Sleep is essential to life. Laboratory animals deprived of sleep die. And humans don’t seem to be immune to the life-threatening effects of sleeplessness. A survey conducted by a reputed Cancer Society concluded that people who sleep 6 hours or less per night, or who sleep 9 hours or more, had a death rate 30 percent higher than those who regularly slept 7 to 8 hours. Even those who slept 6 hours or less who otherwise had no health problems had death rates 1.8 times higher than those who slept’normal’ hours.
Sleep can be so effortless and restorative, and yet there are so many who suffer from lack of it, (may be God did that just to compensate for making people like me, who get sleep anywhere, everywhere, anytime, every time, can take those 40 winks in any position, simply anytime.
Insomnia- is a problem that many face, many neglect without knowing how it can silently harm your system causing a negative impact on concentration, productivity and mood.
In lay man’s language it would mean SLEEPLESSNESS. When we have insomnia, we have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, and/or we wake too early in the morning. Insomnia is not a disease in itself, but a symptom that occurs due to many types of illnesses or conditions.
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· ** Sleep Stealers: *
Psychological factors –Stress, depression etc.
Lifestyle stressors – Alcohol, smoking, exercise etc
Shift Work
Jet Lag
Environmental Influences- Temperature, Noise, Light etc
Physical factors- Painful conditions, Restless legs syndromes, PMS(Pre Menstrual syndrome) etc
Medications –like those for asthma, decongestion, steroids can cause sleep disorders as a side effect
Below, are discussed certain common factors and the solutions:
Food
Tomato/ sour products and spicy foods give many people heartburn(as does eating too fast). What does heartburn have to do with sleep? Lying down makes heartburn worse, and heartburn itself makes falling asleep more difficult. Heartburn also awakens sleepers with middle-of-the-night discomfort. At the same time, going to bed hungry can be just as disruptive to sleep as going to bed too full.
Caffeine
Coffee contains caffeine, as do many teas, chocolate and cola drinks. Caffeine is a stimulant, which means it has an alerting or wake-up effect. For some people, a small amount of caffeine early in the day can cause problems falling asleep ten to 12 hours later. How you respond to caffeine is individual; it is also related to how much caffeine you have regularly. For example, the more coffee you drink each day, the less powerful its effect as a stimulant.
How to determine caffeine’s effect on you? Try eliminating caffeinated food and drink after lunch for a few weeks. Are you sleeping better? If so, you may have identified the culprit.
Exercise
Exercise can be a boon for good sleep, especially when done regularly in the afternoon and not too close to bedtime. If you don’t exercise regularly, add good sleep to a long list of reasons why you should take up the practice
Also, people who exercise may take less time to fall asleep than people who don’t. Traditionally, sleep experts have cautioned people to avoid strenuous exercise right before sleep and even up to three hours before bedtime. That’s because exercise has an alerting effect and raises your body temperature. This rise leads to a corresponding fall in temperature five to six hours later, which makes sleep easier then. That’s why late afternoon may be the perfect time for your exercise.
Coffee and alcohol:
Avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol in the late afternoon and evening. Caffeine and nicotine can delay your sleep, and alcohol may interrupt your sleep later in the night.
Bed:
Does your mattress provide the support you like? Do you wake with your back aching? Is there enough room for you and your sleep partner? Do you sleep better, or worse, when you sleep away from home?
· Use your bed only for sleep and sex.
· Only get into bed when you’re tired.
· If you don’t fall asleep within 15 minutes, get out of bed. When you’re sleepy, go back to bed.
· While in bed, don’t dwell on not sleeping or your anxiety will increase.
· Think relaxing thoughts: picture yourself soothed in a tub of hot water, or drifting to sleep, each muscle relaxed.
GENERAL TIPS:
** Establish a regular bedtime and bedtime routine and follow them even on weekends. More than an hour’s variation from the weekday schedule on the weekend can throw off your biological clock, making Monday morning a particularly difficult time. Avoid bright lights in the evening(which stimulate the body to stay awake). Try a warm bath before bedtime. This may help by relaxing the body and by lowering your body temperature once you leave the tub—a signal to the body that it is time to sleep.
If you cannot fall asleep after 30 minutes, get up and go to another room. Read something entertaining(do not work) or listen to soothing music until you feel sleepy, then return to bed. Use this time to clear your mind, not to try to solve problems that are worrying you.
Let the sunlight help awaken you. Leave curtains open, if possible, or use bright lights when you wake up. The bright light helps the body to reset its biological clock. **
* Stress related(most common factor)*
SOLUTION:
Identify the stressor- is it some problem at workplace, or incompatibility with spouse, kids’ studies(which I believe in todays times stresses parents more than the kids themselves).
Focus on problem solving rather than vexing yourself simply thinking about what went wrong. I know its easier said than done, as our mind does like to go round and round – WHAT WENT WRONG-HOW IT HURT US-hurting ourself more in the bargain. SO the important thing is to FOCUS on how to tackle the problem, thinking rationally and logically and by keep the emotional part OUT.
- Meditation-Vipassana / Transcedental-or any other technique you know / have followed, will aid a great deal in calming down frayed nerves, bring your whole mind to a homeostatis, bring about complete relaxation and peace on the whole. This should be practised either at dawn, or at night –practical reason being, people at home are still asleep and it is easier to meditate in silence and when there is less activity of people around you.( it has been noticed that kids develop sudden urge to hug you, jump on your lap, smatter your face with their wet kisses, wives will want to ask you why you a hundred questions, husbands will want to know where you kept their socks;-))
In short, all the above can be avoided, if you chose to meditate at a time when all are asleep or out of home.
If your partner would like to meditate with you, nothing like it, actually there are even MEDITATION groups which meet up early in the morning( quite a contrast to those laughing clubs-What say?)
2.HOMEOPATHY- Although I have graduated in the allopathic field of medicine, I have tremendous faith and respect for this branch of medicine which works on the principle- LIKE CURES LIKE. There are some amazing remedies to put you to sleep without the unpleasant side effects.
- Allopathy
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It is indeed difficult to cover in detail all the factors and their solutions for Sleeplessness, but for any further queries, commentzzzz /M2M are welcome!
* * Jai Kumbhakaran! **
If none of the sleep remedies work on you, the last I can do to help is tell you the
25 Best Responses if Found Asleep at Your Desk….Look in Comments Section