Can you enjoy a better night’s sleep when you have Insomnia? Is this even possible?

Insomnia is a common sleep disorder where a person finds it hard to fall sleep, stay asleep and get back to sleep after waking during the night. You may feel tired on waking, which in turn affects your mood, productivity, health and quality of life. It may be brought on by stress, a traumatic event, sleeping in unfamiliar environments, jet lag, stimulants or due to an acute illness. Normal sleep patterns usually return once the stress or event is over.

The amount of sleep we all need varies, but most adults are said to need seven to eight hours a night.

Short term insomnia may last for days or weeks but for some people, long term or chronic insomnia may last for months or more. It may be the main problem or may be associated with medication or a medical condition. Sleep is essential for our lives. It’s when our cells repair, restore energy and release hormones and proteins. Our nerve cells communicate for healthy brain function and our brains store new information and release toxic by-products.

Sleep affects our memory, learning, problem solving skills, creativity, decision making and concentration. It affects our emotional well being and even our weight. Recent studies have shown that sleep affects our hunger hormones, ghrelin and leptin. Sleep also supports heart health and our immune system. Sleep deficiency has been linked to chronic health problems affecting the heart, kidneys, blood,

So what can we do to improve our sleep patterns, especially if Insomnia is ongoing? It’s important to see your GP and check for sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, or restless leg syndrome or thyroid problems which can all affect sleep. There’s also a number of things that you can do yourself to change your habits and sleep patterns.

* Establish a bedtime routine. Go to bed at the same time each night if possible. This helps the body to establish it’s natural sleep/wake cycle, our circadian rhythm. Try and get up at the same time each day.

* Enhance your Melatonin levels. We all produce Melatonin, a hormone that regulates our sleeping and waking patterns. Its production is controlled by exposure to light and is released in darkness and suppressed in light. Artificially lit offices, computer screens and television all affect our melatonin levels. Get some exposure to natural light during the day and avoid using the computer, your iPhone and iPad and watching television late at night.

* Create an inviting Bedroom. Make sure that your sleeping environment is relaxing and welcoming and not part of your working environment. Keep televisions out of the bedroom and ensure that you have a great mattress. It has been said that the bedroom is for sleeping and sex and that’s not a bad suggestion. Invest in blackout curtains as any light will affect the quality of your sleep. Keep the bedroom cool as overheating can affect your sleep too.

* Relax before bedtime. Instead of working late into the night or watching TV and overstimulating your brain, relax with a book and read by a soft light. Have a warm bath prior to bed with some aromatherapy oils, such as lavender or roman chamomile. Alternatively, put a few drops of these oils on a tissue under your pillow. Listen to some calming music to enhance and relax your mind.

* Eat healthily and exercise. Cut back your intake of coffee, especially in the afternoon and evening. Caffeine is a stimulant that will disrupt your sleep patterns. It’s also a diuretic which means more trips to the bathroom! Avoid alcohol late at night even though you may think it will help you sleep. Initially it may help you feel drowsier and get off to sleep quickly, but it affects the quality of your sleep. It also makes it more likely that you will wake later in the night. Avoid heavy meals within two hours of bedtime as your stomach will be working hard to digest the food. Thus sleep will be disrupted. Regular exercise is great as it will help you sleep more deeply but avoid anything strenuous at night. This tends to stimulate and warm up the body.

* Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is a very effective therapy that can help to control negative thoughts or actions that keep you awake. It helps you to recognise and change beliefs that affect your ability to sleep. It teaches you strategies such as getting out of bed if you don’t fall asleep within 20 minutes and listening to some relaxing music or reading. It also suggests writing down your thoughts when those million and one ideas disturb you at night.

Relaxation techniques and temporary sleep restriction are also discussed. If you’re in need of some guidance, there’s a free course you can follow. The details are here.

* Having Facial Reflexology on a regular basis will also help you to beat Insomnia. Reflexology helps calm the whole body. It works on the Nervous System to bring about total relaxation and reduces the Sympathetic Nerve response that always keeps you on alert. It assists the Hormonal System to rebalance so that our levels of Melatonin are increased and the body is able to get off to sleep more easily. These Facial Reflexology nerve points, if done on a regular basis, can help to rebalance and improve your sleep. The chart can be found here.

Can you enjoy a better night’s sleep, when you have Insomnia? Definitely. It does take some persistence, especially if the insomnia is long standing but following these suggestions will hopefully help.

With warmest wishes,

Judy xxx

 

References: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/insomnia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355167, https://www.healthline.com/health/why-do-we-sleep#restoration, https://thiswayup.org.au/programs/insomnia-program/

Disclaimer: Please note that all information in this article is the opinion of the author and obtained through her research and knowledge and the above references. It is not meant to replace medical advice and a medical opinion should always be obtained for any health condition.