Chronic Insomnia

Archive for October, 2009

When discussing chronic insomnia and what to do about it, we must remember that {cures} and {rememdies} are two separate discussions. Since insomnia is not a disease or originating condition, but a symptom of something else, an insomnia remedy is anything that helps you sleep, even if it doesn’t “cure” the insomnia. Cures are part of another discussion about the causes of insomnia. Here we will discuss whatever it takes to help you sleep. Because while it can take months or even years to just find the cause of chronic insomnia, that doesn’t mean that it has to take long to find a way to overcome the sleeplessness. And once you begin to get some sleep and the hope of a normal day returns, everything else becomes easier.

The key to finding chronic insomnia remedies is to keep your mind open. Get any ten insomniacs in a room discussing what helps them sleep, and it’s likely you’ll get ten different insomnia remedies. The point is, just because you’ve tried one……or two dozen remedies that somebody else used and they didn’t work, doesn’t mean a solution is not available. It just means you haven’t found it yet. And this section assumes that you’re willing to deal with some of the basics of life style before moving into other remedies.

None of the chronic insomnia remedies here are medicinal. They are all activities that you can undertake without medication. A discussion of treatments and medications comes in another article. These are just things that help many people step over the sleep “edge” to get to sleep initially. These are generally not for people who wake in the middle of the night or have some other sleep issue.

As with any change in behavior or lifestyle, be sure to check with your doctor if you suspect you have any significant underlying cause for your sleeplessness, before engaging in any of the activity below.

Exercise: In addition to the benefits of exercise to our heart, lungs, muscles, general appearance and many other aspects of life, it’s a great sleep aid. But not just before you go to bed. Sometime in the late afternoon, or early evening, undertaking light to moderate exercise can be that missing factor that puts you into a nice restful sleep quickly. If you have chronic insomnia, do not undertake vigorous, high intensity exercise unless it is early in the day and you can recover from the effects of it.

A light snack: “Light” is the key word here. Not a meal. Warm milk, a banana, small carton of yogurt, a couple of cookies, small bowl of cereal with milk, or a small muffin among other light snacks will work. While the digestive process can keep us awake if we eat large quantities of food shortly before bed time, small snacks can stave off hunger which can also disrupt sleep. Remember, something small, easy to digest and carbohydrate rich can do wonders in helping you drop off to sleep.

A warm bath: A warm bath is a natural muscle relaxer. Two things to keep in mind. The bath should not be over-heated. Just warm enough to relax the muscles. And it should not be directly prior to getting into bed. Take the bath, dry off and relax for 30-45 minutes before turning in. As insomnia remedies go, this is one of the most pleasant.

Deep breathing relaxation exercise: This can have a remarkable temporary relaxing effect whether you need to sleep, relax during the day, or calm yourself before something stressful. I have put myself sound asleep using this natural technique and all it requires is air. Take a maximum deep breath to the count of four. When fully inhaled, hold it for seven seconds. Then let it out with closed mouth, through the teeth, to a count of eight. Repeat four times. Sounds simple, but when you’re already tired or stressed it can seem monumental. But if you’ll get past the feelings and just do it, the effect will amaze you. If the four breaths are not enough, do it eight times. It’s a God given way, using just the air around you to relax.

Music: Not hard rock, rap, or heavy metal. Not even music you necessarily like. But listening to …..well….easy listening or soft classical music can have a relaxing effect that can put some people right to sleep. There is actually insomnia music that is designed for people with chronic sleeplessness. It is sold as a sleep aid and reportedly works very well for people who appreciate music.

Steady noise: Such as the sound of rain, a running stream or flowing water of some kind. And where do you get such sounds made to order in the city? From a “Sleep Mate” or some other similar devise. I have used one on and off for years and the effects of it for me are irreplaceable. I always sleep with a fan, Sleep Mate, or in a pinch I’ll turn a tv to an off station and let the white noise lull me to sleep. I know it sounds bizarre, but if you experience chronic insomnia, you know that anything that works is on the table to try. Works for me. This just requires a little noise.

Reading or not reading: Reading at bed time has always had an effect on me that puts me out like a light. Some people are stimulated by it and it has the opposite effect. The only way to find out is to try it. Even great reads put me to sleep. Some people will stay up half the night from reading a stimulating story. That’s the reason it’s important to try things until you find what works, because with chronic insomnia, it’s truly different strokes for different folks.

Another absolute I’ve heard mentioned is to never watch tv while in bed trying to go to sleep. But like everything else, it will have a different effect on different people. If you’re not able to go to sleep with the tv playing, turn it off. If you can’t go to sleep with the tv off, try turning it on and relaxing while watching a show. It puts some people right to sleep. Just the fact that a tv show might get an insomniac’s mind off trying to go to sleep helps them do exactly that….sleep.

There are many more “remedies” but these are the most common and most often useful for the majority of people. Trying one or more of these techniques alone or in combination with other insomnia helps may just be the key to your good night’s rest.

Below are some links to organizations that provide chronic insomnia help by going in depth into understanding sleep and sleep disorders. They may have some information and references that could help you with your sleep difficulties.

–National Insitute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
The link below is on a page titled Understanding Sleep. The information is very technical and detailed but may be helpful in understanding your situation.
National Insitute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke    http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/brain_basics/understanding_sleep.htm

–National Institutes of Health – Office of Dietary Supplements
This site is a serious, extensive and scientifically sound place to get all the information necessary when deciding on the safety and efficacy of dietary supplements. Since diet and supplement use can have a significant effect on chronic insomnia, having the clinically tested information necessary to make intelligent choices is critical.

http://ods.od.nih.gov/

–A site maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute contains information related to various physical illnesses and conditions and how they relate to sleep and sleep disorders. Type in “sleep” in the search form to get information.

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/

–The Center for Narcolepsy, Sleep and Health Research is a site developed and maintained by the University of Illinois at Chicago. Study and explanation of sleep disorders and treatments.

http://www.uic.edu/nursing/CNSHR/index.html

–The National Sleep Foundation: Expert scientific information and expert answers to questions about sleep and sleep disorders.

http://www.sleepfoundation.org/

You would think one of the easiest causes of chronic insomnia to cure would be those caused by our lifestyle. I mean you know what is causing it. It’s something you can identify and stop. Simple. But as we all know, stopping the things we like to do, feel, taste, that stimulate us, cause euforia, etc., is not quite as easy as it sounds. I mentioned that I still drink coffee knowing that stopping it all together along with all other sources of caffein would inevitably improve my ability to sleep. But when I do sleep, and I get up in the morning smelling the coffee, counting the cost at that moment seems to go in favor of having some coffee. It’s when I can’t sleep that the thought, “I probably need to quit coffee” comes pounding on my brain.

But, the fact remains that some of the most common causes of chronic insomnia or at least contributing significantly to it are the things we choose to do habitually day to day. Consequently, we know we’re doing some of this to ourselves. And if there are other, more serious underlying causes to our insomnia, doing these things can increase our sleeplessness significantly. So, below are just some reminders of what our favorite habits are causing.

-Coffee, tea, cola and other sources of caffein. Drinking or otherwise ingesting caffein any time during the day can cause problems sleeping. Ingesting it later in the day almost guarantees it for someone prone to insomnia. So, the next time you think how good a cup of coffee would taste with that evening piece of pie, or a glass of tea with dinner, think about yourself lying in the dark, eyes wide open unable to sleep. Might not taste so good then.

-Alcohol is a drink people most often associate with relaxation, and in general, it does initially relax you. But the immediate effects are deceptive as often, alcohol is determined to prevent deep stages of sleep and causing a person to wake later unable to go back to sleep. So, don’t go for that “relaxing” drink before bed. The effect may very well be the misery of waking in the middle of the night unable to go back to sleep, until….oh about time to go to work.

-Heavy evening eating. A banana, a little yogurt or some milk before bed is fine, but heavy eating is likely to cause some disturbance of your sleep. The digestive system is the largest system in the body and requires a lot of energy to digest a large quantity of food. The restlessness, feelings of being over full, stomach distress all work to interfere with sleep.

-Poor sleep habits. Sleeping with the tv on. Going to bed at different times every night. Stimulating activities such as exercise or intensive conversation or work can keep you from going to sleep for hours. I take martial arts and after an extra intense evening workout, it commonly delays my ability to go to sleep for up to three hours longer than usual.

These and other life style choices can keep us from getting the sleep we need or exacerbate our already difficult sleeping abilities. How much you want to sleep is what will determine how and what you control that is within your ability to do so.