Believing you’re an insomniac may be costing you sleep and productivity

From theladders.com

Is your insomnia all in your head? A new review of the sleep disorder in Behaviour Research and Therapy found that your inability to fall asleep is not enough to make you an insomniac — you have to identify as one, too.
Comparing poor sleepers with poor sleepers who also complain about their insomnia in two studies of older adults, they found that complaining about your insomnia made the biggest difference. Poor sleepers were identified as people who were awake at least 30 minutes three times a week when they wanted to fall asleep but couldn’t.
You would think that your lack of sleep would automatically lead to side effects of sleeplessness, but that’s not what the researchers found. The quality of sleep the participants had didn’t determine whether they had insomnia. Complaining good sleepers — who objectively got a good amount of sleep — would exhibit comparable levels of daytime impairment as people with insomnia. Poor sleepers who had a restless night wouldn’t automatically experience insomnia the next day.

Your mindset matters more than reality

Whether or not you got much sleep the night before, you wouldn’t feel daytime impairment on your cognitive functions unless you reported high distress about your sleeplessness. In other words, the conviction that one has insomnia is a more predictive factor to you getting a sleep disorder than the quality of sleep itself.
“These two studies challenged the conventional wisdom that dysfunction associated with insomnia was due to disturbed sleep and could best be alleviated by improving sleep patterns,” the review states.
As the principles of cognitive behavioural therapy recognize, how you think changes how you feel. When you think you’re an insomniac, you help yourself become one. “When dread intermingles with sleep, the bedroom is a neutral or welcoming environment by day, a dystopia by night,” the researchers warned.
Reviewing separate studies, the researchers found that people who obsess over their sleeplessness were found to be at greater risk for self-stigma, depression, suicidal ideation, anxiety, and fatigue.

How to fight insomnia

But for people who identify as insomniacs, there’s still hope of obtaining that elusive good night’s sleep. As the review outlines, “treatment is pushing against conviction” that you’re an insomniac and you will always be one. When you catastrophize your bad sleep habits and beat yourself up about not getting enough sleep, you’re not helping yourself. To push against this all-or-nothing thinking, researchers suggested asking yourself the following questions to reframe your attitudes about sleep:

1. Can you be a normal sleeper if you are not a perfect sleeper?
2. Does having troubled sleep change the way you think about yourself?
3. What do you think the impact of seeing yourself as an insomniac is?
4. If your sleep improved, how would that change the way you think about yourself?
5. These questions are all to help you challenge reframe your concept of yourself as a bad sleeper. When it comes to getting rest, your “sleep self-appraisal takes precedence over sleep,” the researchers concluded.

And too many of us identify as bad sleepers. We are in a sleeplessness epidemic. Three in four employees aren’t getting the recommended eight hours of sleep on a work night, and they say their performance at work has suffered for this.
With this new research, you can now combat your sleep deprivation by first recognizing that it doesn’t define you. By learning to separate the insomnia from the insomniac label, you can spare yourself from the guilt and health risks of staying up too late.

https://www.theladders.com/p/29385/insomnia-sleep-issues

To Improve Sleep and Reduce Anxiety, Add More Magnesium to Your Diet

From observer.com

Magnesium is supposedly the fourth most-commonly found mineral in the human body, yet studies show most people are deficient in it. The mystery culprit? The same phenomenon behind anxiety, depression, and lack of sleep: stress. Stress causes all kinds of negative effects on the body, and your brain compensates for it by using up all of the magnesium naturally found in cells, responsible for regulating hundreds of bodily chemical reactions. Magnesium supports the transformation of food into energy, formulating new proteins, repairing DNA, supporting muscle movement, and regulating the nervous system among many other critical functions. Magnesium also helps protect the body from minor health complications like migraines and insomnia to major health issues like type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

“If there’s one supplement that is absolutely essential, it’s magnesium,” Dr. Dennis Goodman, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at New York University, Board Certified Cardiologist, and the Director of Integrative Medicine at New York Medical Associates, told Observer. “In my practice, 80 percent of people are deficient in it.”

In his book, Magnificent Magnesium: Your Essential Key to a Healthy Heart and More, Dr. Goodman explores magnesium’s ability to remedy many cardiovascular conditions, arguing the case for the naturally-occurring mineral over pharmaceutical drugs to lower blood pressure and even prevent heart attacks. He also highly recommends supplementing your diet with magnesium, an easy way to avoid fatigue, insomnia, migraines, anxiety, muscle cramps, and even depression. Dr. Goodman is consistently named one of New York’s top doctors by The New York Times and New York Magazine, thanks to his integrative approach to overall optimal health; rather than resorting immediately to pharmaceuticals, he addresses his patients with a combined approach that is equal parts mind and body.

Dr. Goodman cites an unbalanced diet as one of the main causes of magnesium deficiency; most Americans aren’t consuming the right foods critical to a magnesium-rich diet such as green leafy vegetables, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, avocados, and halibut to name a few. To fill your diet with natural sources of magnesium, he recommends visiting farmer’s market for fresh, organic produce, explaining that much of the soil used to grow America’s produce is magnesium deficient in itself.

Popping a daily dose of magnesium has also been proven to boost your workout. Magnesium supports the dispersion of blood sugar to the muscles, aiding the overproduction of lactic acid and preventing joint pain. This means, you can go harder in the gym, knowing you won’t be as sore the next day. A German study at the Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Pathobiochemistry found that athletes training for a triathlon while supplementing with magnesium experienced improved cycling, swimming, and running times with an easier recovery afterward.

http://observer.com/2017/10/improve-sleep-reduce-anxiety-with-magnesium/

How Personality Affects Sleep Quality

From independent.co.uk

How easy you find drifting off at night could be down to your personality, a new study has shown.
According to research carried out on 1,000 Americans, introverts are more likely to suffer disrupted sleep than extroverts.

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The study was carried out by Best Mattress Brand and involved participants’ personality traits being determined by the Myers Briggs Test.
Someone who focuses on the outer world is deemed an extrovert, whereas someone who prefers the inner world is classed as an introvert.
Although some experts believe the test isn’t useful in all situations, it’s widely considered to be a good marker of various character traits.
After participants took the test, they were asked a series of questions related to their sleep and dream experiences.
And the researchers found that personality type seems to correlate with both sleep quality and what we dream about.
Extroverts are more likely to sleep through the night without waking up, and perhaps unsurprisingly thus have more energy during the day and feel more alert.

In fact, extroverts are 17.7 per cent more likely to feel satisfied with their level of energy during waking hours than introverts.
Our dreams are affected too.
The researchers concluded that introverts are more likely to have nightmares and unclear dreams than extroverts.
The study found a difference in the content of our dreams too, with extroverts more likely to dream of traveling than introverts, whilst people who focus on the inner world are more prone to dreaming about their teeth falling out or punching something with no effect than more outgoing people.
Introverts also fall asleep when they want to stay awake more often than extroverts.
You may not be able to change your personality type, but getting enough sleep is essential for staying healthy in every way.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/personality-trait-introvert-extrovert-more-likely-to-sleep-badly-insomnia-dream-quality-a8012546.html

Where the magic happens: Having better habits to create a better sleep environment

From metronews.ca

Everyone sleeps differently, so be comfortable and find a solution that works for you when you're looking to make your bedroom more conducive for sleep

The one rule everyone should follow, says sleep specialist Colleen Carney, is to leave the cell phone in another room.

Be comfortable and find a solution that works for you. That’s the biggest piece of advice Colleen Carney, director of Ryerson University’s Sleep and Depression lab, can provide to people looking to make their bedrooms more conducive for sleep.

Everyone sleeps differently, and humans are able to get shut eye in a variety of different environments — even loud and bright ones, she says.

If watching a bit of TV before bed helps you fall asleep, she says go for it (but remember to put the TV on a timer, lest it wake you up with loud noise). The same goes with the light levels in rooms: if nightlights are useful, the people should use nightlights. Beds should be comfortable — and there’s no magic formula to finding something that works for everyone. The Canadian Sleep Society concurs, offering only that bedrooms should be comfortable, with limited distractions from noise and light, and temperatures set at whatever is optimal for the sleeper.

What’s important is not to stress about your sleep environment Carney says. “When it’s an overly dark room, my concern is someone tried to artificially create that. A lot of my patients will buy black-out blinds thinking light is the cause [of their insomnia]. But really, we’re adaptable beings. And we can sleep in a variety of situations.”

The risk, she says, is that people will over-focus on their environment. When they have a bad night’s sleep, they often begin to associate that stress with their environment, trying to solve the problems they perceive to be the root cause by making the room quieter or darker. When that doesn’t work, they often try more extreme measure, reinforcing the idea that the room is to blame.

“That’s at the crux of their insomnia,” Carney adds. “They’ll have whales singing. They'll get alarm clocks that wake up them gradually with light. They’ll block out all blue light. They’ll kick out their spouses.”

But instead of being preoccupied with their bedrooms, everyone should work on developing better sleep habits overall, such as being active during the day and maintaining consistent bed and wake-up times.

People with insomnia should avoid stimuli in their bedrooms — including TVs — and the bed should be kept strictly for sleep and sex, she adds.

But for the rest of the population — those who have normal sleep, generally quiet rooms without bright lights, all at a comfortable temperature and a comfy bed, are sufficient.

The one rule everyone should follow, however: leave the cell phone in the other room. If you need it because it’s an alarm, put it on airplane mode overnight and keep it out of easy reach.

“If you wake up and check your phone, people can’t resist checking what [else] is happening,” she says. “Your brain orients itself to notifications — so even if we’re not aware we’re paying attention, our brain pays attention and that wakes us up.”

http://www.metronews.ca/life/2017/10/20/where-the-magic-happens-having-better-habits-to-create-a-better-sleep-environment.html

How to reverse insomnia: A sleep expert offers advice

From stuff.co.nz

It's 3am on Wednesday, a time when only nursing mothers, shift workers and die-hard partiers are awake. I'm none of the above, yet I am bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, staring at the bedroom ceiling instead of at the insides of my eyelids. I am a chronic insomniac, unable to fall asleep and stay asleep, both equally frustrating sides of the disrupted sleep coin.
Sleep and I have never been good friends, or even casual acquaintances.
This is what usually happens: I go to bed and toss and turn for hours worrying that I can't get to sleep/have to get up soon/haven't sent an important email/need to add something to the grocery list, etc. On particularly bad nights, random thoughts and worries bounce around my brain like an out-of-control game of ping pong.

I try counting sheep, listing the things I'm grateful for, regulating my breathing and meditating and when none of these work, I try to bargain with God/Buddha/Allah/Anyone that if they grant me a good night's sleep, I'll be a good girl from now on. Ironically, the only thing that all that worrying and bargaining does is to further stimulate my brain, ratcheting up the anxiety and making sleep even more elusive.Eventually, annoyingly, I fall into an exhausted sleep, only to wake up a few hours later to watch daylight creep around the curtains.
If insomnia was an Olympic sport, I would have a permanent place on the podium, gold medal firmly clasped around my neck.
It's not as though I haven't tried to sleep: over the years I've taken chamomile and magnesium, fitted blackout curtains, done yoga, eaten bananas and sipped warm milk (not at the same time), exercised in morning sunlight, given up coffee and limited alcohol. I've tried deep-breathing exercises, listened to podcasts and gobbled melatonin tablets (and when those didn't work, I got a prescription for sleeping tablets which do work but which I only take when I really, really need to). I've eaten lots of carbs and given up carbs and, once on a work trip to a health retreat in Queensland, had acupuncture from the bloke who used to stick needles into Princess Diana. Heck, I would pound my chest in a drum circle while hanging naked from a chandelier if I thought it would help.
And even though in the wee small hours, when my rock-solid sleeper husband is happily lost in dreamland and it feels as though I'm very much alone, figures show I'm anything but.
New Zealand's National Health Survey 2013-2014, for example, revealed that 37 per cent of Kiwis aged 30-60 never, or rarely, get enough sleep. Those most at risk include women (insomnia affects twice as many women as men), shift workers, the elderly, young adults, travellers, women in menopause, drug abusers and alcoholics.
Dr Alex Bartle, director of New Zealand's Sleep Well Clinics, believes up to 15 per cent of adult Kiwis have chronic insomnia which affects their waking lives.
"That's a fair number of people who have disrupted sleep at least three nights a week, and have had for more than three months," says Bartle.
"Part of the problem is that many people who can't sleep accept it as normal and insomnia is not normal."
Although we spend about 24 to 26 years of our lives asleep, how much we really need varies from person to person. The gold standard for an average night's sleep, set by the US Sleep Foundation, is 6½ hours.
"Any less than six hours and we don't compute very well," says Bartle.
He's right: when we're sleep deprived we tend to be grumpy, unproductive and often unable to think straight. Research from the University College London Medical School revealed that people who fail to get a full night's sleep score significantly lower on tests of logic and vocabulary and, more worryingly, have slower reaction times which can impact on everything from operating machinery to driving.     
The grim news doesn't stop there: chronic  insomnia can lead to a laundry list of illnesses, from high blood pressure and diabetes to an increased  risk of heart attack, Alzheimer's disease, problems with the immune and lymphatic systems and even death (such as the 24-year-old Indonesian  woman who died in 2013 after prolonged sleep deprivation).
It's why I take myself to Bartle's Wellington clinic on yet another day when I need pegs to prop open my eyes. I'm clearly not the only one, because I've had to wait three weeks for an appointment with the Auckland-based doctor who made the switch from general medicine 10 years ago when he realised the extent of New Zealand's insomnia problem.
"Insomnia isn't just a case of not sleeping, it's also about fear, an overwhelming but common anxiety that can paralyse your sleep," says Bartle.
We talk about my history with disrupted sleep, how fatigued I am during the day (very) and how I manage to muddle along with around four to five hours shut-eye a night (not always successfully). We discuss my current sleeping situation – blackout curtains (good), dog sleeping on the bed, not so much – and if I watch TV, read emails and scan the internet while in bed (yes, yes and yes).
"You're a classic chronic insomniac, someone who's tired and wired and can't turn off the internal dialogue or to-do lists," Bartle tells me.
It is, apparently, possible to rewire my brain to  give me the confidence I need to fall asleep and  stay that way using cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBTI), which helps to manage the underlying stress that interferes with sleep. CBTI, which numerous studies have shown to be more effective than sleeping pills, pivots on a simple concept – that insomnia is caused by learned thoughts and behaviours which can be unlearned  or changed. 
We start with sleep hygiene, a slightly icky term which basically describes the routines and rituals around bedtime that let the brain know it's moving into the sleep phase.
These include environmental factors such as dimming the lights, taking a hot shower or bath an hour before bed, avoiding exercise and snacks before lights out and, most importantly, not doing anything in the bedroom except sleeping and sex. Which means no watching TV or mindlessly scrolling through my phone while in bed.
Bartle says my sleep efficiency is also something that needs to be tackled.
"You're currently going to bed at 11pm, getting up at 7.30am and sleeping for around four to five hours, which is only a 50 per cent sleep efficiency rate."
He suggests I restrict the time I spend in bed by going to bed at midnight, which should help to consolidate my sleep. "Turn off all electronic devices around 11pm and read a book until it's time to go to bed."
So far, so doable. What doesn't sound so easy is dragging myself out of bed if I can't fall asleep within 10 minutes of retiring (or after waking during the night). The CBTI tough-love approach is to get out of bed, go to another room and read a magazine for 20 minutes before returning to bed.
"You can't make yourself sleep, so the trick is to relax enough in order to allow sleep to happen," says Bartle. That includes progressive muscle relaxation which, as the name suggests, involves working up or down the body relaxing various muscle groups. That old chestnut – mindfulness – and visualisation, taking my mind to a happy place (currently a deserted beach in Fiji), can also help.
"Some people pray, do self hypnosis or have mantras they repeat, basically whatever relaxation technique works for you."   
It's probably nothing I didn't already know but it helps to have someone of Bartle's experience put it in practical, easy-to-follow terms. I leave the clinic feeling more confident about sleeping than I have in a long time.
"Just remember, it takes time to retrain your brain," he says kindly as I leave.
One month down the track and although I haven't quite nailed this sleeping six hours a night thing, it definitely feels more manageable. I'm going to bed later, switching off the electronic distractions earlier and reading more books than I have for ages. Thankfully, I'm also sleeping for longer stretches and seldom waking before the alarm. But, best of all, I've almost forgotten what 3am looks like.

DR ALEX BARTLE'S TOP 5 TIPS FOR BETTER SLEEP
- Stop screen time (including smartphones, computers and TV) for at least one hour, and preferably two hours, before bed.
- Stop "clock watching" overnight by ensuring clocks and cell phones are out of sight and out of reach.
- Spend more time outside, especially in the morning.
- Go to bed later when you're more likely to be able to go to bed and sleep. Then slowly advance bedtime every two to three nights.-
- If you're unable to sleep, get up within 20 minutes. You may only need to be up for 15 minutes before returning to bed to try again. 

https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/well-good/teach-me/97841599/how-to-reverse-insomnia-a-sleep-expert-offers-advice

Insomnia: 11 Steps to a good night’s sleep

From southcoastherald.co.za

If you struggle to sleep, you are not alone!

According to an article in the Doctors’ Book of Home Remedies,  insomnia (not being able to sleep) ranks right behind the common cold,  stomach disorders and headaches when it comes to reasons people book doctor’s appointments.The book also offers some advice on how to drift off to the Land of Nod a little quicker:

• Keep to a schedule – seven days a week – this helps set your body’s internal clock. Make sure you get up and retire at the same time, every day.
• Listen to your body – as we age, our bodies need less sleep. And remember, what is enough sleep for one person may not be enough for someone else.
• Set aside a ‘quiet time’ before bed – allow your body and mind to unwind before attempting to fall asleep.
• Keep your bed for sleeping – don’t work, watch TV or use your phone.
• Avoid caffeine after 4pm – remember, nicotine and alcohol are also stimulants.
• Eat a light snack – enjoy a piece of fruit or a warm milky drink, but avoid sugary snacks.
• Set the mood – make sure your bedroom is at a comfortable temperature and nice and dim. Block out any stray light from things such as cell phone chargers or air conditioning units.
• Get some exercise – a walk around the block before bedtime might be just the ticket.
• Sex it up – it’s a pleasurable and physically and mentally relaxing was of preparing for sleep.
• Soak it up – try grandma’s remedy – a nice, warm bath.
• Use technology – earplugs, eyeshades, air conditioners and electric blankets can all help keep you comfortable enough to drift off to sleep.

http://southcoastherald.co.za/238326/insomnia-11-steps-good-nights-sleep/

Dream loss may silently harm health: study

From indianexpress.com

If you are dream deprived you may be sleep deprived. Many health concerns attributed to sleep loss may be due to dream deprivation, says study.

A silent epidemic of dream loss may be at the root of many of the illnesses attributed to sleep deprivation, say scientists, suggesting that the unrecognised public health hazard may contribute to depression, a study claims.
A silent epidemic of dream loss may be at the root of many of the illnesses attributed to sleep deprivation, say scientists, suggesting that the unrecognised public health hazard may contribute to depression, a study claims.
Researchers detailed the various factors that cause rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and dream loss. Typical sleep follows a pattern in which deeper, non-REM sleep is prioritised by the body. Only later in the night and into the early morning do people experience dreaming, during REM sleep. “We are at least as dream-deprived as we are sleep-deprived. Many of our health concerns attributed to sleep loss actually result from REM sleep deprivation,” said Rubin Naiman, assistant professor at University of Arizona in the US.
He sees REM/dream loss as an unrecognised public health hazard that silently wreaks havoc by contributing to illness, depression and an erosion of consciousness. The review, published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, examines data about the causes and extent of REM/dream loss associated with medications, substance use disorders, sleep disorders and behavioural and lifestyle factors.

http://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/health/dream-loss-may-silently-harm-health-study-4869931/

Better sleep for your child

From cdapress.com

Most parents are aware of the importance of a nutritious diet and regular physical exercise for their children’s health, but surprisingly, another vital aspect of our physical and mental well-being is often overlooked: SLEEP.
It has long been known that sleep is critical for recovery and development of brain functions such as learning new information and storing long-term memories. The latest discoveries are also showing that uninterrupted sleep is vital for kids because the growth hormone needed for tissue and muscle development is primarily released during sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation, pre-schoolers should be getting 10 to 13 hours, kids 6 to 13 years old need 9 to 11 hours, and teens require 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night.
Inadequate sleep also increases the risk of obesity, diabetes, and a weaker immune response. Sleep modulates the neuroendocrine system and glucose metabolism. Insufficient sleep can also depress the immune system, leaving kids more vulnerable to illness.
In addition to physical symptoms, sleep debt can cause behavioural and emotional problems. It can shorten kids’ attention span and even cause symptoms similar to ADHD. A study of 2,500 kids ages 6 to 15 confirmed that kids with sleep problems are more likely to be hyper, impulsive and aggressive. Kids tend to become hyperactive and explosive as they try to compensate for their exhaustion.

What can you do to help your child sleep better? Here are tips for creating a healthy sleeper:
• Be consistent with a bedtime routine. Enforce an early bedtime. Early bedtimes ensure that children do not become overtired. When a child is overtired, it becomes more difficult for the child to settle down and fall asleep. Routine is also important for retraining their brain to its circadian rhythm, so it supports the regulation of melatonin (sleep hormone) and cortisol (stress hormone).
• Get outside. Middle of the day sun exposure reacts with photoreceptors in our eyes to help sync our circadian rhythm hormones.
• Turn off the technology. Smartphones and tablets emit blue-white light which mimics the sun and stimulates the brain. If you can’t move electronics out of the bedroom, turn them off or at least set them to airplane mode. Turn off the Wi-Fi in your house overnight to stop unnecessary EMF (electromagnetic field) exposure.
• Sleep in a dark room. Sleeping in a completely dark room allows us to get to a deeper state of sleep. If you child needs a nightlight to fall asleep, it should be amber or red in colour, or else shut it off when you go to sleep. A dark room also prevents them from waking during the night.
• Do not give sugary snack before bed. If your child is hungry, give something high in protein and good fats, like a handful of almonds. Eating sweets near bedtime causes a spike in blood sugar followed later by a drop, which leads to a feeling of hunger and may leave kids awake in the middle of the night.
• Keep bedrooms clean and free of allergens, which can cause sleep-disordered breathing and insomnia.
• Try to teach your kids a form of mindfulness before sleeping. Simple breathing exercises can quiet the mind, reduce stress and improve sleep.
If your child suffers more serious sleep issues, seek the help of a holistic doctor (acupuncturist, chiropractor, naturopath, etc.) who can help you determine the root cause for the insomnia.

http://www.cdapress.com/article/20170927/ARTICLE/170929818