Sleeping Soundly

We all know how wonderful a good night's sleep feels.  It is hard to beat the feeling of waking up, feeling refreshed, and being ready to tackle the day.  For many, such a morning is more a dream than a reality.  Too many wake up feeling sluggish, tired and ready to go back to bed.

Poor sleep has been linked to poor health.  For those that snore and wake up tired, ask your spouse or family member if they ever see you stop breathing between snoring.  You could have a condition called obstructive sleep apnea.  It not only will give you a headache on waking up, it will make you tired during the day.  It has even been linked to an increased risk of having a car accident.  It puts a stress on the heart, raises blood pressure and increases the chance of having a stroke.

Most of us know what stress will do to our sleep.  When the heart is pounding, our limbs are shaking and our mind is racing, it is hard to fall into the calmness of sleep.  What we really need is not to just get to sleep but to sink into a deep sleep.  Medically we refer to that as "REM" sleep.  During this stage our muscles become so relaxed that they are essentially paralyzed.  This is what makes sleep so refreshing.  Most researches feel that patients with fibromyalgia are not able to get into that deep stage and thus wake up feeling stiff, sore and tired.

The drug companies would have you believe that the cure for insomnia is to simply take a pill that will allow you to flit off into dreamland with the butterflies.  Sedative medications do make one feel sleepy but they do not induce REM sleep.  What research I have seen in regards to a patient's ability to function the next day universally shows that people who use sleeping pills score more poorly on their ability to perform tasks than those that do not.  To truly help insomnia, the underlying cause must be found and corrected.  If it is due to obstructive sleep apnea, your physician can order a sleep test to diagnose and guide treatment.  If it is due to side effects of medications, those can be adjusted.  If acid reflux is the cause, there are treatments for it.  The same is true for those getting up frequently to urinate.  Some may have uncontrolled pain from arthritis or other conditions.  The majority of patients I see likely suffer from stress that affects their sleep.  Many don't want to acknowledge that their stress is affecting them in this way.  I have many patients who would be willing to take a "sleeping pill" but not to take a medication to control their anxiety.

Lastly, our behaviors can make sleep both better or worse.  There is something to be said for having a bedtime.  Getting off schedule can be a serious problem as any shift worker can likely attest.  Keeping stimulation low prior to going to bed is helpful.  This is a good time to stay off the computer, put down any work and let the mind relax.  Stay away from food and beverages prior to bed, especially anything with caffeine.  Never use alcohol to help you sleep.  It may make you calm as you go to bed but invariably it will trigger you to be more alert and awake four hours later when you need to be in that deep stage.  Regular exercise is so important. By working your muscles earlier in the day, they are much more likely to relax later.  If you do wake up at night resist the urge to turn over and look at the clock.  When your mind is asked to look at the numbers, compute what that means and elicit a negative response to having only slept till 2:00 AM, you have now activated your brain to the point that makes it even harder to fall asleep.  Keep your eyelids shut.  Focus on calm, regular breathing.  More often than not you will be able to drift back to sleep.  In the morning you will be ready for a brand new day!