Natural Health Society of Australia - Insomnia: Techniques for Sleeping

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Insomnia: Techniques for Sleeping

Just how much sleep do we need? According to Stanley Coren , who is a Professor of Psychology at the University of British Columbia, nine-and-a-half to ten hours a day is required for optimal performance — which could include an afternoon nap.

For most of us, retiring to bed at 10 or 11 o’clock at night is too late, he says. People who sleep less than six hours a night have shorter life spans than those who sleep for seven or eight hours.

Other sleep experts say that we need between seven and nine hours sleep a night, which is somewhat less than Stanley Coren’s recommendation. The only consistent view is that most of us need more sleep than we are getting.

Of course, there are people who can’t even sleep these minimum recommendations because of difficulty sleeping. People with insomnia have difficulty either getting to sleep, which is more common under age 50, or staying asleep, which is more common over 50.

WHAT CAUSES INSOMNIA?

Broadly speaking, the causes of insomnia are either physical or psychological. Here are the main ones:

Tension insomnia as in the case of executives constantly worrying about their businesses. In general, the mental stresses include anxiety, depression, paranoia and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
If the mind is churning like a can of worms, sleep will be elusive.
Fatigue insomnia occurs in people who become so tired during the day that they fall asleep after dinner, but can’t sleep at bedtime.
Lack of activity. Exercise tires us physically and primes us for sleep.
Going to bed on a full stomach. This stimulates the circulation, causing wakefulness.
Eating a lot of sugar-rich foods with or after the evening meal.
Exposure to bright light before you go to bed, including watching a TV screen.
If too hot or too cold in bed.
Caffeine stimulates the nervous system, making sleep extremely difficult.
Smoking — nicotine is a stimulant.
Alcohol. While a few drinks can send us off alright, the sleep will be poor quality — we will be restless and will toss and turn. Deep sleep is disturbed and the important dreaming stage often fails to occur. The regular dependence on alcohol can easily lead to alcoholism.
Sleeping pills can cause insomnia! When the body develops a tolerance to the drug, the dose will need to be increased to obtain the same effect – but the dose has its limits.
Geopathic stress (distorted energy radiating from the Earth) can cause us to wake in the morning feeling as tired as if we haven’t slept.
Jet lag is a well-known cause of insomnia.
Discomfort insomnia due to the pain of arthritis, ulcers, indigestion or other health problems.

Sleeping pills aren’t the answer to good sleep. They are mostly addictive and all drugs have side effects. Older adults are particularly vulnerable to the side effects of drugs.

HOW CAN WE GET TO SLEEP WITHOUT PILLS?

If the cause of the insomnia can be identified and rectified, the insomnia will often evaporate. In addition, there are techniques that can help us get to sleep. Here is a number of them:

Consistent sleeping habits.
Darken your bedroom as much as possible.
Don’t take naps.
Go to bed as early as possible.
Beware of coffee, cola drinks, nicotine and alcohol.
Don’t drink fluids within a couple of hours of retiring.
Avoid snacking just before bedtime.
Postpone worrying.
Exercise regularly.
If overweight, lose weight.
Count sheep.
Have pleasant thoughts or fantasies
Use a Relaxation Technique.
If still awake after 30 minutes get up and do something.
Take a tepid bath. Sleep tends to occur when your temperature falls, so a warm, not hot, bath may do the trick. As you cool down afterwards, you are likely to feel sleepy.
Try herbal sporifics (generally contain one or more of valerian, passionflower, skullcap, gentian and hops
Develop sound nutrition –see Natural Health Dietary Guidelines.
Keep a sense of humour.

For more detailed information on insomnia and techniques for sleeping read the full article Having Trouble Sleeping?