A good night’s sleep is one of life’s simple joys. Restful quality sleep promotes 
both physical and psychological healing. Specific benefits may include boosting your immune system, helping you to maintain a healthy weight, lowering your risk of hypertension and diabetes, improving your mood, reducing stress, and heightening your focus during the day.
How much sleep do I need? Most of us need 7-9 hours of quality sleep to feel our best. Keep in mind that a full sleep cycle lasts approximately 90 minutes. Ideally, you want to wake up at the end of a sleep cycle. So if you find that you are still sleepy after getting 8 hours of sleep (meaning you’ve woken up in the middle of a sleep cycle), you may notice that you actually feel better rested with 7.5 hours of sleep (full completion of your 5th sleep cycle).
What may be preventing me from getting quality sleep? Many things can disrupt your sleep including stress, pain, caffeine, certain medications, and untreated sleep disorders.
How can I improve my sleep hygiene? Sleep hygiene is defined as “habits and practices that are conducive to sleeping well on a regular basis”. Some simple sleep hygiene habits include:
- Following a regular sleep schedule. It is important that you set an internal clock by going to sleep and waking up around the same time each day, even on the weekends or while on vacation.
- Trying to limit daytime naps to 30 minutes or less, and avoiding them altogether after 5:00pm. Generally, the longer we nap during the day, the less sleep we need at night. Frequent or extended napping may disrupt your natural sleep pattern over time.
- Trying to use your bed only for sleeping and sex. Avoid eating, watching TV, reading, playing with your cellphone/laptop, etc in your bed during the day. You want your mind to associate your bed with sleep, and not wakeful activities.
- Avoiding stimulating substances such as caffeine (coffee, tea, soda, chocolate, etc), nicotine, and alcohol during evening hours.
- Exercising during the day, at least three hours before bedtime. When you exercise, cortisol and endorphins are released. Endorphins create a burst of energy, while cortisol keeps you alert. Releasing these hormones right before bed may cause difficulty with falling asleep.
- Finishing dinner several hours before bed. It is especially important to avoid eating large, greasy, sugary and/or spicy meals immediately before bed. Foods that are high in protein, amino acids, antioxidants, and vitamins help promote sleep.
- Begin reducing your fluid intake 2 hours before your bedtime. Also try to empty your bladder before bed. This should limit your trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
- Waking up in the middle of the night once or twice to go the bathroom is normal. But if you find that you are unable to go back to sleep within 20 minutes or so, get out of bed, and do a quiet or relaxing activity (i.e. reading) until you are able to go back asleep. Avoid stimulating activities such as watching TV or playing on your cellphone. Also don’t try to perform challenging or engaging activities like housework.
- Starting to wind down about an hour before bed. Take a hot bath or shower before bed to relax. Do some stretches. Once in the bed, take a few deep breaths, then spend a few moments reading or praying to clear your mind. (Note: e-readers are not advised as the light they emit is similar to daylight, and can delay your body’s release of melatonin, a hormone that promotes sleep.)
- Creating a good sleep environment by making sure your bedroom is dark. Use blackout curtains if there are sources of light outside your windows. Buy a comfortable mattress and pillow(s). Also maintain a comfortable cool temperature in your bedroom. Keep your room quiet, and avoid stimulation of electronic devices like TVs, cell phones, and computers right before bed.
- Trying to avoid lying in bed worrying about things. If there is something weighing on your mind, write it down, and deal with it in the morning. If you have not fallen asleep after being in the bed for more than 20 minutes, get up and read or listen to soft music for a while until you begin to feel sleepy.
What OTC medications are available as sleep aids? There are a few different OTC options that may be appropriate for managing occasional insomnia:
- Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) is a sedating antihistamine, and the active ingredient most commonly found in OTC sleep aids. Side effects might include prolonged drowsiness in the morning, dry mouth, constipation, and urinary retention.
- Doxylamaine (Unisom) is another sedating antihistamine, and its side effects are similar to diphenhydramine.
- Melatonin is a natural hormone produced by your body that helps to control your natural sleep/wake cycle. Melatonin supplements may be helpful in treating jet lag and decreasing the time it takes you to fall asleep once in bed. Side effects may include headache and daytime sleepiness.
If you’ve improved your sleep hygiene habits, tried OTC medications, and still have difficultly falling asleep, you may have a sleep disorder. Potential signs of a sleep disorder include loud snoring, interruptions in breathing while asleep, difficulty waking up in the morning, and/or trouble staying awake during the day. If you experience any of these symptoms, you should see your physician. Prepare for your appointment by keeping a sleep diary. Log your number of naps, sleeping/awake hours, number of times you wake up during the night, and also which sleep disruptions you are experiencing. This should aid in diagnosing whatever sleep disorder you may have. Our next post will further explore symptoms and treatment options for common sleep disorders.
Do any of you have any additional tricks you’ve found that have helped you get a good night’s rest? Please share them in the comments section below!
