just as you originally learned your sleep pattern as a baby.
It can take time to “turn off” all the noise from the day. No way around it. If you work right up to the time you turn out the lights, or are reviewing all the day’s events and planning tomorrow you simply cannot “ just “flip a switch” and drop off to a blissful night’s sleep. One must develop some kind of pre-sleep ritual to break the connection between all the stress and bedtime. This is perhaps even more important for children. These rituals can be as short as 10 minutes or as long as an hour. Some find relief in making a list of all the stressors of the day, along with a plan to deal with them, as it serves to end the day.
Most people can find a way to manage insomnia as long as they’re willing to keep on trying, even after the first, fifth, and seventh attempts fail. Often the secret lies in combining approaches. Try taking a class in learning to sleep better, or the new Sleep CD’s.
Some tips:
Give yourself some time to “wind down” before bed.
Falling asleep is easier if your mind can have a chance to relax and wind
down before bedtime. Do something relaxing before getting into bed such
as reading, listening to soft music, meditation or perhaps some light
stretching. Avoid watching TV, eating and discussing emotional issues
in bed. The bed should be used for sleep and sex only. If not, we can
associate the bed with other activities and it often becomes difficult
to fall asleep.
Simply breathe. Simply paying attention to your breath, listening to it, or counting how long you can stretch out your exhale can ease you into a slower brain wave state and into sleep more quickly than imagined.
Snacking. A light snack may be sleep-inducing, but a heavy meal too close to bedtime interferes with sleep. Stay away from protein and stick to carbohydrates or dairy products. Milk contains the amino acid L-trytophan, which has been shown in research to help people go to sleep. So milk and cookies or crackers (without chocolate) may be useful and taste good as well.
Careful with liquids. Although alcohol is a depressant and may help you fall asleep, the subsequent metabolism that clears it from your body when you are sleeping causes a withdrawal syndrome. This widthdrawal causes awakenings and is often associated with nightmares and sweats.
Take a warm bath. Research suggests that taking a 15 minute hot bath approximately ninety-eight degrees, before going to bed is helpful. The rise in body temperature, followed by the decline in the core body temperature, signals the body that it’s bedtime.
Sleep in a cooler room – between 60-65 degrees. A warm room impedes sleep and causes awakenings. Use a fan or air-conditioner to keep you cool and comfortable. Also the “white noise” can mask external sounds.
For background noise try ear plugs or “sleep CD’s”. There’s a wide range of CD’s available which may help you sleep and all you need is a CD player, which easily can fit into a briefcase or a purse when you’re traveling.
SLEEP CD’S
Power Nap In 35 minutes
you can refresh your day and avoid high stress syndromes.
(Designed for and used by the NYC Firefighters at “ground zero”).
Many great thinkers (Einstein, Edison) have used this technique.
Deep Sleep
Is a “focusing tool.” It is designed to help you fall asleep
by re-directing
Your conscious awareness or attention away from thoughts about not
Sleeping and and toward a composition of soothing sounds and relaxing
Verbal instruction. I recommend that you listen to the CD when you’re
Having difficulty falling asleep either at the beginning of the night
or
In the middle of the night if you wake up and can’t fall back to
sleep
easily.
• Promotes deep physical, emotional and spiritual peace
• Frees anxiety, negativity, fearful feelings
• Improves pain management
Classes and Training teach:
How to Sleep Better, Understanding Sleep Problems. What happens during sleep, effects of menopause on sleep, sleep and weight loss, what you can do about the impact of pain on sleep and more. The trainings include a Sleep Strategies Manual from Stanford Sleep Clinics
For more tips and information e-mail me at donna@donnahale.com