The Joys of Sleep

by Richard Shane, Ph.D. 

[Note: The previous articles, “Simple Steps To Sleep” present basic steps that can help you cross the threshold into sleep. These steps are the foundation through which sleep is achieved.]

In this section, we will explore many areas of sleep. You have likely come across the concept of “Sleep Hygiene”; such as making sure your room is dark and quiet. I think the term “sleep hygiene” creates a misconception in many minds; a more appropriate term is “behaviors that support good sleep.” Improving these “sleep behaviors” is usually not sufficient to resolve sleep difficulties. However, the previous articles taught you simple steps to use when your head is on the pillow that help ease you into sleep. When you have that ability, any sleep behavior changes will support your ability to sleep.

Nicotine 

Try to reduce or eliminate your use of nicotine. Although nicotine can create sensations of relaxation, it also can act as a stimulant that makes your heart beat faster, which can make sleep difficult. At the very least, do not smoke near bedtime.

Exercise

Most physicians agree that moderate exercise at least three times a week is one of the best ways to combat insomnia. Exercise can improve both sleep onset and sleep quality by reducing stress, releasing sleep-inducing hormones, and creating changes in body temperature. Due to these changes in body temperature an ideal time to exercise is four to five hours before bedtime. This is because body temperature increases during exercise and remains elevated for two to four hours, after which point body temperature begins to fall. This drop in temperature creates the ideal conditions to fall asleep and stay asleep. As a result, do not exercise vigorously within three hours of bedtime because an elevated body temperature might leave you energized when you try to fall asleep.

In addition to incorporating structured exercise sessions into your life, there are many ways to increase physical activity throughout your day such as climbing steps rather than using the elevator, walking instead of driving, and doing yard work. If you have concerns about your ability to exercise, first seek medical guidance.

Diet 

Eating higher quality foods and staying on a consistent meal schedule can improve sleep and support your sleep schedule. Certain foods can irritate your stomach and also make your heart and mind race, making it difficult to sleep. Such foods include spicy, fatty, fried foods, foods that have artificial coloring, preservatives, or MSG, and excessive amounts of protein, tomatoes, chocolate, coffee, and alcohol. Temporarily reduce any of these foods that you may be eating as an experiment to see if this makes sleep easier. Also, avoiding large quantities of food at meals may help.

If you eat a large meal too close to bedtime, your stomach will be digesting the food when you want to sleep, and an active stomach can make it difficult to sleep. If possible, have your last large meal at least four hours before bedtime. However, you should not go to bed hungry, as low blood sugar can contribute to early awakenings. If you would like to have a snack before bed, make it small and choose foods that are high in carbohydrates, such as a piece of whole grain bread or crackers. You might want to include some protein, such as a piece of cheese or a small glass of milk.

Eating ice cream or drinking too much milk too close to bedtime can be especially problematic for adults, as adults often have less tolerance for digesting lactose, and your body’s reaction could wake you up and keep you awake in the middle of the night.

Take your time while eating, chewing your food as completely as possible and swallow what is in your mouth before putting in the next mouthful of food. This will aid digestion and de-stress your life. If whatever you are eating can be eaten with a spoon, try that sometimes. Eating with a spoon can recall childhood memories of being nurtured. If you are eating with other people, you might let them know what you are doing, as they might be interested in trying this!

Alarm 

It is good to awaken gently. Perhaps get an alarm with a CD player, so you can awaken to your favorite soothing music. Some people lose sleep when they have a flight or an important meeting in the morning. If you are frequently anxious about a malfunctioning alarm or power outages, some people find it comforting to set a second alarm, one that is battery powered, set for a few minutes later. This eases your mind and helps you sleep with confidence.

Sunlight 

Our body’s sleep-wake mechanism is also affected by our exposure to natural light. Receiving more sunlight during the day can help your body shift into sleep at night. Go outside more, even if it is just for a brief walk. If you have difficulty falling asleep, try to get more exposure to sunlight soon after you awaken. If you wake up too early in the morning, expose yourself to sunlight later in the day by taking a late afternoon walk. 

Safety 

Consider taking steps to increase physical safety. These may include installing better locks, a home security system, a smoke detector, and a carbon monoxide detector. Once those issues are addressed, the Sleep Easily method can help deepen your feeling of inner safety.

Slowing Down Before Bed

For those who find sleep to be elusive, careful attention needs to be paid to the things you do within the hours before you intend to sleep. If you have to make a phone call that you know might be upsetting, do it earlier in the evening, not close to bedtime. If your favorite action show or movie is on late in the evening, record it to watch the following day. It is important that your body and mind are calm as you prepare for sleep. Without a calm mind and body most attempts to sleep will be in vain.

In the event that you are still feeling very active when it is time for sleep, sit on the side of your bed for a few minutes with your eyes closed and use the Simple Steps to Sleep presented in the previous articles. Begin to rest in that feeling and it helps your body and mind begin to become calmer and quieter.

Light and Melatonin Production 

At nighttime our bodies produce the hormone melatonin—a hormone essential for sleep. Melatonin production naturally decreases during daylight of the next day, helping you feel awake. However, artificial light in the evening can shut down your body's melatonin production, making sleep more difficult. It has been found that it is only a certain frequency of blue in light that affects melatonin production. There are manufacturers that make amber-colored glasses that filter out this frequency of blue light, but allow all other light in. These glasses allow you to read and carry on normal activities in the evening, but prevents blue light from shutting-down your melatonin production. People report it is very helpful to wear these glasses one to three hours before bedtime.

Computers 

Using a computer as bedtime approaches can be overly stimulating in a way that some people describe as feeling “wired,” with their minds “buzzing.” If possible, stop using your computer at least an hour before bedtime. Some people believe that computers with cathode-ray screens generate an electromagnetic field that can accentuate this “wired” feeling. Flat panel liquid crystal display (LCD) screens do not generate as strong of an electromagnetic field. Many people report that switching to an LCD screen helps them feel calmer. Also, the use of amber-colored glasses described above may provide an additional benefit in preventing the “wired” feeling.  

Nightclothes 

If you wear clothing while you sleep, wear clothing that is loose and comfortable. Ideally your clothing should be made from breathable, natural fabrics like cotton or silk, rather than synthetic fabrics such as polyester. This can help your body feel more comfortable and relaxed, which can help you sleep. If you commonly experience hot flashes, there are nightclothes made of material that wicks sweat away from your body, leaving you feeling cool, dry and more comfortable.

Reading

If reading helps you relax, you may have previously read until you fell asleep. Now read until the moment you notice that you are just beginning to feel sleepy. Then stop reading and use the Simple Steps to Sleep.

Quiet 

Request that the other people in your house are quiet around bedtime. Consider placing rugs on wooden floors to reduce the sound of footsteps. Heavy drapes also can absorb noise. “White noise” is a neutral sound that masks other potentially bothersome sounds. You can create this by running a fan, air conditioner, or humidifier. Small devices that generate white noise can be purchased at electronics stores. Earplugs also may decrease your sensitivity to sound. If you are comfortable turning off your phone ringer, doing so may help ensure a quiet sleep environment. If you sleep with your windows open, but are awakened by birds singing in the early morning, sleep with your windows closed.

Television 

As you approach bedtime, do not watch violent or agitating television programs, which may include the evening news. If you need to see a particular show, you might record it for viewing at a different time. It is optimal to avoid watching television in bed. Many television screens flicker many times a second. Due to these factors, for some people, watching television can activate the brain, making it more difficult to sleep. Discover what is true for you and perhaps reduce or eliminate watching television close to bedtime.

Using Your Bed For Sleep  

Try to associate your bed solely with sleeping, relaxing, and lovemaking. Do not use your bed for watching violent or agitating television programs, using a computer, working, paying bills, or reading disturbing material.

Clock 

Turn the clock face away from you so that you would have to move to be able to see it. If you previously had a habit of looking at the clock, turning the clock face away from you helps you let go of that. Many digital clocks have red numbers and red is the color associated with danger, which is not conducive to sleep. Find a retailer that carries a large enough selection of clocks that you can find one with blue numbers, which are more calming. Many clocks also come with dimmer switches so you can dim the brightness of the numbers. Do this in the dark so you can set it to the dimmest visible setting.

Fluids And Bladder Control 

Water plays a critical role in a healthy lifestyle. A good reminder to drink plenty of water is having a full glass of water visible while you work and refilling the glass as soon as it is empty. However, drink only minimally in the hours before bed and during the middle of the night, as frequent urinations through the night can severely decrease the quality of your sleep. If you typically get thirsty in the middle of the night, put a glass of water by your bed so you do not have to get out of bed, and drink as little as you can to quench your thirst. Rolling the water around your mouth can help you feel less need to drink.

Alcohol 

Although alcohol initially may make you drowsy, it can prevent you from entering deep, restorative sleep. When its sedating properties wear off, the rebound effect can awaken you in the middle of the night and make it more difficult to fall back to sleep. Reduce the amount of alcohol you consume, and never use alcohol as a sleeping aid, as this habit can lead to alcoholism and dangerous health consequences.

Future articles in this series will present you with more behaviors that support good sleep.

Future articles in this series will present you with more simple ways to develop behaviors that support good sleep.

Sleep easily and well,

Richard Shane, Ph.D. 



Farewell Insomnia: Simple Steps to Sleep

Simple Steps to Sleep

Richard Shane, Ph.D.

Insomnia can be a very stressful and frustrating condition. Most treatments designed to overcome insomnia are centered around proper sleep hygiene, or developing good sleep habits. Instead, “Simple Steps To Sleep” is about what you do when your head is on the pillow—how to actually cross over into sleep.

There exist very subtle yet easily recognizable body sensations that create the feeling of falling asleep. With these cues, you do not need to quiet your mind, because as your body approaches sleep, your mind becomes quiet on its own. Using these cues, we are able to develop a simple and highly effective method that gives you a way to fall asleep, fall back to sleep and sleep more deeply.

People often think that the way to relax is to try to relax their entire bodies. That is too much work and often doesn’t lead to sleep. Rather, there are two small areas of your body that act as switches in your nervous system. These are easier to feel and create deeper relaxation.

Preliminary Exercise

Make a tight fist and hold it. Now let your fist loosen. Releasing tension in your hand is actually more effective than trying to relax your hand.

The first “switch” is your tongue. Many people hold tension in their tongues, often pressing it against the roof of the mouth, and aren’t aware of it. Briefly press your tongue against the roof of your mouth to make it tense. Then release—just as you allowed your fist to loosen—allow your tongue be anywhere in your mouth.

The second “switch” is your throat. Just for a brief moment, tighten your throat by swallowing and holding your swallow. Then release and feel your throat loosen slightly. Then tighten your throat once more, then release.

Your tongue and throat are part of your involuntary (autonomic) nervous system. Though it is fairly easy to allow them to relax, therefore they are also part of your voluntary nervous system. As a result your tongue and throat act as “bridges” between your voluntary and involuntary nervous systems, which gives you a simple way to get your involuntary nervous system—the “deeper” part of your nervous system—to begin to relax.

Step 1

Gently be aware of your tongue and allow it to become slightly more comfortable. Do not tighten your tongue as in the exercise above, simply allow it be anywhere in your mouth. If your tongue is already comfortable, then just gently be aware of it. It might feel as if your tongue, even the back of your tongue, is getting a bit softer. If you need to swallow, that’s okay. If your tongue gets tense again, just give allow it to become slightly more comfortable.

Step 2

Gently be aware of your throat. You do not need to tighten your throat as in the exercise above, simply allow it to become slightly more comfortable. If your throat is already comfortable, then just gently be aware of it. It might feel as if your throat becomes more spacious and open inside. If you need to swallow, that’s okay.

For various neurological reasons, allowing your tongue and throat to be slightly more comfortable helps your mind and body to become calmer.

Step 3

The third “switch” in your nervous system is your breathing. When trying to breathe more comfortably, most people try deep breathing, breathing slowly and evenly, breathing into their abdomen, etc. While that can be useful for daytime relaxation, it is too much work and not effective for sleep.

Preliminary exercise

When you exhale, your lungs deflate and your chest falls inward, toward the center of your chest. Put one hand on your chest and look at your hand. Take a few deep breaths and as you exhale, while watching your hand, you will see your chest moves inward. Now take your hand off your chest and, as you exhale, feel your chest moving inward, without trying to change your breath. Feel this for enough breaths that you are confident you can easily feel it.

Breathing happens without having to remember to breathe. Even if you are stressed and your breath is uncomfortable, the fact that your breath exists is much greater than whatever you are stressed about. Breath is worthy of appreciation. When you exhale and feel the inward movement of your chest, without trying to change your breath, it can be like feeling your breath with a sense of appreciation that breath exists. From this, breathing naturally becomes more comfortable. This is a much easier and more natural way of trying to calm your breath.

Step 4

The fourth and final “switch” in your nervous system is your heart. This method gives you a way for your heart to feel protected and safe. Your heart then sends your body and mind signals of “It’s safe to rest.”

Don’t try to calm you physical heart (on the left side of your chest), but rather the area deep in the center of your chest. I call that the “heart area.” It’s easier to calm your heart area, and that automatically calms your physical heart. As you exhale and your chest gently moves inward toward the center of your chest, that helps calm your heart area. Your heart doesn’t need to become very calm. When it just begins to become calm, you will feel relief.

You might think, “How can I feel safe when I have so much stress?” If you were out in a storm, you might need to brace yourself. Once you are inside, you can calm yourself because you are indoors, protected from the weather. Allow your tongue and throat to become more comfortable, as you exhale, gently feel the inward movement of your chest, without trying to change your breath, and feel this begin to calm your heart area. This brings your awareness to a feeling of comfort and safety inside your body, safe and protected inside, even if there are “storms” in your life. This becomes like a “secret place” to go to inside yourself to ease into sleep. Your mind likes this feeling, begins to rest in that feeling, and begins to become quiet without trying to make it quiet.

When your head is on a pillow, you don’t concentrate on the pillow, you just rest in it. Similarly, you don’t have to concentrate on the comfortable body sensation. Feel it and let yourself rest in that comfort.

The old goal was “I have to get to sleep (or back to sleep)” That creates too much pressure, which makes sleep difficult. Now have your goal be to get close to sleep with the steps summarized below. Obviously, you can’t do something to get to sleep. However, with these steps, you can do something simple to get close to sleep. Your body then recognizes that feeling and carries you the rest of the way into sleep.

Summary:

• Allow your tongue and throat to be slightly more comfortable.
• As you exhale, feel the gentle inward motion of your chest calming your heart area.
• Rest in that feeling, close to sleep. In it’s own time, your body can carry you the rest of the way into sleep.

The next Article, # 3 is titled, “The Joys of Sleep.” This will give you a way to fall back to sleep more easily if you are awakened too early. If you would like to be notified when the next article is published, please follow us on Facebook and/or Twitter.

Sleep easily and well,

Richard Shane, Ph.D.

If you would like to be notified when Part 2 is published, please follow us on Facebook and/or Twitter.