From Concord Monitor
Like about a quarter of the adult population in the United States, novelist Douglas Kennedy has never had an easy time falling asleep and staying asleep for the seven to eight recommended hours.
“Sleep is difficult, and I’ve always had to take medication for that,” he told the New York Times last week. “I said to my doctor recently, Should I get off it? He said, Why? Writers have very active minds, and insomnia with writers is manifest everywhere.”
There are plenty of sleep studies, however, that suggest Kennedy and his doctor may have it all wrong (even for writers). While drugs such as Lunesta, Restoril and Ambien may quiet the mind enough for slumber to come, they do nothing to address the underlying causes of sleeplessness. What people suffering from chronic insomnia really need is cognitive behavioral therapy.
CBT may sound like clinical mumbo-jumbo, but it’s really an extension of well-known best practices. Good “sleep hygiene,” as those best practices are known, includes avoiding caffeine, alcohol and large meals before bedtime; staying away from nicotine at all times; and going to bed and waking up at the same times every day, even on weekends. (Good luck with that, new parents.)
CBT also incorporates relaxation techniques and, importantly, the development of a positive attitude about sleep and sleeplessness. If you assume that a night of restlessness will translate into a bad day at work or with the kids, for example, odds are that’s exactly what will happen – and you’ll pay the price again the next night. The negativity fuels a vicious cycle, where anxiety over the inability to sleep strengthens insomnia’s grip.
For those who wear their lack of sleep as a badge of honor, consider the consequences of sleeplessness. According to the Mayo Clinic, insomnia has been linked to health problems such as hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, anxiety, depression, substance abuse and obesity. It gets worse when tired people get behind the wheel: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports an average of 83,000 crashes and 850 fatalities caused each year by drowsy drivers.
Insomnia is indeed a public health problem.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that up to 70 million adults suffer from some form of sleeplessness. Of the 74,571 people who took part in a 2009 CDC study, more than 35 percent reported getting less than seven hours of sleep in a 24-hour period. Just under 38 percent reported falling asleep unintentionally during the day at least once in a one-month period, and 4.7 percent reported nodding off or falling asleep while driving in the previous month.
Here in New Hampshire, where a statewide discussion about drug abuse has been ongoing for many months, a psychological rather than pharmacological solution to sleepless nights is in order.
The best path to a good night’s sleep is to avoid alcohol, caffeine and food before bed, and to develop a consistent routine for hitting the sack and waking up. As you establish those habits, you can start getting your mind right: The more you worry about insomnia, the greater its power.
Learning to quiet the mind at night without a last-minute nightcap or a little pill may take a lot of work, but just think of how much time you’ll have to rest.
http://www.concordmonitor.com/Articles/2016/03/From-Archives-2/editinsomnia-cmforum-032916
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