Tips for Sleeplessness

April 12, 2015 Helen Duyvestyn

The nightmare of insomnia. Most of us have been there at some stage in our life.

The amount of sleep that an individual needs varies, and often changes with age, but research suggests that sleeping too little (less than six hours) or too much (more than 9 or 10 hours) is hazardous to your health and increases your chances of stroke and developing metabolic syndrome among other things.

So getting the right amount of sleep is important. Short-term sleep disturbance although frustrating is normal. There can often be factors contributing to a bout of insomnia, for example; stress, ill health, depression or recent personal trauma. Sleep difficulties can also be related to physical health (sleep apnea, anaemia or even menopause for example). It’s always a good idea to see your GP if issues are becoming chronic, to rule out a physical cause of poor sleep.

What can you do if you are not sleeping?

In a healthy individual, assistance for sleep focuses on a few things. For short-term sleep problems, the last thing you should be doing is turning to sleeping tablets. Sleeping aids (hypnotics, tranquillizers) tend to become tolerated over time, meaning you require more and more of them to get the same effect. It’s now been proven by a number of studies that regular use of sleeping tablets reduces life expectancy, which is scary enough in itself.

Recommendations to help you sleep

With that easy option out – here are some other suggestions:

Establish a routine to support a healthy circadian rhythm

Start preparing for sleep at least 30 minutes before bedtime. Ensure the bed is ready, close the curtains, turn off the laptop, stop checking your cell phone.
Ensure your room is as dark as you can get it (this may mean removing a bright clock) and is not too warm
Dim the lights about an hour before bedtime. This reduces bright lights sending messages to your brain that it’s ‘wake’ time.
Go to bed at the same time each night and get up at the same time every morning - even on weekends.

What to do during the day to support a good sleep at night

Expose your eyes to the outdoor light before 9 am. This sends signals to your brain and helps to start the process of producing melatonin (considered the ‘sleep hormone’) which will continue to rise during the day and reach its peak around 9pm or so at night.
Exercising during the day contributes to a better sleep
Reduce caffeine intake overall, and definitely after about 4 pm (don’t overlook tea, soft drinks energy drinks etc.) Some people are extremely sensitive to caffeine and you may need to eliminate it completely
Reduce sugar intake and high glycaemic foods (i.e. processed carbohydrates) throughout the day and refrain from large meals late in the evening. These can cause a peak and then a trough of blood sugar levels throughout the day which can continue through the night. Low blood sugar can stimulate a cortisol (stress hormone) response - which will lead to a restless sleep. Having a high-protein snack before bed helps to reduce this (peanut butter on a cracker for example). Think ‘eat light at night’.
Avoid long naps during the daytime (short naps – 20 mins or so are generally OK)
Avoid alcohol. Although alcohol can help you get off to sleep, once the depressant effect of alcohol wears off, you tend to get a slight arousal response and whamo, you are awake at 2am.
And (doubly sorry about this one:) Chocolate contains a substance called theobromine, which increases heart rate and causes sleeplessness. Some people are extra sensitive to this. If you are someone who snacks on dark chocolate in the evening - you might need to stop this too…

Herbs, Vitamins and Supplements to Support Sleep

There are some herbal preparations which have been shown to be useful. Try your local pharmacy or health food store, and please check that they will not interact with any other medication that you are taking. Often tablets will combine a combination of two or more substances, such as:

Magnesium threonate - a formulation of magnesium that has been shown to support sleep

Chamomile - specifically apigenin, which is a chemical in chamomile has been shown to be very effective in supporting sleep
Kava-kava - available in capsules to support rest and sleep
Valerian
Passionflower - has sedative qualities
Inositol - a vitamin shown in some studies to support sleep
5-HTP (not to be used if you are on antidepressants)
L-tryptophan (not to be used if you are on antidepressants)

Vitamin B6 - useful in times of stress, but may cause you to have more dreams
Melatonin has also been found to be helpful in some cases. This needs to be prescribed by your GP.
Probiotics. There is a very small amount of evidence that suggests that these may be helpful.

How to calm your mind to support a better sleep

If it’s your mind that won’t allow you to get off to sleep, writing down the things going on in your head can help (keep a piece of paper and a pen by your bed for this purpose – don’t use your phone or laptop!).

Participants who took part in a study keeping a gratitude journal reported a significant increase in sleep quality (See my post on Gratitude). This is as simple as getting a notebook and writing down three things you are grateful for. This will help to distract your mind onto more positive things in your life and help you to relax a little more.

Try incorporating a relaxation technique prior to bedtime (breathing relaxation, meditation, progressive muscle relaxation). Try a sleep app such as www.calm.com; or www.insighttimer.com which has several meditations or sleep stories you can drift off with.

One of my favourite methods, when I can't sleep, is to connect with my breath. Just focus on the in and out process of the breath. Every time the mind wanders, just bring it back to the breath. It tends to stop thought processes from getting out of control.

If you still can’t sleep?

Rather than laying there getting frustrated, try getting up for 30 mins or so, and have a hot drink (herbal tea for example). Stay off the computer as the light emitted is known to interfere with the nocturnal system in your brain. Read a book or find some other quiet activity, mindfulness, meditation or writing down your thoughts.

Needless to say a good diet is also an important factor in overall health and well-being. New research has found that a diet high in ultra-processed foods is related to poorer sleep quality (these foods really do affect your brain!) Also, research suggests that gut health can play a role in anxiety thus affecting sleep. If it is mild anxiety that is bothering you, you could add a probiotic to your regime if your gut or diet isn’t up to scratch (More on Gut Health here)

In this article “Transform Your Sleep Space: 17 Strategies to Improve Sleep Quality”, advice is given on essential oils to use to promote sleep, how to improve the air quality of your room by cleaning and dusting and advice on soothing paint colours to support a restful sleep environment. Whether you live in a home in Kansas City, MO, an apartment in Minneapolis, MN, or a rental home in Des Moines, IA, there’s a good chance your bedroom isn’t set up for optimal rest. In fact, only about half of Americans wake up feeling well-rested. See this article for more information on room set-up.

If all else fails, let it go. Don’t panic, don’t fret. Relax and rest. Enjoy the peaceful process of being able to lie down, enjoy the peace and quiet. Nothing stops sleep like desperately trying to get to sleep.

One Life