Insomnia is at epidemic levels in the developed world. Nearly half of all Americans suffer at least occasional insomnia, according to the nonprofit Sleep Foundation. Fifty-six million prescriptions for sleeping pills were written in 2008, up 54% over the previous 4 years. (Max, 2010) Here are some tips and guidelines that will help you cure your insomnia.
How to overcome insomnia
Before we get into more advanced methods for curing insomnia, here are some quick tips and basic advice:
- Avoid caffeine, alcohol, or spicy meals before bed.
- Try to exercise during the day and eat 3 healthy meals on a consistent schedule, which will help you sleep better.
- Don’t go to bed until you are actually sleepy.
- Don’t lie in bed unless you’re going to sleep. If you can’t fall asleep after a reasonable time, get up and walk around before trying again. And avoid watching television or doing extensive reading in bed. Humans respond to Pavlonian conditioning, so the more time you spend in bed NOT sleeping, the harder it is for your brain to connect the two (bed=sleep).
- When you can’t get to sleep at night, it’s tempting to want to make up for it in the morning. But you should try to wake up at the same time of day, no matter how many hours of sleep you got the night before.
- Some people find that valerian root, a natural herb sedative, can help them sleep. Others take melatonin supplements, but we would caution that this can actually make your sleep problems worse over time, since they disrupt your body’s natural melatonin production, thus throwing the whole system out of whack.
- Try to always get up within an hour of your usual wake up time, even on weekends or after nights when you don’t sleep well.
- Avoid alcohol, or, if you do drink, limit your intake to no more than 2 cocktails a night, and stop drinking three hours before bed to allow the alcohol to run through your system. While booze may make you sleepy initially, once the body metabolizes the alcohol, you return to a lighter state of rest that can actually disrupt REM sleep rhythms, leaving you more tired and exhausted the next day.
- There are many over-the-counter sleep aids and prescription drugs for insomnia, which may help some people get to sleep. But experts caution against relying on these drugs for any extended period of time. Charles Morin, a professor of psychology who directs the sleep research center at Lanal University in Quebec, says medication “is more like a Band-Aid. It doesn’t address those factors that perpetuate and maintain insomnia.” (Lyon, 2009)
Sleeping pills can lead to psychological addiction, and many users complain that their sleep seems different while on them and that they feel more hung-over when they wake up. They can also cause risky bouts of sleepwalking, and long-term use may produce even more side effects. You should keep in mind that studies have found CBT treatment to be more effective than sleeping pills at treating long-term insomnia. (Max, 2010)
- Red-spectrum light tends to aid in the production of melatonin, so this can induce sleepiness.
- Keep to the same routine before bed. When it comes to getting sleep, boredom and monotony are your friend. So find a wind-down pattern that works for you, and then stick to the same old routine as best you can.