Many people believe they suffer from insomnia, and in the short-term this is probably true. But I want to help those of you who have seriously wondered about your own sleep habits and patterns, to decode some of the myth and hype.
I feel pretty well qualified to do this, having been a dyed-in-the-wool insomniac with Seasonal Affective Disorder to boot, since about the age of seven. When I was young, and couldn't sleep, I used to sneak a book and flashlight under the covers and read. This was actually the WRONG thing to do, but I digress… More on this later.
First off, ask yourself this: Do you just NOT feel sleepy when you know it is time to go to bed? So you stay up a little later? Or do you go to bed and toss and turn, unable to fall asleep even after 30 or 40 minutes?
The average person takes between ten and 25 minutes to fall asleep. But of course there are outliers (like me) who generally take 40 to 45 minutes. If you ARE going to bed, and can't fall asleep even though it is an appropriate time, this is one sort of insomnia.
At this point, you really have to feel sorry for my husband!
The moral of this part of the story is: GO TO BED when you know you are supposed to. If you can't sleep, continue reading this post for some pointers. DO NOT continue reading that Stephen King novel until it's 3am!
Chronic insomniacs, though, often suffer a second type of sleep disturbance. Ask yourself this: If a small noise or the need to use the restroom awakens you at night (or a cat sitting on your nose, completely blocking your airways?), can you go back to sleep in less than ten minutes? Less than 20? Of course it is highly recommended that you remove the cat from your air passages BEFORE you try to go back to sleep…
If something that awakens you keeps you up for more than 20 minutes, you could be suffering from this second type of insomnia symptom, the inability to STAY asleep. Chronic insomnia sufferers will experience this, and also may wake up well before the alarm, and well before they are adequately rested. Which we all know is one of the worst feelings in the World, to wake before the alarm!
So, what do you do about this?
The first two things are to be sure that your sleeping accommodations are relatively light- and sound-proof. If it is difficult to fall asleep, it's only going to be worse if it's bright and noisy. Try not to invite your local High School's marching band over at bedtime.
After this, consider what Bootzin calls conditioned insomnia: People who have experienced sleep disturbances can sometimes begin to associate the bedroom with anxiety and frustration instead of rest. This is what is known as Conditioned Insomnia, and it is a very real problem that can prolong insomnia patterns.
Ask yourself if you would be able to sleep better if you moved to the couch? To another room?
If so, you might be suffering from Conditioned Insomnia.
Bootzin recommends a technique to break this cycle that includes several steps. The first is that you use your bedroom for ONLY sleep and sex. NEVER watch TV in bed, read, or eat. If you have a television in your bedroom, move it to another room! Do NOT take a video camera in the bedroom to document your non-sleep adventures. This can conceivably cause insomnia, stress and frustration for years to come (no pun intended)!
The second step is simply to go to bed only when you are actually sleepy. If you do not fall asleep within 20 to 30 minutes, get up and move to another room. Don't surf the web, watch TV, or read… Just simply sit and wait until you are sleepy again. Then return to bed.
Repeat this process until you are actually able to fall asleep (in my case, likely six or seven times, until approximately 20 minutes before the alarm is supposed to go off). In this way, you should come to associate the bedroom once again with falling asleep, and transfer the frustration and sleeplessness out to some other place in the house.
Of course, it is also very important to make sure you get up at the appointed time (my downfall with no set schedule at the present time!), and not sleep in. And to nap during the day is equally counter-productive. You need to "reset" your sleep schedule manually, so to speak, and ensuring that you wake at the right time is key to being sleepy at the right time.
Personally, I have to set 3 alarm clocks around the bedroom, and all out of an arm's reach, to be sure to wake up within an hour of my "appointed time". It's best to set them all to go off about three to five minutes apart. The crucial thing here is to make sure you actually have to get up out of the bed to turn them off (or hit snooze, as I am likely to do against all logic). If you have to continually jump out of bed and run around your bedroom at 8am, it sort of gets your heart racing (not to mention your brain!) and makes it hard indeed to go back to sleep.
If this isn't working, try HIDING the alarms in different places every night. If that doesn't do it for you, at least you will amuse your significant other and/or pets with this morning fire-drill routine.
Also note that the World record for going without sleep was over 18 days. So having a night or two of restless or negligible sleep, while detrimental to your NASCAR career in the short-term, isn't going to be the worst thing ever. If it IS the worst thing that ever happens to you, count yourself as lucky!
Another point to consider is that sleeplessness can be a sign of depression. If you are experiencing insomnia for the first time, or the first time in many years, go talk to your Doctor. Your GP will be able to help you assess whether or not you have other signs of depression, or some other health issue that can compromise a good night's sleep.
Of course, also be aware that the first step to treating insomnia, with or without depression, is going to be to give Bootzin's technique your best shot. Which of course is a big pain in the neck -- but preferable (to most of us anyway) than the thought of prescription sleep-aids.
If all else fails, two things I have discovered as possible cures for insomnia are (1) reading a science textbook. Physics seems to work better than Chemistry, and you should avoid Biology altogether. And if that doesn't work, (2) baking something can help. I find that as soon as whatever I'm preparing hits the oven, I'm overcome by sleepiness. Of course, this technique isn't recommended unless you have a really good smoke alarm in your house!
And with that, my friends, I am spent. I think I'll go take a nap...
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