I wrote yesterday about American’s experiencing sleep problems. Troubles sleeping can affect our health, our job, even the quality of our marriage.
The topic is important to me for reasons both professional and personal. Difficulty sleeping is often a major symptom of clinical depression. So I’m often talking to my clients about the quality of their sleep. On a personal level, I’ve had episodic periods of insomnia since the onset of puberty. I have no idea why, but about every two months I will go through three or four nights of not being able to sleep. Then I’m good to go for another few months. (And, it doesn’t take much to throw my sleep cycle out of wack: I hate these day light savings time changes.)
So my knowledge comes from keeping up with journal articles about sleep problems: and then applying them to see what works for me.
Develop a bed time routine. Every parent of an infant or toddler knows it’s easier to get the little guys to bed if there is some kind of a constant “ritual”. The same thing works for adults. I minimize the stimuli in the room (TV off, lights low, etc) and read for while before going to bed.
Get up at the same time every morning. Most make the mistake of sleeping in a little later to “make up” for the tossing and turning of the night before.
Avoid caffeine in the evening. Along with spicy foods in the evenings and naps during the day. If you are going to exercise, do so at least 3 hours before you go to bed.
Don’t lie in bed wishing you were asleep. We’ve all done that; “If I fall asleep right now I’ll get 4 hours of sleep. If I fall asleep right now I’ll get 3 hours of sleep.” Instead, get up and go to anther room. Just remember to keep the lights and the noise low. (Don’t get up and work… you don’t want to ensure you will be up all night.)
Reading works for me unless it’s a novel I’m really interested in; then I’ll stay up all night just to find out what happens next. CSPAN also works for me: nothing like listening to some undersecretary of whatever droning on about policy.
(I once got hooked, though, on the British Parliament. I thought it would be dull and boring because I’m used to seeing our legislators talk to one camera in an empty room. That’s not the way the Brit’s do it. It’s actually some of the more entertaining stuff on TV.)
Don’t worry about the occasional night of sleeplessness. It used to drive me crazy that I would have up to a week’s worth of poor sleep every few months. Now I realize it won’t kill me and I can actually get caught up on my never-ending reading list.
And of course… see your primary care physician if your sleep problems are chronic.
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