Trouble Sleeping? Still?

Still having trouble sleeping? 

My post on 4-05-10 offered five tips on how to improve your sleep by making strategic changes in your sleep habits. 

As I said in that post, there can be many reasons that someone may have difficulty sleeping.   We will not explore those here.   This post is meant to offer some quick and easy tips to help you improve your “sleep hygiene” so that you can give yourself the best possible chance of getting a good night’s sleep without out using pharmaceuticals.  There are conditions, such as Narcolepsy that benefit from medication support, but first trying less invasive remedies is usually helpful.

There are 5 more suggestions 0f pre-sleep routines that may help.

•  Be thoughtful about your evening eating.   Stimulants like caffeine-drinks or sugar-drinks should be avoided.  Heavy meals and spicy meals can cause lingering discomfort and interfere with sleep, as can drinking large amounts of any liquid.  Instead try eating a small amout of mostly protein-rich food in the latter part of the evening.

•  Build an intentional relaxation routine just before or at bedtime.  Different practices will work for different people.  Some possible activities are reading (easy reading, not technical or emotional provocative), listening to relaxing music, stretching, or thinking about a future vacation.  Try not to engage is activities that are stimulating, like watching TV shows with violent or suspenseful content.

• Use your bed only for sleeping or sex.   Other activities may result in a “mental connection” between your bed and those activities, interfering with restfulness.  Much as getting in a dentist’s chair causes some anxiety and mental arousal, getting into bed should trigger sleepiness.

• Limit the light in the room.  Use dim night lights to see your way to the bathroom so that you do not have to turn on brighter lights that will arouse you from sleepiness, and use window shades that are effective in keeping out light from the outside.  Try either covering or turning off electronics that have bright displays or red “ready” lights such as DVD players and wireless telephones and chargers for other electronic items.

• Do not stay in bed if you cannot sleep.   This is similar to the suggestion of not using your bed for other activities.  If you lay awake for too long you may form a mental association with your bed as a place where you do NOT sleep rather than as a place where you do sleep.   If you are awake for more than 20 to 30 minutes, get up and go to another room, do something relaxing, and go back to bed when you feel drowsy.

 The tips in the two Trouble Sleeping? posts are intended to give you some ideas about how to approach your bedtime in a way that may enhance your ability to fall asleep more quickly.  It may also be true however that you are experiencing stress and anxiety that is not easily managed with these methods.  If excessive worry is keeping you awake it is also advisable that you seek professional therapy to illuminate, explore and resolve the causes of your anxiety.  Call today to make an appointment.

                                                                                  Sweet Dreams.

Trouble Sleeping?

Having trouble sleeping? 

There can be many reasons that someone may have difficulty sleeping.   We will not explore those here.   This post is meant to offer some quick and easy tips to help you improve your “sleep hygiene” so that you can give yourself the best possible chance of getting a good night’s sleep without out using pharmaceuticals.  There are conditions, such as Narcolepsy that benefit from medication support, but first trying less invasive remedies is usually helpful.

There are some tried and true pre-sleep routines that may help.

Here are 5 suggestions.  

*     Set a regular sleep schedule.  Having a regular time-time to go bed and to get up helps you to establish a regular sleep-wake cycle so that you aren’t fighting against habit when you try to sleep.

*     Avoid taking naps.  If you must take a nap then at least limit it to no more than 20 minutes.  Naps reduce night-time sleep and disrupt your regular sleep cycle – or the one you’re trying to establish!

*     Create a good sleep environment.  Arrange for your bedroom to be as quiet and dark as possible, and if your bed is not comfortable purchase a more comfortable mattress.

*     Try not to watch the clock.  It only arouses you to alertness as you’re waiting to fall asleep.   If you need to, turn the clock so that it faces away from you.

*     Avoid strenuous exercise for at least 3 hours before your bedtime.  Yes, regular exercise is good for you, and helps to reduce stress, but it also releases natural body chemicals that cause arousal and alertness.  Just do it earlier.

The next post will have 5 more suggestions to improve your sleep habits.  Don’t expect dramatic changes immediately.  It’s taken some time to train your body NOT to sleep so it will take more time to re-train and then perfect your sleep practices.  Be patient, and once established, maintain your improved habits.

             Sweet dreams.

 

Website to research natural remedies

Are you using herbal and “natural” remedies?

There are both useful and useless so-called “natural” remedies.  Some have been used successfully for years and even centuries.  Others are simply benign compounds with no proven benefit.  Still others can actually be detrimental.   If you choose to use these remedies, it’s prudent to know as much as possible about what you’re ingesting. 

Kaiser Permanente recently published the link below for the use of the general public.  It’s not their website, but it appears to have a comprehensive listing of homeopathic remedies that allows the consumer to search and discover more about hundreds of compounds.  I’m re-posting it here for your convenience.

Please stay informed and act intentionally when using any type of medication or medicinal substance.

 

CLICK  HERE THEN SAVE TO YOUR FAVORITES:      http://www.naturaldatabaseconsumer.com/

 As a Clinical Psychologist I am neither trained nor licensed to evaluate, recommend or prescribe medications of any kind.  Please consult with your physician, Nurse Practitioner or pharmacist regarding any questions you have about pharmaceuticals or natural remedies.