Are You Getting Enough Sleep?

Sleep deprivation can have serious effects on your health in the form of physical and mental impairments. Inadequate rest impairs our ability to think, to handle stress, to maintain a healthy immune system and to moderate our emotions.

Without adequate rest, the brain’s ability to function quickly deteriorates. The brain works harder to counteract sleep deprivation effects, but operates less effectively: concentration levels drop, and memory becomes impaired.

Similarly, the brain’s ability to problem solve is greatly impaired. Decision-making abilities are compromised, and the brain falls into rigid thought patterns that make it difficult to generate new problem-solving ideas. Insufficient rest can also cause people to have hallucinations. Other typical effects of sleep deprivation include:

• depression
• heart disease
• hypertension
• irritability
• slower reaction times
• slurred speech
• tremors.

Information provided from www.sleepdeprivation.com

In recent months worry has taken it’s toll on me. When I worry, I get insomnia. When I have insomnia, I worry. It’s a vicious cycle triggered by the unexpected events of life in combination with the ordinary routine stresses of daily life which have some how (through lack of sleep) have grown into unmanageable proportions.

I try to read before falling asleep, but I can’t focus. I try to watch HGTV, but I can’t hear the words over the voices in my head. I try to eat some buttered toast but the crumbs keep me from being comfortable. But last night, I remembered a trick from my childhood, and am happy to report that I fell asleep and slept quite well.

Last night I was able to fall asleep, not by counting sheep, but by repeating The Lord’s Prayer. Growing up Catholic we learned to use our rosary beads, seeking comfort through prayer. I have never been good at memorizing scripture but through years of attending Mass I do have great prayer recall. Perhaps during these roller coaster times I should seek out those worry Rosary beads of childhood.

For those of us who spend hours tossing and turning in bed, psychologists studying sleep disturbances have a number of suggestions for overcoming insomnia. Here are some ideas:

• Exercise during the day (at least six hours before bedtime)
• Choose a regular bedtime and stick to it. Adhering to a habitual schedule helps your internal timing mechanisms regulate your body more effectively.
• Don’t use your bed as an all-purpose ares. Leave reading, eating, watching TV, and other activities to some other part of your home. This way your bed will become a ‘cue’ for sleeping.
• Avoid drinks with caffeine after lunch. The effects of beverages such as coffee, tea, and some soft drinks can linger for as long as eight to twelve hours after they are consumed.
• Drink a glass of warm milk at bedtime. Milk contains the chemical tryptophan, which helps people fall asleep.
• Avoid sleeping pills. In the long run sleep medications can do more harm than good because they disrupt the normal sleep cycle.
• Try not to sleep. A good strategy is to go to bed only when you feel tired. If you don’t get to sleep within ten minutes, leave the bedroom and do something else, returning to bed only when you feel sleepy. continue this process all night if necessary. But get up at your usual hour in the morning, and don’t take any naps during the day. After three or four weeks, most people become conditioned to associate their beds with sleep and fall asleep rapidly at night.
• Talk yourself into sleeping. Replace negative thoughts that keep you awake with more positive ones.

This information provided from Essentials of Understanding Psychology by Robert S. Feldman

Don’t forget, if there is a question that you would like to have answered or a topic you would like to have discussed, be sure to email me at dbeverlyhills@gmail.com. All questions will remain anonymous. All answers will be sprinkled with my perspective.