Tips to beat insomnia

This article gives 10 tips to help you beat insomnia.

Insomnia is the inability to get enough sleep needed to wake up feeling refreshed and well-rested.  Millions of people are suffering from this sleeping disorder.   You can cure insomnia without the additional cost of medication with just little changes in your lifestyle.

1. What you drink and eat before bedtime are also factors that can induce insomnia.  Cut down on alcohol, and do not eat heavy meals before bedtime.  Stick to light snacks and chamomile tea.Cut the caffeine – caffeine is a stimulant.  Cut down on other drinks and foods that have caffeine also, like sodas, teas, and tiramisus.  Coffee should be drank in the morning or at least eight hours before sleep.
2. Keep a quite, dark, and cool bedroom – an uncomfortable sleeping area will not induce sleep. Noise, light, and heat interfere with sleep.
3. The bed is for sleeping and sex – train your brain and body that the bed is for sleeping and sex. Doing office work and reading in bed is a no-no.  The goal is to associate the bed with relaxation and sleep.  Avoid watching TV while lying down in bed, watching TV stimulates your brain to think.  It may make your eyes tired, but the brain is busy converting images to thoughts.  Better yet, transfer the TV to the living room.
4. Avoid naps – try hard not to get that super nap in the afternoon. Naps disrupts sleep at night.  If you really can’t avoid it, limit it to 30 minutes before 3 pm.
5. Quit Smoking – nicotine, like caffeine, is a stimulant. The more you smoke, the more awake you’ll be.  Aside from the hazards of smoking, quitting will do wonders on your sleeping habits.
6. Change the way you think about insomnia – self-defeating thoughts help fuel insomnia. Think positive.  Instead of thoughts like “It’s the same every night,  another night of misery’, think this way instead “This does not every nught, some nights I get enough rest.”  Don’t worry too much, quit this mental habit.
7. Do away with stressful situations before bedtime – avoid heated discussions, heavy mental activities, even strenious activities before bedtime. Try some relaxing activities instead, listening to soft music with keeping the lights low will help in relaxing the brain.
8. Ban Blue Light in the bedroom – Short waves from blue light interferes with sleep. Use devices that have blue light an hour before going to sleep.  This includes TV, cellphones, and digital clocks.
9. Fat or Flat – not the body types, this refers to pillows. The discomfort you give your necks affects the quality of sleep, aside from having a sore neck upon waking up.  Pillows should be just the right size.  Side sleepers should have their nose align with the center of the body while sleeping.  Stomach sleeping should be avoided as this cranes the neck.
10. Control your body clock – go to sleep and wake up around the same time daily, irregardless if its a holiday or a weekend the next day. Our bodies have biological clocks and it is light regulated.  Try getting a ray of sunshine the minute you wake up, for 5 to 30 minutes.

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Study: How you Cope with stress can change your insomnia risk

A study shows that the way a person copes with stress may change their risk of insomnia.

A new study is the first to identify specific coping behaviors through which stress exposure leads to the development of insomnia.

Results show that coping with a stressful event through behavioral disengagement -- giving up on dealing with the stress -- or by using alcohol or drugs each significantly mediated the relationship between stress exposure and insomnia development. Surprisingly, the coping technique of self-distraction -- such as going to the movies or watching TV -- also was a significant mediator between stress and incident insomnia. Furthermore, the study found that cognitive intrusion -- recurrent thoughts about the stressor -- was a significant and key mediator, accounting for 69 percent of the total effect of stress exposure on insomnia.

"Our study is among the first to show that it's not the number of stressors, but your reaction to them that determines the likelihood of experiencing insomnia," said lead author Vivek Pillai, PhD, research fellow at the Sleep Disorders & Research Center at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. "While a stressful event can lead to a bad night of sleep, it's what you do in response to stress that can be the difference between a few bad nights and chronic insomnia."

Study results are published in the July 1 issue of the journal Sleep.

The study involved a community-based sample of 2,892 good sleepers with no lifetime history of insomnia. At baseline the participants reported the number of stressful life events that they had experienced in the past year, such as a divorce, serious illness, major financial problem, or the death of a spouse. They also reported the perceived severity and duration of each stressful event. Questionnaires also measured levels of cognitive intrusion and identified coping strategies in which participants engaged in the seven days following the stressful event. A follow-up assessment after one year identified participants with insomnia disorder, which was defined as having symptoms of insomnia occurring at least three nights per week for a duration of one month or longer with associated daytime impairment or distress. "This study is an important reminder that stressful events and other major life changes often cause insomnia," said American Academy of Sleep Medicine President Dr. Timothy Morgenthaler. "If you are feeling overwhelmed by events in your life, talk to you doctor about strategies to reduce your stress level and improve your sleep."

According to the authors, the study identified potential targets for therapeutic interventions to improve coping responses to stress and reduce the risk of insomnia. In particular, they noted that mindfulness-based therapies have shown considerable promise in suppressing cognitive intrusion and improving sleep.

"Though we may not be able to control external events, we can reduce their burden by staying away from certain maladaptive behaviors," said Pillai.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine reports that short-term insomnia disorder lasting less than three months occurs in 15 to 20 percent of adults and is more prevalent in women than in men.

The research was performed under the supervision of Thomas Roth, PhD, and Christopher Drake, PhD, in the Sleep & Research Center at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. The study was supported by funding from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

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