Many people sleep worse in winter. Here's what experts want you to know

• From businessinsider.com
• Winter insomnia affects sleep quality during colder months.
• Causes include reduced daylight and stress from the holiday season.
• Bright light exposure and light therapy can help manage symptoms.

It's normal to feel sluggish during the winter. Cold temperatures and fewer hours of sunlight can mean less time outdoors and more time staring at our screens. 

For some people, these cold-weather habits may contribute to a sleep disruption, known as winter insomnia. This isn't a clinical condition, but it might begin or worsen during the winter months.

"Although disturbances can vary, people commonly experience an increase in middle-of-the-night awakenings, waking up earlier than intended, difficulty falling asleep, or restless sleep," Dr. Nicole Moshfegh, PsyD, clinical psychologist and director of We Rise Psychology, Inc., told Business Insider. She explained that winter insomnia can be caused by a change in your mood or energy level, which affects your ability to unwind before bed or calm your mind when you wake up during the night.

Below, we talked to sleep experts about the signs of winter insomnia, what makes it worse, and what you can do if it's affecting your ability to get a good night's rest.

                                                                                                          Filmstax/Getty Images

Are you experiencing winter insomnia?

Most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep for optimal health. But it's easy to overlook the quality of your sleep or how long it takes for you to fall asleep.

"People who experience winter insomnia have trouble falling and staying asleep, or getting restful sleep during the winter months," Dr. Raj Dasgupta, chief medical advisor for Sleepopolis, told Business Insider. "They usually notice more night-time awakenings, lighter sleep, or a shift in their sleep timing."

He explained that winter insomnia is not a formal diagnosis. Instead, it's "a seasonal pattern of insomnia symptoms most likely from changes in light exposure, routine, and behaviour during winter," he added.

Dr. Jade Wu, a board-certified sleep psychologist and Mattress Firm sleep advisor, agreed, saying there are no clinical signs to differentiate winter insomnia from other types of insomnia you might experience throughout the year.

"In some ways, it's easier to have insomnia in the summer due to the longer daylight late into the evening hours, which stimulates our circadian alerting signals," she said. These signals tell us when to wake up and be alert.

"But in winter, people are more likely to be sedentary and not have enough light exposure, so this can make them more vulnerable to insomnia and circadian problems," she said. Another factor contributing to poor sleep is our eating habits, such as reaching for certain foods out of comfort or convenience.

Causes of winter insomnia

"With reduced daylight, we have less outside signalling for our brains to know when it's day versus night, which can cause our circadian rhythms to become less strong or stable," Wu explained. "A less stable circadian rhythm can disrupt sleep quality."

Some people try to compensate for the lack of sunlight by relying on bright indoor lighting, which leads to greater alertness in the evening and difficulty falling asleep. "Over time, these shifts can disrupt the circadian rhythm and make sleep timing feel less predictable," Moshfegh said.

Less exposure to natural light, especially in the morning, may also contribute to seasonal mood changes, such as anxiety, depression, or seasonal affective disorder (SAD), Dasgupta noted. Signs of SAD include feeling depressed or being unable to find pleasure in previously enjoyable activities.

"Depression includes many physical symptoms like fatigue, sluggishness, and changes in appetite and sleep," Wu said. You may also notice mental symptoms, such as reduced motivation or difficulty concentrating.

"Because sleep and mood have a bidirectional relationship, the lower our mood, the more we experience sleep disturbances and vice versa," Moshfegh said. Both she and Dasgupta emphasized that the stress of the holiday season, combined with irregular schedules, increased alcohol use, and cold and flu season, can get in the way of healthy habits like exercising or cutting down on takeout orders.

"Many people experience increased loneliness, family challenges, grief, and pressure around goals and self-improvement during this time of year," Moshfegh said. "These experiences can all cause and contribute to stress, which is one of the most potent disruptors of sleep."

How to cope with winter insomnia

There are several ways to minimize sleep disruptions. "The most powerful tool we have is bright light exposure, which means being outdoors and being near brighter windows when you have to be indoors," Wu said.

If clouds are in the forecast or you work in low-light conditions, one option is to use a bright light therapy light box. "Make sure to check with your doctor before using a light box, because it can cause significant problems for some people," she said.

https://www.businessinsider.com/winter-insomnia-signs-causes-how-to-sleep-better-2026-2

Red Light Therapy for Insomnia: One Woman’s Journey to Relief

From womansworld.com/wellness

She tried various other options to fix her sleep health to no avail 

One in four women experiences some insomnia symptoms, including trouble falling asleep, trouble staying asleep or both, according to the Office on Women’s Health. 

The sleep disorder is most common among women, and becomes more of a risk as we age. What’s more, chronic (long-term) insomnia affects about one in seven adults, and can hinder your ability to complete daily tasks such as working or even self-care. 

Insomnia treatment generally involves lifestyle changes to enhance one’s sleep duration and quality, but these adjustments are not always guaranteed to fully cure insomnia for every person. That was the case for one woman, who finally alleviated her symptoms with red light therapy. 

How one woman found relief with red light therapy

“I’m sorry for snapping, I’m just tired,” explained Johanne Joliat, 69, when she lost patience with her family for the third time during dinner. Being exceptionally short of patience had become commonplace for Johanne, who routinely was unable to sleep well during the night.

                                                                                                Photo courtesy Johanne Joliat

Basic sleep hygiene habits didn’t work

For a decade, Johanne went to bed at around 10 p.m. every night, but regardless of trying tricks—like keeping electronics and other blue-light devices out of her bedroom and setting a bedtime routine—Johanne always woke around 3 or 4 in the morning and was unable to fall back asleep.

By mid-day, Johanne was so tired that she fought head bobs and heavy eyelids while struggling to stay alert running errands or watching TV with her family. 

Sleep medicine had little effect

For years, Johanne assumed her sleep troubles were a typical product of aging or bad genes, but eventually, she spoke to her physician who prescribed powerful sleep medicine that was effective at first, but after two years, the benefits were diminishing to a point where it did very little to help. So Johanne’s doctor prescribed another type of sleep medicine, that also eventually wore off.  

Herbal remedies were short-lived

Tired of experimenting with different medicines, Johanne tried holistic remedies like Bach flower drops—the herbal remedy thought to balance mood and emotions to promote sleep—along with relaxing music, warm baths, melatonin and breathing exercises, which all worked for a week or two, but wore off once again leaving Johanne staring at the ceiling wishing and praying for a good night’s sleep. 

How red light therapy restored Johanne’s sleep  

Tired of her bathroom cabinet being full of sleep medicines, Johanne was talking to a friend about her desperation to find some way to sleep well and end her frustration and impatience. He suggested she borrow his Helight Sleep unit ($139 on helight.com), a device that emits pure red light at a wavelength of 630 nanometres for 14 minutes, then gradually fades out over another 14 minutes.

Sceptical that it could help, Johanne researched the technology and read that because red light is on the opposite end of the light spectrum than blue light—which can inhibit production of the sleep hormone, melatonin that helps you feel sleepy.

With nothing to lose, Johanne tried her friend’s unit, even though she wasn’t sure if it would provide much relief. However, she placed the unit on her side table and hoped for the best. The next morning, Johanne was shocked that for the first time in more than a decade, she was able to fall—and remain—asleep.

Excited at the prospect of finally sleeping well without taking medicine, Johanne ordered her own Helight Sleep and has been using it nightly for more than a year. If she happens to wake in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, she pops the Helight back on and quickly drifts back to sleep until her alarm chimes in the morning. 

“This works like magic and I wish I found it sooner,” she says. “I was ready to try anything and everything to sleep well and I’m relieved this worked so well, so fast and is completely medicine-free!”

This content is not a substitute for professional medical advice or diagnosis. Always consult your physician before pursuing any treatment plan.

https://www.womansworld.com/wellness/sleep/red-light-therapy-for-insomnia-relief-success-story

Sleeping problems? Music and light therapy can ease insomnia and help you get a good night's rest

From todayonline.com

HONG KONG — Mr Wilson Tan did not want to disclose his real name, or have his photo published. He's worried his boss would discover that he goes to bed each morning around 4am — and think he is unfit for work.

"My boss isn't flexible with my work hours," says the 29-year-old graphic designer about his 10.30am start. "That's why I moved closer to my office, so I could reduce my commute time."

Mr Tan lives in North Point, on Hong Kong Island, with his girlfriend who, on most nights, goes to bed around midnight, while Mr Tan stays up playing games and making music. "It's a vicious cycle that I can't break," says Mr Tan, who has battled insomnia since he was a teenager.

Sleep is vital for physical and mental health, with adults requiring between seven and nine hours a night, and more for babies, young children and teens.

Even an afternoon power nap is good for the mind, according to research published last week in the journal General Psychiatry. It surveyed more than 2,000 elderly people in China and found those who took an after-lunch nap had significantly higher cognitive performance than those who did not.

But in a pressure-cooker city such as Hong Kong — which has some of the longest working hours in the world — sleep, for some like Mr Tan, does not come easy.

While exercise and reduced screen time on our electronic devices are ways to help people sleep, some turn to apps such as Sacred Acoustics, recommended by Mr Lawrence Tredrea of Central's Integrated Medicine Institute. For others, music is an essential sleeping companion.

"Music that gets you out of a stressed state and puts you in a calming state essentially helps to modulate hormones and neurotransmitters that assist with better quality sleep," Mr Tredrea says.

"There is specific music that focuses on binaural beats that help with meditation and influencing brain waves." He adds that white noise can also help drown out disturbing background sounds that can keep a person awake.

Mr Tan says he has cut out alcohol and caffeine and had hypnotherapy. Ironically, he is too tired to do regular exercise. He finds it hard to concentrate at work, feels depressed, and admits to having a short fuse with his girlfriend, friends and colleagues. He's worried about his health - and for good reason.

A 2018 study of about 433,000 adults that looked at the relationship between health and bedtime habits found those who went to bed late and rose late were 10 per cent more likely to die prematurely compared to "morning people". Their risk of developing diabetes was also higher.

But for night owls like Mr Tan, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Last week the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and University of Hong Kong released a study that found shining bright light on "night owls" can reduce depression by altering their circadian rhythm, or biological clock, that not only influences our sleep, but also our mood, cognitive performance, and many physiological and endocrine functions.

The research team recruited 93 patients with depression, all of whom went to bed around 2am and woke after 10am. Half the patients had a bright light that mimics natural outdoor light shine on them as soon as they woke up, for 30 minutes every day for five weeks.

The treatment starting time was gradually moved back over the period. The other half of the patients, in the control group, had much dimmer lights shine on them.

More than 60 per cent of the patients who had bright light therapy showed significant improvement in their symptoms. They also responded better to their medication. The results were published in the journal Psychological Medicine.

Professor Yun Kwok-wing, chairman of the psychiatry department at CUHK, says bright light therapy has unique therapeutic features in regularising the circadian rhythm and improving mood and sleep.

"This study shows that using properly timed bright light as a non-pharmacological intervention has an important place in the treatment of depression," he says. SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

https://www.todayonline.com/world/sleeping-problems-music-light-therapy-ease-insomnia-get-good-nights-rest