Getting a better night’s slumber
Your brain clock is a cluster of brain cells in the hypothalamus that determines your sleep-wake time and is regulated by light and darkness, explains Delwyn Bartlett, a sleep psychologist with the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research in Sydney. Here’s how to keep it on track:
* Wake up at the same time every morning, even on weekends. This is more important than going to bed at the same time every night. “Waking up at the same time cues your brain to release sleep-wake hormones at the right time,” she says.
* Get the light right. Melatonin, the sleep hormone that gets your brain ready for sleep, needs diminishing levels of light to help it kick in. Bright light - or staring at your laptop - can delay its effects. Keep lights in the bedroom low before you go to sleep. Have curtains that let you wake up to morning light.
* Check your blankets. To feel sleepy, your body temperature needs to fall. An overheated bedroom or an electric blanket turned up too high can make it hard to sleep. But a warm bath an hour before bed can help your temperature fall. The warm water artificially raises your temperature, which then has to come down once you’re out of the bath.
* Think about what you drink and eat before bed. Drinks containing caffeine - coffee, tea, cocoa and cola - can keep you awake. Although caffeine’s stimulant effect is strongest in the first hour or so after taking it, it can still be in your system eight hours later. While alcohol helps you doze off quickly, drinking too much too close to bedtime can backfire. One drink might be OK but too much can fragment your sleep because of falling blood-alcohol levels that can wake you up later in the night.
* Eat earlier rather than later. Have dinner at 9pm and your body will still be digesting it when you’re in bed - and keeping you awake. As for a good bedtime snack, aim for something easy to digest that includes carbohydrates - warm milk or soy milk, wholegrain toast or a banana.
* Create a sound barrier. Earplugs can help, as can white noise, which means using sounds such as a fan to mask more disturbing noises. The fan can help cool you down if you overheat.
* Get regular exercise - being physically active can help you get a better night’s sleep. But not too close to bedtime - exercise can perk you up and make it hard to nod off.
* Have a snoring refuge. I’d never suggest couples sleep in separate rooms but having a spare room to retreat to occasionally when your sleep is broken because he’s snoring or you’re overheating - or both - can really help.
What about pills to help you nod off?
On prescription
Prescription drugs, such as benzodiazepines, have their place for the occasional sleepless night, to help you cope with jet lag or for short-term help with grief. But taking them continuously for more than two weeks can make you develop a tolerance to them so they don’t work as well.
Over the counter
Valerian is a common ingredient in herbal sleep remedies but studies of its effectiveness are mixed. An Ayurvedic herb, withania somnifera, has a traditional use as a sleep-inducer but, as with other traditional herbs, it often pays to get a therapeutic dose prescribed by a good herbalist rather than to self-prescribe. Other over-the-counter remedies are based on sedating antihistamines - prolonged use isn’t recommended as they can make you drowsy during the day.
source article: theage.com.au
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