DEAL WITH INSOMNIA

DEAL WITH INSOMNIA

from the article '4 Sleep Disorders Solved'
By Stephanie Schorow, Special to Lifescript
Published April 26, 2010

Insomnia

What it is: Do you have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep? It could be insomnia. Most people have the occasional sleepless night, usually during stressful times. However, about 10% of American adults report chronic insomnia. Women are more likely than men to report ongoing problems, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

One reason is hormones: Pregnancy and menopause can trigger insomnia, probably due to shifts in estrogen levels. In fact, a 2007 National Sleep Foundation poll found that 30% of pregnant women and 42% of post-partum women say they rarely or never get a good night’s sleep, compared to 15% of all women.

Causes of insomnia: A few sleepless nights, particularly during a period of stress or major life change, is no cause for alarm. Such “reactive insomnia” often goes away on its own, says Schulman of the Emory Sleep Disorders Laboratory.

But if those sleepless nights pile up, it can set the stage for chronic insomnia. Going to bed becomes an exercise in anxiety because “you can’t get sleep off your mind, so you can’t sleep,” Schulman says. Simply put, you psych yourself out.

Women are more likely than men to see their lack of sleep as a sign of an impending health disaster, says Gregg D. Jacobs, M.D., an insomnia specialist at the Sleep Disorders Center at the University of Massachusetts and author of Say Goodnight to Insomnia (Holt).

This only serves to reinforce patterns of sleeplessness, he says.

Depression and anxiety can also be underlying causes of insomnia. That’s why you should discuss long-term insomnia with a health care professional.

How to treat insomnia: If you have trouble sleeping, your instinct might be to reach for a sleeping aid. That may be OK for a few nights, but experts caution against using sleeping pills for more than a month.

Sleep medications have side effects, including drowsiness and memory loss, and they can become psychologically, if not physically, addicting, Jacobs says. (If you’re pregnant, talk to your doctor before taking any sort of sleeping aid.)

The best way to overcome insomnia is to take inventory of your bedtime routines and sleeping habits. Most of the time, small changes can make a difference.

Start by cutting back on caffeine. Make your room dark and cool. And try to adhere to a consistent sleep schedule by waking up and going to bed at the same time every day, even on weekends.

MY THOUGHTS

Avoid sleeping during the day.  You want to be really tired and sleepy in the evenings.  And take out the TV from your bedroom.  Contrary to popular belief, TV keeps you awake.