Getting a Better Nights Sleep

There are patterns of cycles that we go through while we sleep and when problems arise that cycle is broken. Sleep problems include trouble dozing off, problems with the thyroid gland and even depression. It’s important to speak with your health care provider if you experience any of these symptoms, as they could be indicative of another condition.

We go through four stages while we sleep and that is when our body and brain have the opportunity to recover from the day. The first cycle is the 10-minute period of light sleep, where you drift off from wakefulness. The second stage is a deeper sleep that lasts about 20 minutes and stages three and four comes after, which are types of deep sleep. Normally, people cycle through these stages several times a night. Deep sleep is often referred to delta sleep because of the delta waves that the brain makes.

Sleep and mood are linked in certain ways, which are still not understood, but it’s thought that a satisfying sleep can leave one content and happy, just like eating a satisfying meal. Dr. David Schulman, director of the Sleep Laboratory at Emory University in Atlanta, indicated that sleep problems, “Affect more than a third of Americans in a given year”. He says they are classified as primary and secondary. Secondary is when a patient may be having trouble sleeping because of medication or a health condition. Primary is a disorder all its own and is not related to any side effects.

Primary is broken down into two groups: sleep-onset insomnia and sleep-maintenance insomnia. Sleep-onset occurs in the beginning of the night and affects the patient’s ability to doze off. Sleep-maintenance insomnia is less common and occurs when you wake up once or several times throughout the night and not being able to fall back again. Schulman recommends patients try a number of things to get their sleep cycle back to normal.

The first thing he suggested was to not stay in bed any longer than 20 to 30 minutes if you can’t fall asleep or back asleep. He says, “If you accustom your body to being in bed for hours at a time unable to fall asleep, that behavior to some degree becomes subconsciously ingrained”. He also recommends avoiding eating or exercising within 3 hours of bedtime, which detracts from sleep. Also avoid caffeine with 8-10 hours of bedtime, as research shows that caffeine stays in your system until 8 or10 at night.
 
He also recommends avoiding alcohol because it could cause a light sleep and your more apt wake up later in the night. Try lighter activities like reading or listening to soft music, which may help induce sleep and avoid bright lights. He cautions against watching TV, playing video games and using the computer before turning out the lights. Lastly he notes that taking a warm bath or shower 30 to 45 minutes before going to sleep, fools your body into thinking that it’s cooling off. The cooling effect afterwards is very sleep-inducing.