Hi all, it’s Barnaby checking back in. When I last posted on CantSleep.com the other day I was about to have my sleep apnea test. My doctor just called and advised me that I do not have sleep apnea. I can’t help but feel relieved, but at the same time I am disappointed that a definitive reason for my insomnia can not be ascertained. For now, I’ve decided that I’ve had enough of doctors and so-called experts, and I’m going to try to find a solution for my sleep issues which doesn’t involve pills. If you remember, I’ve previously described on here my unpleasant experiences with over the counter sleep aids. I tried various types of over the counter sleep pills, and they left me with horrible nightmares and insatiable thirst. I’m also quite nervous about becoming addicted to sleeping pills.
Last night my wife had me call her friend Joanne who is really into alternative medicine. Joanne told me that there are several possible natural cures for insomnia, and that she personally has seen them used with success. She gave me a list of possible natural cures of insomnia, and I’m now researching them trying to decide which is best for me. I first ruled out Melatonin. Although it seems that many people are able to use Melatonin successfully, I read that it can cause nightmares — something which I have already shown a tendency towards when I tried over the counter sleep aids. Also out is Kava. Although I see it discussed online, Joanne told me to stay away from it — Kava is now thought to potentially cause liver damage.
The next possibility is Valerian. This seems interesting. It seems that Valerian is a really popular natural cure for insomnia in Europe, and it has been used to treat insomnia for hundreds of years. Joanne insisted that Valerian is not tied to nightmares, and most importantly it is not addictive. The downside is that she said that you have to take Valerian for two to three weeks before it becomes effective. I don’t know if I can make it another 3 weeks like this sleeping only a few hours a night — if that. Joanne also suggested Yoga and Feng Shui — but I really am not the Eastern mystic type. I guess Yoga can’t hurt, but Feng Shui just strikes me as silly.
I think Valerian is on the top of my list to try as a natural cure for insomnia. Has anyone out there had success with any other possible natural cures? I’d really love to hear if you have.
There are a great deal of ways that people utilize when trying to get to sleep. Some of them work and some of them don’t. Some of the best sleep tips involve all natural techniques that you can do in your own home without a daunting middle of the night trip to the drug store.
Make sleep a priority. Don’t stay up till all hours of the morning when you know you must get up early. Do this enough times and then your body will no longer sleep when you want it to. You will have reset your internal alarm clock, which will only make you groggy and very cranky.
Start a sleep/bedtime ritual. Start getting ready for bed earlier in the evening. Unwind from the madness of the day at least 2 hours before bed. Start lowering noise and lighting, along with any other stimulants. Take a shower or bath or just wash your face. Put on your pajamas and get comfortable. Create a bedtime for yourself. Going to bed at the same time every night tells your body what time to go to sleep.
Create a restful place to sleep. No television in the bedroom. No clutter in the bedroom. Make your bedroom an oasis from the rest of the house. Make sure that you have a good quality mattress and foundation on your bed. It should be comfortable and support your spine.
Cut back on what you take in before bed. Avoid foods. Cut back on or reduce the amount you smoke and the amount of alcohol you consume before bed. Try warm milk or herbal tea , like chamomile, to help you relax in the evening.
Need more help to relax? Listen to music. Not crazy music, but soft, lilting music to practice deep breathing to. Get your spouse to give you a massage. Close your eyes and clear your mind. Some people swear by practicing meditation techniques at bed time as well as counting backward from 10,20, or even 30. The belief is that your body comes to understand that you are ‘counting down’ to sleep and it begins to relax into the beginning stages of the sleep mode.
If you just cannot sleep, get up. If you are laying in bed staring at the ceiling then get up. Attempting to force yourself to sleep results in a horrid restless sleep. So get out of bed and deal with whatever issues may be dealing with.
One last way to help you sleep is exercise. Now don’t exercise within 1-2 hours of bedtime. Find some time during the day, even first thing in the morning, to exercise. It has been scientifically proven that people who exercise have a better quality of sleep. Exercise helps to reduce stress levels and increase health, both of which help to create a more peaceful quality of sleep.
As people’s lives become more hectic, the problem of insomnia becomes more problematic. It is surely not a new thing; people have suffered from occasional insomnia throughout history. The problem with today’s fast paced world is many people go to bed too exhausted to sleep or they are unable to turn their brains off so they can relax. Today’s fast paced world is creating a world full of insomniacs which in turn is causing health issues for many people. A lack of proper sleep first and foremost will reduce the immune’s system’s ability to fight off infection thus leaving the body susceptible to any number of illnesses.
What causes so many people to suffer from insomnia? We already mentioned the fact that people go to bed when they are too exhausted. This prevents the body from relaxing and also keeps the brain from slowing down and allowing the body to rest. What is the answer to this dilemma? One of the things that is very important is to allow yourself time to relax before going to bed. Instead of working and expecting to come home and going right to bed you will need time to “wind down.” At the same time you also need to go to bed at approximately the same time every night. One of the problems people have with sleep is “confusing” the body because the sleep schedule lacks consistency.
Another problem that plagues some people is becoming accustomed to taking something to help them sleep. When you get into the habit of taking something to help you sleep it becomes difficult for the body to sleep otherwise. This is how many people become addicted to sleeping aids—they are unable to sleep otherwise, so they develop the habit of taking something every night instead of trying to fall asleep on their own. While some sleep aids are natural and do not cause addiction or dependency, there are many that do. It is much better to try more natural methods such as a warm bath or some light exercise. Some people also find it helpful to do some reading before trying to fall asleep.
There are easy ways for even the worst insomniacs to get a good night’s sleep. The following are some of the things you can do to reduce your bouts of insomnia:
If you are a smoker this can also have a detrimental affect on your ability to fall asleep, especially if you smoke right before going to bed.
Make sure your room is not too cold or too warm—many people make the mistake of thinking they need to be “toasty” to sleep and then wonder why they have trouble sleeping.
Avoid eating heavy meals right before going to bed. At the same time do not attempt to go to bed hungry. Either one will cause you problems falling asleep.
Do not do anything strenuous right before going to bed. If you have to work late allow yourself time to relax before you attempt to go to sleep.
The statement that you need eight hours of sleep per night is thrown about as fact. The problem is that it is only a hypothesis. Scientists are only guessing about the eight hours. The amount of sleep you need is based on your age and on how healthy you are. Every person needs as adequate amount of sleep in order to function correctly. Proper sleep allows us to be alert, perform to our highest abilities and keep us at our optimum health. So eight hours is the amount of sleep needed by the average person, meaning that some people need less than 6 hours while some need more than 9 hours. Thus an average of 8 hours of sleep at night.
Newborns sleep 14-16 hours per day. They need this amount of sleep because of the amount of growing they are doing. Babies around the age of 3-6 months sleep 10-14 hours sleep. Again, because of the exorbitant amount of growing that is going on. Children and teens need 10-14 hours sleep. This amount of sleep is normally considered laziness in teenagers. They always want to take a nap or are falling asleep in class. Due to the hormonal changes and the internal changes going on inside a teenager they need a great deal more sleep than even they realize. The average adult needs approximately 6-8 hours of sleep per night. Again this depends upon a person’s health. Regular exercise during the day as well as a well balanced diet actually requires less sleep because a better quality of sleep is achieved. Pregnant women need 3 additional hours of sleep a day. It is said that a pregnant woman’s body is doing the job of a rock climber while she is at rest. Thus the need for at least 3 extra hours of sleep per day.
It’s about the quality of the sleep you get, not just the hours. In order to get the most out of a good night’s sleep you should understand the whole system. Stage one is when you’re drowsy. You are relaxed but still somewhat aware of the world around you. This lasts for approximately 10-15 minutes. Step 2 is light sleep. Your temperature starts to decline, your movements tend to stop, your heart rate reduces as your body slows for rest. Step 3 is deep sleep. You are unaware of the world around you. You’re groggy and completely disoriented. Deep sleep is when hormone cells begin to regenerate. Scientists have discovered that those who exercise stay in this stage 2-3 times as long as those that don’t exercise. Stage 5 is REM sleep. REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement. This is the last 5-6 hours of an 8 hour sleep. How much sleep you get in this stage depends upon how much sleep you get per night.
While you are sleeping the body is repairing itself and rebuilding parts that need assistance. You know that you have achieved the right amount and the right quality of sleep when you wake feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the day. If you have trouble focusing during the day or find yourself nodding off then perhaps you need more sleep.
Find out how much sleep you need by trying out a sleep reduction experiment. The first night get the least amount of sleep you believe you can function on. Don’t be crazy and not sleep at all. Start out at 5-6 hours sleep. Take note of how you feel in the morning. Are you dragging or did you bounce out of bed? Now did you need a nap halfway through the day? Then try adding one hour of sleep to the amount you slept the night before. Repeat this exercise until you not only bounce out of bed, you don’t feel sleepy during the day anymore. If you’re getting the right amount of sleep, going to bed at the same time every night, as well as getting up at the same time every day, then you may soon find yourself throwing out that alarm clock because you have optimized your body’s natural alarm clock.
I came across some information that I found surprising. Most doctors recommend that you abstain from drinking caffeine after 2 pm. I thought that this was amazing, I mean how many of us enjoy a caffeinated beverage with dinner or a nice brew of coffee after dinner; apparently, it takes a long time for the caffeine to dissolve, and to completely leave our bodies only once this occurs we can start to relax. I decided to see if this was true and I soon realized that it’s much harder to do than I thought.
I found out that after eating a big meal I had become incredible custom to that much needed caffeine boost and avoiding coffee or stimulants I fell asleep watching television. I did notice that I slept better than I have ever slept before, I got to sleep right away no tossing or turning, I didn’t wake up half way through the night and when I woke up the next morning I felt much more alert even before my morning brew.
I have decided to make this one of my permanent rules when I get home from work I stay away from caffeine unless I don’t feel like I am going to be able to make it to bedtime of course. I hereby issue you the same challenge you may find it difficult at first but I encourage you to stick to it.
I would like people to try this simple and easy method and see if it works for them. In one of my other articles I wrote about the over use of stimulants and relaxants or as I called them uppers and downers. This is your chance right now to remove yourself from this negative cycle and stop your body from working against you and help it work for you. Not to mention think of all the money you will save on sleeping pills and coffee.
You start your morning with a nice brew of hot coffee. At the office, you may find yourself enjoying another cup of coffee at around 10:30. If you go out for lunch with some co-workers and have lets’ say a rum and coke with your lunch, Around 3 pm you notice that your really starting to find yourself in a slump or crash. The way home you have a red bull or another energy drink or maybe just another coffee. The average person consumes 3 cups of coffee a day. When you add up how much caffeine has been consumed in my mock day at work, it would look like this.
Three cups of coffee
Glass of cola
1 Red bull / energy drink
That’s just before you get home and have dinner. We have developed into an upper and downer society. We think we need chemicals to get us going and to put us down. We in fact have been trained since grade school ‘when they installed the cola machines’ to be chemical dependant. You may find your hypertension (stress) going through the roof at times so maybe you consult your doctor. He may give you some sleeping pills or anti anxiety medication and this is the downer side.
Uppers and downers with so much of this going on are you surprised when your dentist tells you that you have been grinding your teeth when you sleep and it’s all due to stress. We have lost so many celebrities to our chemical depend society. Heath ledger to Elvis Presley they all died to due a combination of depressants (drugs) and alcohol (increases hypertension upper) and it also doubles as a depressant.
If you take an honest look at your own addictions caffeine, alcohol, sugar, maybe nicotine. You will never look at someone who is addicted to meth or heroin the same way again.
Having a dark bedroom helps you get to sleep and stay a sleep. You should not be able to see anything in your room if you can there is too much light. If you have a clock with lighted numbers cover them with an object or turn it around completely. Anything related to work shouldn’t be allowed in your bedroom. Stop thinking your bedroom is just another room in your home. Start to see your bedroom as a sanctuary from your everyday life. Don’t let anything from work intrude on this refuge your laptops, bills anything that could remind you of work should be placed out of sight and mind.
The Dalai Lama once said ‘Sleep is still the best meditation’.
What you sleep on can be just as important as where you sleep. Your mattress needs to be comfortable and supportive. I think most people fail to realize the importance of a good mattress. You spend a third of your life sleeping so if you were ever going to indulge yourself with major purchase, I think a mattress of high quality is worth a few extra bucks.
I have mentioned where you sleep and what you sleep on this leaves just one more thing to mention. When you sleep, if you wake up early you will fall asleep at a reasonable time. Most people enjoy sleeping in on the weekends. (I will be the first to admit that there is nothing I like more than having the birds wake me up at noon on a Sunday). When Monday rolls around, I spend the entire day dragging butt to the coffee machine several times during the day. Just remember the 4 keys to a good night’s rest
· Dark room
· Soft mattress
· No work related materials
· Develop a sleeping pattern and stick to it
If you want to sleep in on the weekends, be prepared to pay the price come Monday morning.
It’s not uncommon for adults to experience sleep loss, but it’s also not impossible to fix the problem. We’ve compiled a few “can’t sleep” tips for drowsy adults.
Can’t sleep again? You’re not alone! Studies show that at least half of the population will experience some form of insomnia during lifetime. While insomnia is slightly more common in children, it tends to last longer in adults. While a single day of stress may result in the loss of a single night’s sleep for a child, adults tend to carry that stress over. And it’s not just stress that causes us to lose sleep. More than any other age group, older adults lose sleep because of medical conditions like obesity or depression.
The good news is that the majority of adults that can’t sleep are experiencing acute or short-term insomnia. These bouts of sleeplessness are not only temporary but are also highly treatable. Here is just a short list of our “can’t sleep” tips for adults:
Avoid any foods or drinks that affect your body chemistry. This includes caffeine, alcohol, processed sugars, and even nicotine. Each of these substances affects your body’s ability to regulate sleep. While alcohol may help you to fall asleep initially, your ability to maintain deep sleep could be compromised, or you could oversleep which in many cases is just as harmful as sleep deprivation and which can also encourage depression. If you have to have your caffeine fix, then have it during the day. Try to choose a more sleep-friendly alternative at night like caffeine-free tea or a glass of warm milk.
Prep your bedroom. Use blinds or dark curtains on your windows, burn candles of a soothing scent, make sure the room temperature is comfortable… Do whatever it takes to make your bedroom a temple of relaxation.
Keep your bed sleep-specific. For many adults their bed remains a comfort zone, but if you talk in your bed, read in your bed, watch TV in your bed, work in your bed, etc you stop associating it specifically with sleep which may make it hard for you to relax when you climb under the covers at the end of the night. Put a desk or chair in your room if it helps, but from now on the only thing you should be doing in your bed is sleeping.
Cut back on naps. We know that for some adults it’s hard to get all the sleep you need in one go, but napping during the day can make it hard to maintain deep sleep at night. Instead of napping for an hour during the day, use that extra hour to get everything done quicker and then go to bed early.
Know when you need more. If you find yourself spacing out during work, church, or school and if you find yourself dozing off during downtime then you’re definitely not getting enough sleep! Too many adults have bought into the myth that they can get by on six hours or less when in truth most adults still need at least seven to ten hours of sleep.
While small bouts of sleep loss are common, you need to know when to see a doctor. If you are experiencing long-term sleep loss, are not reaching the deep sleep stage, or are having trouble sleeping for more than an hour or two at a time, then it’s time to call your doctor. Also, if you feel so tired that it is affecting your ability to think or function then you may have an underlying medical condition that deserves immediate attention.
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