In one of the opening scenes of Fight Club, the narrator (Ed Norton's character) talks about insomnia. Mine was never quite so bad -- I've always managed to get at least a little sleep, if not much -- but I can still relate to this quote: "When you have insomnia, you're never really asleep... and you're never really awake."
This summer, when I embarked on the Great Health Crusade of 2008, I knew that solving the sleep problem was essential. How could I expect to feel better if my body and mind didn't have the proper restorative period every night? For a decade I had relied on Tylenol PM or Benadryl to help me fall asleep. I knew these sleep aids prevented me from entering deep REM sleep, but they also kept me from tossing and turning until 5am. It was the lesser of two evils. But there had to be a better way.
When I hit my breaking point, I did a few key things that helped me get over my insomnia hurdle. I read a number of articles and books that link insomnia to hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar. Because I also had a number of other symptoms associated with hypoglycemia (will post in the future), I thought it would be a good starting point. Hypoglycemia is considered to be a prediabetic condition, and the nutritional management of the two diseases are very similar. A hypoglycemic diet is free of sugar, alcohol, caffeine, and refined carbohydrates, and it's best to eat protein at regular intervals. I made sure to eat a small portion of something with protein every 2-3 hours. Eating regularly was easy, but that whole caffeine-sugar-booze thing was a challenge.
It was a start, but it didn't help as much as I'd like. Sleepwise, at least. In terms of feeling good throughout the day, it made a world of difference.
The major breakthrough came when I broke down and went for an appointment at the Penn Sleep Center. This is one of many things that falls under that big bold heading of
Alas. At least I finally came around. And what a difference it made!
I met with my doctor who gave me a list of things to change in my sleep behavior, and scheduled a follow up appointment with a cognitive behavioral therapist specializing in sleep. I took the suggestions to heart, but didn't think that just changing a few things in my routine could make a big difference. She didn't even test me for anything! She just listened! Oh wait... she listened. She said she thought the big problem was that I don't know how to turn my brain off at night, and I never really learned how to put myself to bed. So, in an effort to learn the skills most people learn at age six months, I had to make the following changes.
I never thought I would be able to fall asleep twenty minutes after getting into bed, especially without at least a mild sleeping pill. Now, so long as I follow my routine, I'm usually in pretty good shape. If I have a bad night, I know it's not the end of the world. And in a few weeks, when I'm really well conditioned to my sleep routine, I might even be able to stay out late on occasion, or, better yet, sleep in on a Saturday.
Do you have any other tips for beating insomnia or establishing a sleep schedule?
This summer, when I embarked on the Great Health Crusade of 2008, I knew that solving the sleep problem was essential. How could I expect to feel better if my body and mind didn't have the proper restorative period every night? For a decade I had relied on Tylenol PM or Benadryl to help me fall asleep. I knew these sleep aids prevented me from entering deep REM sleep, but they also kept me from tossing and turning until 5am. It was the lesser of two evils. But there had to be a better way.
When I hit my breaking point, I did a few key things that helped me get over my insomnia hurdle. I read a number of articles and books that link insomnia to hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar. Because I also had a number of other symptoms associated with hypoglycemia (will post in the future), I thought it would be a good starting point. Hypoglycemia is considered to be a prediabetic condition, and the nutritional management of the two diseases are very similar. A hypoglycemic diet is free of sugar, alcohol, caffeine, and refined carbohydrates, and it's best to eat protein at regular intervals. I made sure to eat a small portion of something with protein every 2-3 hours. Eating regularly was easy, but that whole caffeine-sugar-booze thing was a challenge.
It was a start, but it didn't help as much as I'd like. Sleepwise, at least. In terms of feeling good throughout the day, it made a world of difference.
The major breakthrough came when I broke down and went for an appointment at the Penn Sleep Center. This is one of many things that falls under that big bold heading of
Things my mother told me to do years ago that I ignored until I was in crisis and really wish I'd listened to her about the first time.
Alas. At least I finally came around. And what a difference it made!
I met with my doctor who gave me a list of things to change in my sleep behavior, and scheduled a follow up appointment with a cognitive behavioral therapist specializing in sleep. I took the suggestions to heart, but didn't think that just changing a few things in my routine could make a big difference. She didn't even test me for anything! She just listened! Oh wait... she listened. She said she thought the big problem was that I don't know how to turn my brain off at night, and I never really learned how to put myself to bed. So, in an effort to learn the skills most people learn at age six months, I had to make the following changes.
- Regular bedtime/rising time. Every day. Even weekends. For me, this is midnight/7:30a.m.
- Absolutely no reading/thinking/etc. in bed. Bed is for sleep. That's it.
- Turn off all screens (computer, tv, phone) one hour before bedtime.
- Establish a ritual. For me, I make sure my apartment is clean and lunch is prepped, put on my jammies, brew some herbal tea, and read a book or magazine in my favorite chair. Now that I've added meditation, I try to start my practice so I can crawl into bed at midnight.
- No getting into bed until I feel I'm about to fall asleep in my chair. When I'm on the brink of sleep, then I can go to bed. If this happens at 3am, so be it. If I get into bed, and my mind snaps awake, I have to get up, get out of bed, and go back to my chair until I'm about to fall asleep again. The point of this little run around is to train my brain that bed is for sleeping, not thinking.
I never thought I would be able to fall asleep twenty minutes after getting into bed, especially without at least a mild sleeping pill. Now, so long as I follow my routine, I'm usually in pretty good shape. If I have a bad night, I know it's not the end of the world. And in a few weeks, when I'm really well conditioned to my sleep routine, I might even be able to stay out late on occasion, or, better yet, sleep in on a Saturday.
Do you have any other tips for beating insomnia or establishing a sleep schedule?
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