Insomnia

Insomnia

Never was there a more widespread, quietly insidious burden affecting every age and condition than the dreaded insomnia. Usually no-one is aware that you were awake half the night, because somehow you pull it together and get through the day pretending to be ok.
We have all been in the trenches of insomnia, try mentioning it and watch all the knowing looks and nods you get. Particularly those of us who are not spring chickens anymore.
Why is it happening and what actually works?

The Sleep Cycle

Before going any further, let’s review what happens when we go to sleep by looking at the stages of sleep:
N1 The brief transition between sleep and wakefulness.
N2 The deepening stage where breathing and heart rate begin to slow, breathing becomes deeper.
N3 Deep Sleep: when your body and brain restore themselves.
REM The dreaming stage where parts of the brain are at their most active, our muscles are paralyzed, preventing us from acting out dreams.

The Culprits at Work

Alcohol is a rapidly absorbed, fast acting drug, albeit a popular and socially accepted one. It is a depressant, once you get past the initial happy and relaxed stage, and despite what was commonly believed once upon a time, not the ideal night-cap at all. This is because:

“Deep sleep is when the body restores itself….as the alcohol starts to wear off, your body can come out of Deep Sleep more easily and into the REM sleep, which is much easier to wake from…and why you often wake up after just a few hours sleep when you’ve been drinking.’’ say Dr John Schneeson, Head of Sleep Centre, Cambridge, UK. He goes on to say: “In one night’s sleep you may normally have 6 to 7 REM cycles, but alcohol consumption reduces this to 1 to 2, consequently you wake up feeling exhausted.”

Alcohol is also a diuretic, so not only do you have to pee the alcohol out, you are losing extra fluid, which leads to dehydration.
Your liver works very hard to re-establish normality because your body doesn’t hear popular opinion or advertising, and thinks alcohol is a poison. While it can get you off to a deep sleep very quickly, it affects the stages, lightens sleep and causes abrupt awakenings with difficulty falling back to sleep. It is better to have finished drinking alcohol at least an hour or more before bedtime to allow for the body to process it and re-establish normal blood sugar levels which have also been affected.

I just feel like a biscuit and a cup of tea!

Sugar consumption or high GI intake close to bedtime causes a spike in your blood sugar level. Any spike requires a counter response from your body, so insulin is pumped out to force excess sugar into the cells. Instead of allowing your body to rest and regenerate (think of the N3 cycle), it is now busy trying to create a normal balance. Dropping levels instigate a wakeful response which may include a feeling of hunger. Fluctuating blood sugar levels puts a strain on a system which is supposed to be resting, and this is a form of stress on your body. This is managed very well by eating low GI foods in the evening, smaller meals and avoid that sugary biscuit. Stop eating and snacking right before bedtime. And so much has been said about caffeine that suffice to say, don’t have too much of this either, particularly later in the day.

I’ve got so much to do!

A busy life means a busy brain which can’t switch off just because it’s bed-time. Write a list, but do it on a good old-fashioned note-pad. This can help in two ways, one is that you get all those worries out of your head and onto paper. The second is about light: the bright screen light of your computer or tablet is implicated in an inadequate production of norepinephrine. Darkness causes this hormone to be released and it tells your brain to make melatonin: the one that dominates sleep cycles. So checking your FB status before going to sleep at night is inadvertantly setting you up for a hormone deficiency. The stress hormone Cortisol also inhibits melatonin so you can see why chronic stress impacts on sleep.
But don’t reach for a melatonin supplement, it is not recommended. Your body needs to adjust naturally. University of Adelaide researchers particularly warn against this in children. Here is another good reason to restrict children from using screens before bedtime and especially not in bed. Watching television in bed isn’t great either.

What can I take?

Natural over the counter medication can help break the habitual aspect of insomnia. If you have read anything about the plasticity of the brain, you will know that your brain is not an old dog that can’t learn new tricks. It can, and sometimes taking something can help break the cycle.

Remifemin Sleep is mild enough not to leave you feeling groggy the next day. Follow the directions on the packet, it has a very good quality combination of relaxing herbs in it, none of which is addictive.
Somni-calm from Oriental Botanicals is almost identical to Fusions Insomnia remedy and has some interesting Chinese answers to the problem. You need to take any of these herbal remedies about half an hour before you are going to retire for the night, but please check with your Doctor to make sure none of them interact with regular medications you are already taking.

If you are thinking of taking something stronger, along the lines of a prescription medication like Temazepam, bear in mind it is a Benzodiazepine and your brain will get used to it, need more to work and possibly become dependent on it if you use it too often. Temazepam is great for short term, or the odd night when nothing else will work. Speak to your Doctor about this one, and to find out about other solutions.

Anything taken as a medication to relieve insomnia is ideally something to use while your brain is getting out of bad habits. Then allow other techniques and lifestyle changes to take over.

Magnesium

Low magnesium levels can cause insomnia, irritability and cramps in the muscles. It is also implicated in a lack of dreaming. You can either take a quality Magnesium supplement or eat more foods rich in Magnesium like cacao, leafy greens, nuts, seeds, oats, peanut butter, brown rice and unprocessed wheat.
Magnesium is depleted by alcohol, caffeine, high salt intake and soft drinks. It acts directly on cell membranes to reduce electrical conduction in nerves and muscles, reducing exciteable neuronal activity like restless legs and heightened brain activity.

What else can I do?

Make the bed! A lovely well made bed with clean sheets is such a pleasure to climb into. Sprinkle a little lavender on your pillow-case or keep a sachet under the pillow during the day. Put it in your drawer until tomorrow and enjoy the subtle scent it has left behind.

Keep your room tidy, uncluttered. No paper-work near the bed. Have a glass of water handy in case you wake up thirsty so you don’t have to get up. Keep the bedroom cool and dark with fresh air available. Have a routine if possible, because the brain likes nothing more than a routine to latch onto. Allow some natural light to come through in the morning because this helps set the circadian rhythms so you wake up naturally…..when you can.

Make your bedroom into a sanctuary, a place of peace and comfort that you love to go to. Really focus on what you can do to create a feeling of positive anticipation about going to bed, like having some soft peaceful music while you unwind. Meditate quietly while you are sitting up in bed. Sleeping well is important, so make lifestyle choices and choose strategies that you feel happy about.

Eventually your sleep patterns will improve and the dreaded insomnia will become less and less of a burden.