Insomnia helped me thrive (yet the sleep police keep insisting it's bad for you)

From afr.com

by Julie Burchill
          
I'm aware that, though I've never exactly been a stranger to controversy throughout my 40-year career of scribbling for pleasure and profit, the subject I'm about to discuss is regarded with such universal horror that readers may well respond with baffled fury. I'm going to be accused of callousness and irresponsibility, and I'll be surprised if anyone agrees. So here goes: I have insomnia and not only does it not bother me, but I have come to enjoy it.
Before I came to this land of perpetual consciousness, insomnia struck me as a nightmare not bearing contemplation. (I thought the same, incidentally, about tinnitus, which I was diagnosed with last year, and which I've come to accommodate by regarding it as a somewhat clingy and attention-seeking pet.)

Until three years ago, I could have slept for England. While my companions tossed and turned, counted sheep and watched clocks, I submerged into somnolence like a dolphin diving down into the blue. I slept in cars, on planes, on beaches, by swimming pools – once, in the same day, I slept in the Knesset, at an Israeli Guide Dog Training School and in a Haganah bunker turned museum. And I wasn't even hungover.

But for the past three years, in my expensive super-king bed, in my quiet room with the black velvet drapes to the floor, I've been sleeping around three hours a night. It started when my son Jack committed suicide in the summer of 2015; the sleepless nights that I lived through for the rest of that year were sad, to say the least. But as the sorrow faded, the insomnia stayed; as I started to feel my way back into life, I re-learned all the habits of happiness – except sleep.

Competitive boasting

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Sleep deprivation is the new mania of the worried well, taking over from food allergies now that scientists have forced the nation's bed-wetters to face the fact that only three per cent actually have them, as opposed to the self-diagnosed 12 per cent. And like the hot-as-Hades hell of the menopause, which I also didn't find to be half the horror I was warned I would, insomnia is the subject of competitive boasting on Facebook, a platform that I've come to appreciate more in my wakeful years, as there's always a mate awake on another continent.
There are books about how to get it and courses on how to do it; if sleep hygiene is the new clean eating, then sleep is the new sex. All those years when "sleeping together" was a yearning metaphor, now many people are seeking sex as an aid to a good night's sleep.

I'm not denying these experiences, but I'd be lying if I said that insomnia has ruined my life; during it, I've cheered up immensely, lost loads of weight, and co-written a brilliant play about sex and Brexit: People Like Us, which will debut later this year.

I know my experience is not typical. For a start, my lifestyle and character make sleeplessness far easier for me to handle than it might be for others. I am an only child, keen on both their own company and on being married, thus I love being awake, alone at 4am, even if I only got to sleep well after midnight. Being wide awake this early feels like I'm part of a secret, solitary world of people, free of having human society thrust upon them, but also free to access it at the touch of a button.

                    Author Julie Burchill: "I know my experience is not typical." Chris Beck

I am easily distracted and sociable in my old age, and find that the very early morning has a quietness the rest of the day doesn't. So I write between 5am and 9am, then go to my volunteer job and, if I so wish, devote the rest of the day to leisure. I may even slip in a siesta – but rarely more than 15 minutes. If I had to commute and/or a job I disliked, I might feel very differently.

'I don't feel stupid'

I've read a hundred miserable pieces about insomnia and not a single cheery one, but I'm far from being the only person who doesn't just survive, but thrive, on a modest amount of shut-eye. Margaret Thatcher needed four hours; the designer Tom Ford wants only three. When Napoleon Bonaparte was asked how many hours of sleep people need, he replied: "Six for a man, seven for a woman, eight for a fool."

It's true that sleeplessness can cause depression, weight gain and mental illness, as well as putting people at greater risk of strokes, heart attacks and diabetes, but the blood tests I had this year came back clear. I haven't even had a cold during my restless years, while all around me well-rested mates go down like runny-nosed nine-pins.

We're told that insomnia makes people stupid, but I don't feel stupid, and I'm pretty sure that hardcore insomniac Dr Johnson didn't when he was putting together his Dictionary of the English Language on a couple of hours a night. It's like those claims that exercise is good for the brain. If that was true, athletes and trainers would be the cleverest people on earth. Or that clean living will lead to good looks, and then you look at Kate Moss. We don't expect one size to fit all in appetites for food, sex and music, so why should sleep be different?
A study published some years ago in Science magazine reported the discovery of a genetic mutation which estimated that around five per cent of the population can show no signs of deterioration on far less than the mandatory eight hours. And the idea that more sleep per se makes a happier life is one I query; some of the saddest people I know sleep a lot. Indeed, I witnessed this at first hand when my son was in the extreme phase of his mental illness and, clinically depressed, he could easily sleep the entire day away.

There seems something perverse about the idea of striving for more unconsciousness when, let's face it, we'll all be unconscious forever soon enough.

Loss of sleep may be the price we pay for knowledge; babies sleep the most, teenagers easily get 10 hours, but when I was a girl sleeping over at my grandmother's house, I'd be amazed that, whatever time I woke up, she'd always be bustling about. Babies don't know they'll die one day and teenagers believe they're immortal, but I'll be 60 next year; one day relatively soon, I won't wake up. Maybe that's why I call my insomnia "Extra Life".

And if at my age I am still so excited about being alive that I leap out of bed at daybreak, I'm really not complaining.

https://www.afr.com/lifestyle/health/insomnia-helped-me-to-thrive-julie-burchill-20180624-h11t3v

How to cope with insomnia when you have depression

From metro.co.uk

3am has to be the loneliest time in the world. While everyone else sleeps, those of us with depression are often lying awake as negative thoughts run on repeat. As we toss and turn, longing for the blissful oblivion of sleep, worries are magnified and daybreak feels like it’s an eternity away. Depression and insomnia tend to go hand in hand. Mental health conditions can have a negative effect on your sleep, and those who suffer from insomnia have been shown to be around 10 times more likely to have depression. Dr Pablo Vandenabeele, clinical director for Mental Health at Bupa UK, tells Metro.co.uk:
‘Often, people with depression find it hard to fall asleep initially, or wake up a number of times during the night.’ I know from experience how awful depression insomnia can be. I’ve spent many a long night lying awake with my mind leading me into ever darker places. I begin to panic about how I’m going to cope with the exhaustion the following day, which in turn makes it even harder to fall asleep. It’s during these sleepless hours that my thoughts are most likely to turn to self-harm and suicide.

Jodie,* a stay-at-home mum who has suffered from depression since the birth of her three-year-old son, feels the same.
‘During the day, I’m busy enough to keep my thoughts under control, but when I’m lying awake at night, that’s when my depression hits hardest,’ she explains. ‘There’s no one to talk to, and it feels very lonely.’ Given the strong link between depression and insomnia, it’s vital that we take measures to improve the quality and quantity of our sleep.

So what can we do to help ourselves get a more restful night?

Don’t take technology to bed
When I’m in the middle of a sleepless night, the temptation is to reach for my phone and start scrolling through Facebook as a distraction, but having technology near your bed is a surefire way to disturb your sleep. ‘Tablets and smartphones emit blue light, which suppresses the body’s natural sleeping hormone, melatonin, and can throw out your body clock, so try to avoid using devices once you’re in bed,’ says Dr Vandenabeele.

Exercise a little more
Just leaving the house can feel impossible when you’re depressed, let alone going for a run or to the gym, but exercise is known to improve sleep and depressive symptoms. ‘Regular exercise will not only help you fall asleep, but it will also improve the quality of your sleep,’ explains Dr Vandenabeele. ‘It also boosts endorphins, which can help give you a good night’s sleep.’ Jodie says she reaps the benefits of exercise: ‘It takes a lot of effort to make myself go for a run, but I definitely sleep better when I do.’

Cut yourself some daytime slack
Depression on its own can make it difficult to get on with everyday activities like work, socialising and housework, and these tasks can feel even harder if you’re exhausted. Spending all day in bed can then mean you don’t sleep at night, but, equally, there’s no harm in taking time to rest. I never used to be a napper, but going back to bed for an hour in the afternoon is sometimes the only way to get through the day.

Implement a good bedtime routine
‘It’s something that we don’t tend to think about as adults, but the body has an internal clock and hormones that control sleepiness and wakefulness, which work best if there is a regular sleeping routine,’ Dr Vandenabeele explains. ‘Try to implement a routine around an hour before bed; it could involve relaxing in a warm bath or reading a few chapters of a book before getting your head down.’

Practise mindfulness or meditation
‘If you’re to have a good night’s sleep, you need to avoid having things playing on your mind,’ says sleep expert Dr Helen Nightingale, spokesperson for the Alpha-Stim AID (anxiety, insomnia and depression) device. ‘Practicing mindfulness or meditation is very good for calming you down, especially if you’ve had an experience that has deregulated your emotions, like a separation or bereavement.’

Cut down on alcohol
Having a few glasses of wine before bed helps me drop off more easily, but then I inevitably wake in the early hours with a raging thirst and a crushing sense of dread (red wine is a particular culprit for me). Ok, so a bedtime cup of tea may not be as appealing as an alcoholic nightcap, but alcohol affects sleep quality, so it’s best not to overdo it. ‘It can make it more difficult for your body to go into the deep sleep state needed to re-energise you for the next day,’ explains Dr Vandenabeele.

Get your worries out of your head
If my mind is torturing me at night, it sometimes helps if I switch on the light and write down my worries. The same applies if something pops into my head that I need to remember the following day. ‘Worrying is a key factor in insomnia, with anxiety, stress, fear and troubles being major contributors,’ says Dr Nightingale. Pragya Agarwal, who juggles running two businesses, The Art Tiffin and Hedge & Hog Prints, with caring for her young children, agrees. ‘I cope by writing a to do list before I go to sleep so I can put aside my stresses for the next day. I also find doodling really helps calm my thoughts and create a mindful feeling before bed,’ she says.

Keep a sleep diary
Dr Nightingale recommends keeping a sleep diary for a couple of weeks to see if it reveals any factors that trigger your insomnia. ‘This should include the time you went to bed, the time you fell asleep, the time you first woke up, and the number of disturbances throughout the night,’ she says. ‘Also, record the time you woke in the morning, and the time you got out of bed, and rate your sleep quality on a scale of one to 10 – but fill in your diary in the morning, rather than writing it down in the middle of the night.’

Have a medication review
Sometimes, mental health medication can affect your sleep. If you think this is the case, it’s worth seeing your doctor. ‘Some antidepressants have a calming effect, while others may make you feel more alert,’ Dr Vandenabeele says. ‘Depending on which medication you’re on, consider the time of day you take it. If it makes you more alert, take it in the morning rather than before bed.’

Know when to seek expert help
Because insomnia can have such a profound effect on mental health, it’s important not to suffer in silence, says Dr Vandenabeele. ‘Quality sleep enables your brain to reset itself ready for the next day, and without enough sleep, you may experience issues like reduced alertness and concentration, an increase in stress, and a compromised immune system,’ he says. ‘If you’re experiencing insomnia, it’s a good idea to speak to your GP: they will look at the underlying causes and work out what the best options are for you.’

*Name has been changed

https://metro.co.uk/2018/06/20/how-to-cope-with-insomnia-when-you-have-depression-7610088/

Sleep Restriction: Why Sleeping Less May Help You Sleep Better

From WebMD.com
By Seth J. Gillihan, PhD

When I treat someone for chronic insomnia, the number one recommendation I give them is to spend less time in bed. Say what? How could less time in bed lead to better sleep?

After a rough night’s sleep we often sleep in, go to bed earlier, or take a nap. These understandable behaviours have two big downsides:
First, they interfere with your circadian rhythm, which tells your body when to expect sleep. Additionally, they lower your “hunger” for sleep come bedtime.

For example, imagine you go to bed at 10:00 p.m. and don’t fall asleep until 1:00 a.m.; when your alarm goes off at 6:00 a.m., you reset it for 8:00. If you try to go to bed at 10:00 that night, you’ll have been awake for only 14 hours, so it’s unlikely you’ll fall asleep quickly.

Lying in bed awake will also give you hours to feel anxious and irritated about your sleep. As a result, your brain will start to link “bed” with “anxious and awake,” further reducing your chances of sleeping well.

In order to fall asleep quickly and sleep soundly, we need to match our time in bed with the amount of time we’re able to sleep—an approach called “Sleep Restriction,” though I prefer the friendlier-sounding “Sleep Scheduling.” It’s a core part of cognitive behavioural therapy, the first-line treatment for insomnia. Here’s how to do it:

1. Track your sleep for one week; for each night, calculate how many hours you spent in bed and subtract the time you were awake in that window. For example, if you were in bed from 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. (9 hours) and it took you 2 hours to fall asleep, your sleep time for that night is 7 hours.

2. Calculate your average sleep time for the week, which is how much sleep your body is capable of at this point.

3. Determine your wake-up time based on when you need to be up for the day.

4. Subtract your average sleep time from your wake-up time; this is your bedtime. For example, if you can sleep 7 hours per night and need to be up at 6:00 a.m., your bedtime would be 11:00 p.m..

5. Follow your sleep schedule every night for a week, continuing to track your sleep. The more consistent you are, the faster your sleep will improve.

6. Reassess after one week. If you’re sleeping 85-90% of the time you’re in bed, start going to bed 15 minutes earlier for a week.

7. Repeat step 6 if you continue to feel like you need more sleep. If your sleep starts to fall apart, reduce your time in bed to an amount that was working.

Sleep scheduling is a powerful way to align your circadian rhythm and your sleep drive, your two best friends for sleeping well. It can be hard at first as your body adjusts, but the people I’ve worked with typically tell me that restful, restorative sleep is well worth the effort.

https://blogs.webmd.com/mental-health/2018/06/sleep-restriction-why-sleeping-less-may-help-you-sleep-better.html

Screen Time Can Cause Insomnia, Depression In Teens

From tun.com

A new study indicates that higher amounts of daily screen time can cause insomnia and depression in young people.
Today, teenagers and adolescents spend a great amount of time texting, gaming, web-surfing, watching videos and scrolling through social media on their devices.
These habits are damaging their mental health.
“Higher rates of depressive symptoms among teens may be partially explained through the ubiquitous use of screen-based activities, which can interfere with high quality restorative sleep,” Xian Stella Li, a postdoctoral researcher at Stony Brook University, said in a statement.
She conducted the study with Lauren Hale, a professor in the Stony Brook School of Medicine and principal investigator of the study.
Additional collaborators came from Penn State University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The study

The researchers used data from 2,865 adolescents who took a Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study survey. The average age of the participants was 15.63 years old, and 51 percent of them were male.
The survey asked questions about their daily screen time, habitual sleep patterns and sleep durations.
The survey included questions about problems falling and staying asleep, asked about weeknight sleep durations and required the adolescents to report, on average, how many hours they spent per day looking at a screen.
The researchers were primarily interested in four different screen-based activities, including social messaging, web surfing, TV and movie watching, and gaming, explained Hale and Li.

The results

“A higher amount of screen use was consistently associated with more sleep problems and greater age-15 depressive symptoms, even after we adjusted for their earlier life depressive symptoms,” said Hale and Li.

Sleep problems fully explained the correlation between depressive symptoms and screen time for TV watching, web-surfing and social messaging, but not for gaming.
“The story for gaming is slightly different,” said Hale and Li. “Problems falling asleep, problems staying asleep, and short sleep duration only partially explained how gaming related to depressive symptoms, suggesting that some other aspect beyond sleep plays a role in adolescent depressive symptoms.”

Reason for the study

Recently, screen time and depressive symptoms among U.S. teens have increased simultaneously.
The overuse of screens can disrupt high-quality sleep, due to psychological arousal, time displacement from sleeping, and circadian rhythm disturbance, explained Hale and Li.
The researchers assumed that sleep problems could be an important contributor to the correlation between screen time and depressive symptoms, but they weren’t immediately able to prove that hunch.
So, they set out to find evidence.
“Our team of researchers were curious about whether sleep problems can explain the association between screen times and teen’s depressive symptoms,” said Hale and Li.

The implications

“Overall, our findings highlight the potential role of both screen-based activities and sleep deficiency in the development of adolescent mental health,” said Hale and Li.
The researchers challenge parents, educators and health care professionals to consider informing adolescents about the importance of sleep and regulating screen time.
“We’re very interested to see whether the adverse influences of social media and screen use on sleep and mental health persist during the transition to adulthood,” Hale said in a statement.

https://www.tun.com/blog/screen-time-insomnia-depression-teens/

Insomnia symptoms: Eight signs you have the condition and how to get to sleep

From express.co.uk

INSOMNIA symptoms can be triggered by stress and anxiety, noise, a room that’s too hot or cold or jet lag. Lack of sleep can have a detrimental affect on how you go about your daily life, so how do you know if you have the condition so you can do something about it? There are eight signs to look out for.

Insomnia is the medical term used when you regularly have problems sleeping.
Symptoms can last for months, sometimes years, but it’s important to recognise them so you can get the appropriate treatment and start getting your sleeping habits back to normal.
Everyone needs different amounts of sleep, but on average, adults require seven to nine hours a night.
If you’re constantly tired during the day, the chances are you’re probably not getting enough sleep.
So what are the signs you may have insomnia?

The NHS lists eight things that happen regularly if you have insomnia. These include:
Finding it hard to go to sleep
Waking up several times during the night
Laying awake at night
Waking up early and not being able to go back to sleep
Still feeling tired after waking up
Finding it hard to nap during the day even though you’re tired
Feeling tired and irritable during the day
Finding it difficult to concentrate during the day because you’re tired

So how can you treat insomnia?
The health body recommends going to bed and waking up at the same time every day - only gong to bed when you feel tired.

Relaxing at least one hour before bed - for example, taking a bath or reading a book - is another good way to beat insomnia.
Other recommended methods are making sure your bedroom is dark and quiet - use thick curtains, blinds, an eye mask or ear plugs - exercising regularly during the day, and making sure your mattress, pillows and covers are comfortable.
If you want to ensure a peaceful night’s rest, you should avoid smoking or drinking alcohol, tea or coffee at least six hours before going to bed.
Eating a big meal late at night, exercising at least four hours before bed, and watching television or using devices right before going to bed - because the bright light makes you more awake - are also advised against.
Additionally, avoid napping during the day, driving when you feel sleepy, and sleeping in after a bad night’s sleep.
A pharmacist may be able to help you with insomnia in the form of sleeping aids. But these may have side effects such as drowsiness.
You shouldn’t drive the day after taking them.
See a GP if your sleeping habit changes haven’t worked, you’ve had trouble sleeping for months, or your insomnia is affecting your daily life in a way that makes it hard for you to cope.
You may not have the symptoms of insomnia but may struggle to get to sleep certain night, as a result of stress or the hot weather.

https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/971069/insomnia-symptoms-treatment-how-to-sleep

8 Top Tips for a Good Night's Sleep

By Susan Leigh

Sleep and sleep-related habits are frequently scrutinised in the media, with statistics highlighting how important quality sleep is, and how few of us seem to be getting it.
90% adults report not getting enough sleep and 25% struggle with Sunday night insomnia. Sleep-related issues cost UK businesses £40 billion each year, or 200,000 days' productivity, due to absenteeism, accidents and poor performance.

Let's look at some ways to plan for a good night's sleep;
- Consistency's important. Aim to have a regular time to get up, finish work and go to bed. Prepare ahead for the coming day by making your packed lunch, putting petrol in the car, having your paperwork ready to go. Use lists so you're organised and feel more in control. Plan your clothes or adopt a uniform outfit or colour.
- Be proactive and deal with any stressors, then park them until further input's required. Try to avoid replaying situations in your mind. Be disciplined and calm your 'fight or flight' approach to stress. Take regular breaks, eat healthily and schedule fresh air and exercise; adopt a positive approach to work/life balance and getting a good night's sleep.
- Dedicate quality time to family, friends but also schedule 'me time' for things that are important, but which may not include others. Be more assertive and say 'no' sometimes to requests and demands. Be firm about how much time you're prepared to compromise.
- Home-workers often have an office in the bedroom. Screen it off after work so that's it's not always in your line of sight. Change out of your work clothes, go for a walk and ensure your bedroom becomes a peaceful, relaxing place. Minimise clutter and excessive technology.
- Turn your phone and laptop off two hours before bed, so avoiding the temptation to check in 'just once more'. Designate times for going online and use your time more efficiently. Turn your phone to silent and keep it away from the bed as it can affect the quality of your sleep.
- Avoid having meaningful, important or stressful conversations before bed. When you're busy, preoccupied or over-tired they're not productive and can constantly replay in your mind, hence disrupting your sleep. Agree to discuss serious matters at a better time and ensure that they actually do take place.

- Many people have work that requires either mental or physical effort, resulting in tiredness in one area but not the other. Find balance by committing to quizzes and crosswords, or walking, swimming, the gym, so that you're fully exerted both physically and mentally.
- Wind down before bed with a relaxing bath or shower to wash away the days' stresses. Read, enjoy a hot, milky drink, meditate, listen to relaxing music or practice some yoga, all ways to let your mind and body know that it's preparing to go to bed and have a good night's sleep.
Being committed to a positive bedtime routine is a great investment in supporting a good night's sleep. Then you're ready for each coming day, feeling refreshed and recharged.

http://ezinearticles.com/?8-Top-Tips-for-a-Good-Nights-Sleep&id=9916649