Go to Sleep!

SLEEP DEPRIVED: DEALING WITH INSOMNIA

Most of us have experienced difficulties falling asleep, tossing and turning and waking up exhausted after a restless night. This experience of insomnia can be caused by many factors including alcohol consumption, caffeine, stress, and heartburn; it is extremely frustrating. But there are some people who experience sleep deprivation, wake too early in the morning and/or still feel exhausted after a night’s rest on a continual basis. Unfortunately, these symptoms could be characteristic of chronic insomnia.

Sleep is not just important for emotional and mental health but our immune systems are connected to our bodies’ ability to rest. Of course, there are various reasons for insomnia and these things should be considered. Dr. Carolyn Dean, a physician in City Island, New York states that, "The inability to sleep quite often comes from a combination of a lack of nutrients and dehydration." She encourages her patients to eat foods high in calcium, magnesium, and essential fatty acids along with lots of water. Stress and depression have also been linked as leading causes of insomnia.

Finding relief from insomnia is very important for one’s overall happiness, health and productivity in life. I have provided some helpful tips that may assist you in overcoming some of the contributors to the irritability, fatigue, depression, anxiety, and memory loss associated with insomnia.

• Difficulty falling asleep at night
• Waking up often during the night with difficulty going back to sleep
• Restlessness
• Waking up feeling tired
• Irritability and fatigue during the daytime
• Depression and/or anxiety
• Difficulty concentrating

• Stay out of bed until you feel adequately tired to fall asleep.
• If you lie in bed for 20 minutes or longer unable to sleep, get out of bed and go into another room finding something relaxing to do such as reading until you are sleepy.
• Endeavor to go to sleep at the same time every night and arise in the morning at the same time.
• Avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol late in the day. Caffeine and nicotine are stimulants and will prevent you from falling asleep. Alcohol, though it may help you to initially fall asleep, has a tendency to cause you to wake in the night and interferes with the quality of your sleep.
• Regular exercise will help you sleep better at night. Avoid exercising within three hours of bedtime as the exercise stimulates your body by speeding up the heart rate and metabolism.
• Avoid drinking fluids before bedtime to lessen the chance of needing to go to the bathroom in the night.
• Eat foods high in calcium, magnesium and essential fatty acids.
• Drink a glass of warm milk before retiring to bed. Milk contains tryptophan which is a chemical that promotes sleep in some people.
• Eat some protein a few hours before going to sleep. Low blood sugar, also known as hypoglycemia, is a major reason many people wake throughout the night.
• Do not eat big meals up to three hours before going to bed. The process of digestion may keep you awake.
• Take time to relax before going to bed by reading or listening to soothing music.
• Try turning off the television and computer an hour before bedtime to assist in your relaxation.
• Do some slow stretching exercises which will help to relieve anxiety and help your body to relax.
• Some helpful sleep inducing herbs are Valeriana, Kava Kava, Saint John's Wort and lavender.
• Take a warm bath.

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