Getting Older, Sleeping Less

From nytimes.com

Insomnia is like a thief in the night, robbing millions — especially those older than 60 — of much-needed restorative sleep. As the king laments in Shakespeare’s “Henry IV, Part 2”: O sleep, O gentle sleep, Nature’s soft nurse, how have I frightened thee. That thou no more will weigh my eyelids down, And steep my senses in forgetfulness?

The causes of insomnia are many, and they increase in number and severity as people age. Yet the problem is often overlooked during routine check-ups, which not only diminishes the quality of an older person’s life but may also cause or aggravate physical and emotional disorders, including symptoms of cognitive loss.

Most everyone experiences episodic insomnia, a night during which the body seems to have forgotten how to sleep a requisite number of hours, if at all. As distressing as that may seem at the time, it pales in comparison to the effects on people for whom insomnia — difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or awakening much too early — is a nightly affair.

A survey done in 1995 by researchers at the National Institute on Aging among more than 9,000 people aged 65 and older living in three communities revealed that 28 percent had problems falling asleep and 42 percent reported difficulty with both falling asleep and staying asleep. The numbers affected are likely to be much larger now that millions spend their pre-sleep hours looking at electronic screens that can disrupt the body’s biological rhythms.

Insomnia, Dr. Alon Y. Avidan says, “is a symptom, not a diagnosis” that can be a clue to an underlying and often treatable health problem and, when it persists, should be taken seriously. Dr. Avidan is director of the sleep clinic at the University of California, Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine.

So-called transient insomnia that lasts less than a month may result from a temporary problem at work or an acute illness; short-term insomnia lasting one to six months may stem from a personal financial crisis or loss of a loved one. Several months of insomnia are distressing enough, but when insomnia becomes chronic, lasting six months or longer, it can wreak serious physical, emotional and social havoc.

In addition to excessive daytime sleepiness, which can be dangerous in and of itself, Dr. Avidan reports that chronic insomnia “may result in disturbed intellect, impaired cognition, confusion, psychomotor retardation, or increased risk for injury.” Understandably, it is often accompanied by depression either as a cause or result of persistent insomnia. Untreated insomnia also increases the risk of falls and fractures, a study of nursing home residents showed.

There are two types of insomnia. One, called primary insomnia, results from a problem that occurs only or mainly during sleep, like obstructive sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome (which afflicts 15 to 20 percent of older adults), periodic limb movements or a tendency to act out one’s dreams physically, which can be an early warning sign of Parkinson’s disease.

Unless noted by their bed partners, people with primary sleep disorders may not know why their sleep is disrupted. An accurate diagnosis often requires a professional sleep study: spending a night or two in a sleep lab hooked up to instruments that record respiration, heart rate, blood pressure, bodily movements and time spent in the various stages of sleep.

The other, more common type of insomnia is secondary to an underlying medical or psychiatric problem; the side effects of medications; behavioural factors like ill-timed exposure to caffeine, alcohol or nicotine or daytime naps; or environmental disturbances like jet lag or excessive noise or light — especially the blue light from an electronic device — in the bedroom.

Among the many medical conditions that can cause insomnia are heart failure, gastroesophageal reflux (GERD), lung disease, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease and incontinence. Treating the underlying condition, if possible, often relieves the insomnia.

Regardless of the reason for insomnia, it can become a learned response when people anticipate having difficulty falling asleep or returning to sleep after middle-of-the-night awakenings. They may spend hours lying awake in bed worrying about being unable to sleep, and the anxiety itself impairs their ability to sleep.

The more one frets about a sleep problem, the worse it can get. When on occasion I awaken in the wee hours of the morning and can’t get back to sleep, I usually get up and do something useful, which takes the curse off my insomnia. If I’m worried about forgetting something important, I write  it on a pad kept next to the bed, taking care not to turn on a light. (Bright light in the middle of the night can reset your biological clock; if you get up to use the bathroom, use a night light near the floor.)

Nonmedical causes of insomnia are often successfully treated by practicing “good sleep hygiene,” a concept developed by the late Peter J. Hauri, a sleep specialist at the Mayo Clinic. That means limiting naps to less than 30 minutes a day, preferably early in the afternoon; avoiding stimulants and sedatives; avoiding heavy meals and minimizing liquids within two to three hours of bedtime; getting moderate exercise daily, preferably in the morning or early afternoon; maximizing exposure to bright light during the day and minimizing it at night; creating comfortable sleep conditions; and going to bed only when you feel sleepy.

If you still can’t fall asleep within about 20 minutes in bed, experts recommend leaving the bedroom and doing something relaxing, like reading a book (one printed on paper, not on a brightly lit screen), and returning to bed when you feel sleepy.

Many people mistakenly resort to alcohol as a sleep aid. While it may help people fall asleep initially, it produces fragmented sleep and interferes with REM sleep, Dr. Avidan and others report.

For those who still need help with insomnia, cognitive behavioural therapy has proved most effective in clinical trials, though finding a specialist may be challenging in some parts of the country.

Sleeping pills can be problematic, especially for older people who are more sensitive to their side effects, including daytime hangover. Even short-acting drugs like zaleplon (Sonata), zolpidem (Ambien) or ramelteon (Rozerem) can have side effects.

Alternatives include over-the-counter remedies like melatonin or valerian, which have more anecdotal evidence than research to attest to their efficacy. The brain makes melatonin, the body’s natural sleepiness hormone, in response to darkness.

There may also be some useful dietary aids, like bananas, cherries, kiwis, oatmeal, milk and chamomile tea, though evidence for these is also primarily anecdotal. One friend told me she solved a longstanding sleep problem by eating a banana two hours before bedtime.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/16/well/live/getting-older-sleeping-less.html?_r=0

Does exercise late in the day cause insomnia?

From mayoclinic.org

Regular exercise reduces stress and anxiety, and generally improves sleep. But for some people, exercising within a few hours of bedtime may cause problems getting to sleep. Keep in mind, everyone's different. For some people, late-day exercise isn't a problem.
It may require some trial and error to see how working out affects the quality of your sleep. Without making any other changes that are likely to affect your sleep, take notes on how well you sleep after working out at different times. This can help you determine the time of day that's best for your workout and the least disruptive to your sleep.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/expert-answers/exercise/faq-20058462

Health Matters: Sleep Apnea VS Insomnia

From nbc-2.com

If you’re having trouble sleeping, you’re not alone. Health experts say more than 25 percent of people are diagnosed with insomnia, while 20 percent are diagnosed with sleep apnea.

Dr. Imtiaz Ahmad, a pulmonologist on staff at Lee Health, says different types of sleep disorders can come with many different symptoms. “In terms of insomnia, usually it’s a difficulty in falling asleep or difficulty in staying asleep.”

Dr. Ahmad says insomnia can affect people throughout the day. “You may have impaired productivity, lack of concentration, unexplained fatigue, and a memory issue.”

Debra Peck, a nurse practitioner with Lee Health, says other sleep disorders, like sleep apnea, can have similar symptoms to insomnia where patients wake up multiple times during the night. “Are they waking up choking or gasping? Do they wake up and think they have to go to the bathroom multiple times during the night? Do they think their mind is racing?” All can be signs of sleep apnea.

Insomnia can be a lifelong problem, typically starting at an early age due to family history; whereas, sleep apnea can often begin at middle age and be triggered by irregular sleep patterns or health problems.

“Cardiovascular disease, congestive heart failure, and different kind of arrhythmia, stroke, diabetes, or hypertension are a driver for sleep apnea,” said Dr. Ahmad.

Patients shouldn’t wait to talk to their doctor about participating in a sleep study. “When it’s interfering with your daily life and your activities of daily living, or when you come home from work and you don’t have the energy to do cooking or cleaning you just want to sit in a chair and fall asleep,” said Peck.

Finding a treatment to help patients get a better night’s sleep depends on the type of sleep disorder they have.

http://www.nbc-2.com/story/34183687/health-matters-sleep-apnea-vs-insomnia

7 scientific tricks for falling asleep

By Kevin Loria

If you have a few days off over the holidays, there's one thing you can do to take care of yourself that will significantly change your life for the better — try to fix your sleeping schedule.
Of course, sometimes that's easier said than done. In our busy, wired, non-stop culture, 40% of people sleep less than the recommended seven to nine hours a night.
Indeed, between a third and half of all adults in the US and around the world suffer from insomnia at some point in their lives. In up to 15% of people, this inability to sleep is persistent enough that it causes serious distress. 

But there's hope!
According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, insomnia can be treated and without drugs or so-called "natural" remedies like melatonin and valerian root. 
Some types of insomnia are caused by external factors, like a hostile sleep environment or a substance-abuse problem. These are cases of "secondary insomnia," and they can often be remedied simply by finding a solution to the external troubling factor.
In cases of "primary insomnia," where sleeplessness isn't being caused by a secondary source, however, being unable to sleep can result in a vicious cycle where being unable to sleep makes someone angry or frustrated, which in turn makes it even tougher to sleep. In those cases, breaking the cycle is key.
There's no one best strategy, but here are seven sleep-aiding strategies that experts say work. 
The following 3 strategies have been shown to work in randomized well-designed studies:
1. Stop freaking out about sleep. The chronic inability to sleep is horribly frustrating, and people who start to face the night with dread and stare at their clocks until it's time to get up start to develop negative emotions like fear, anxiety, and anger that they associate with trying to sleep.
Stimulus-control therapy seeks to break those associations, so you simply associate bed with sleep and not all that extra baggage. Doctors recommending this approach will suggest things like not keeping a clock in bedroom and not lying in bed when you can't sleep.
The Ohio Sleep Medicine Institute recommends that "patients should not 'catastrophize' when faced with a 'bad night.'" Instead of worrying about how awful your day is going to be because you are tired, realize that you may be better able to sleep the next night because of it.
2. Practice relaxation. When you're anxious about being unable to sleep, your body produces stress hormones that make it harder to let go of that anxiety.
Training yourself to relax using a technique like progressive muscle relaxation (individually focusing on relaxing every part of your body in sequence) or meditation can help.
3. Change how you think about sleep. This is a two-part strategy. The cognitive part includes changing people's beliefs about their insomnia. In many cases, people who are stressed about their inability to sleep tend to exaggerate the problem, thinking they've slept even less than they actually have. Changing these negative thoughts can reduce some of the distress.
For altering behaviour, experts recommend combining both the relaxation training and stimulus control therapy described above. Creating an environment conducive to sleep, like a cool dark quiet room, can help too.
The following strategies have been shown to be effective but not tested as thoroughly as the ones above:
4. If you can't sleep, get out of bed. This strategy is simple — if you can't sleep, don't lie in bed and try to fall asleep.
If you've been trying for more than 20 minutes, get out of bed and go do something else. Don't use your computer, phone, or watch TV though — those can all make sleep problems worse.
Experts say that staying out of bed when you can't sleep helps break the cycle of linking your bed with negative emotions. Plus, the mild sleep deprivation this causes could make it easier to sleep the next day.
5. Change your behavior. Just doing the stimulus control therapy described in #3 and adding relaxation training and a better sleep environment can be effective too. Give it a try.
6. Stop trying so hard. As funny as this may sound, the trick to falling asleep might be trying to stay awake.
By lying in bed content to be awake and not worrying about falling asleep, insomniacs have been shown to actually fall asleep more quickly and sleep better. Experts say this is because trying to stay awake (without looking at phones or computers and just doing nothing) removes the anxiety people can feel while trying to fall asleep.
7. Learn to recognize stress. Therapists often use biofeedback to help patients manage stress, and it can work for insomnia too. This involves learning how to recognize stress symptoms like an elevated heart rate, muscle tension, and rapid breathing, and then focusing on bringing those stress symptoms back to a normal level.
If you have trouble sleeping, give one or several of these strategies a try. Do something for yourself over these next few days and give some of these strategies a try. If they help, you can stick with them going forward.

http://uk.businessinsider.com/how-to-beat-insomnia-and-sleep-better-2016-12

Was the Bard an insomniac?

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson

MEVASSERET ZION, Israel –Some time ago I had one of those ‘white nights’ that occasionally descend and prevent me from sleeping. I cannot say whether it was my night-cap cup of tea or thoughts about the dire political situation, but whatever the cause, sleep eluded me.

As I lay in bed passages from Macbeth kept popping into my head. ‘Macbeth hath murdered sleep.’ ‘Sleep no more.’ And ‘Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care.’ And of course there was Lady Macbeth’s famous sleepwalking affair. Although I read the play at school a great many years ago I was intrigued to note that those phrases had remained in my mind.
That set me thinking. Was it possible that Shakespeare, the brilliant poet, dramatist and psychologist, himself suffered from insomnia? That could, of course, explain his immense output in a relatively short life (think about it; as well as writing thirty-nine plays and undertaking research into historical sources for some of them, he also acted in some of them, produced most of them, formed his own theatre company and wrote dozens of sonnets and sundry poetry). My volume of his complete works in minuscule print with two columns on each page runs to 1,080 pages. That’s a stupendous output that could put many other writers to shame.

So I decided to re-read Macbeth, and see if I could find any clues to my theory. I was surprised to find very early on in the play a reference to Aleppo, of all places, which is mentioned in passing by one of the three witches, a curiously topical reference in this day and age. My re-reading of ‘the Scottish play’ also reminded me that Macbeth and his wife were both as evil as each other, egging one another on to further acts of betrayal and murder in order to clear the path for Macbeth to become king. And both paid a heavy psychological (and eventually physical) price for their deeds.
In Act II, scene I, after Lady Macbeth tells her husband not to dwell on negative thoughts (essentially saying ‘snap out of it’), Macbeth replies saying that he thought he heard a voice cry ‘Sleep no more!’ At this point Shakespeare puts words in Macbeth’s mouth that describe the blissful state of sleep that ‘knits up the raveled sleeve of care,’ and constitutes ‘the death of each day’s life, sore labour’s bath, Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course, Chief nourisher in life’s feast.’ In other words, sleep is nature’s way of bringing comfort and consolation to our troubled minds, so that if we are deprived of it our psychological equilibrium is upset. This is something that is known to anyone who has been reading espionage novels and knows anything about interrogation techniques.
In Act III, scene II Macbeth talks of ‘terrible dreams that shake us nightly,’ and declares that it would be better to be dead than ‘on the torture of the mind to lie in restless ecstasy.’ I understand what he means by ‘restless,’ but it’s not clear to me what he means here by ‘ecstasy,’ which seems to be a contradiction in terms, but the bit about ‘terrible dreams’ is pretty obvious.
Those ghosts and other apparitions that he keeps seeing also constitute some kind of psychological disturbance, though in this case not necessarily associated with sleep. But in the same scene he speaks almost enviously of Duncan, whom he has murdered, being ‘in his grave; After life’s fitful fever he sleeps well… Nothing can touch him further.’ Now that’s a wonderful description of peaceful sleep if ever there was one, and that seems to be how he perceived death (‘the bourne from which no traveller returns,’ as he describes it in Hamlet).
I decided not to pursue my researches any further, as doubtless there are references to sleep in others of his plays, not to mention A Midsummer Night’s Dream, where it’s almost as if the whole play takes place in our sleeping minds as well as on stage, and Shakespeare even recommends us to regard it as such at the end of the play..
Then I had the bright idea of googling ‘Shakespeare and sleep,’ and sure enough, there I found that the sleep and dream images in Shakespeare’s plays (not to mention his sonnets) come thick and fast, with varying degrees of positive and negative associations. So it seems I’m not alone in seeing additional meanings into this particular aspect of the Bard’s work.

http://www.sdjewishworld.com/2016/12/22/was-bard-an-insomniac/

Insomnia Found to Be Highly Prevalent in Adults With Asthma

From merckmanuals.com

FRIDAY, Dec. 9, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Insomnia is common in adults with asthma and tied to worse asthma control and other health problems, according to a study published in the December issue of CHEST.
University of Pittsburgh researchers found that 37 percent of adults with asthma also had significant insomnia. Those with insomnia had worse lung function, weighed more, and tended to have lower incomes than those without insomnia, the researchers found.
Insomnia was also linked to a reduced asthma-specific quality of life. Patients with asthma and trouble sleeping had more depression and anxiety symptoms, the investigators found. They also needed more asthma-related health care in the past year.
"Our results show that poor sleep may not be solely due to night-time awakenings due to asthma symptoms but may represent comorbid insomnia," lead author Faith Luyster, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the university's School of Nursing, said in a journal news release.

https://www.merckmanuals.com/en-pr/professional/news/external/2016/12/10/00/53/insomnia-found-to-be-highly-prevalent-in-adults-with-asthma

The Tiny Thing That Could Help With Insomnia

By Sarah Hosseini

Trying to function after you've had several sleepless nights in a row is one of the worst feelings in the world. You feel groggy, completely brain dead, and maybe in a bad mood. Even worse — extreme tiredness can be really unsafe. Insomnia can negatively impact your life and your health in some pretty monumental ways. Treating your repeated sleeplessness might take a little more than counting sheep, but not that much more. So what is the tiny thing that could help with insomnia?
It's first important to realize that persistent sleep problems are not rare. According to a 2016 report done by the Centres For Disease Control And Prevention (CDC) more than a third of American adults aren't getting enough sleep on a regular basis. Of course, adequate sleep levels vary person to person, but the same organization recommended that adults should get an average of seven hours of sleep at night. The Sleep Foundation explained that many people go in and out of bouts of insomnia, especially if the insomnia is stress related (and not medication or substance related).
Basically, at one time or another, you may have a period where you aren't sleeping well and the deficit adds up. If this happens you may start to look at your lifestyle for ways to stop the insomnia.
The small thing you could do right away is to stop using your smartphone, tablet, computer, or television right before bed. No doubt you've heard this before, but screen time, especially before bed, can really mess with your sleep. According to Web MD, reading on the computer or watching TV before bed can stimulate you, not make you sleepy. The site explained that the light and noise from these devices can reduce brain melatonin levels. Melatonin is a hormone made by your body that helps you with your daily sleep cycles, as explained on the National Sleep Foundation's website. It increases in the evening after the sun goes down making you sleepy, then wears off in the early morning waking you up. It might be really tempting to surf the internet before bed, check Facebook, watch a television show you enjoy to relax, or even check your email one last time, but if you want to sleep it's best to stay away.

Instead of turning to your devices, there are other relaxing and sleep-inducing activities you can try to help you wind down. Help Guide suggested reading as a way to relax, but not on a device. People laugh at me for still going to the library and picking out actual books or buying books, but I literally can't read books from a screen because it will keep me up forever. Other suggestions included listening to soothing music, meditative breathing, turning down the temperature in the room, and making the lights dim.
Dealing with persistent sleep problems is no fun and can really impact your life, mood, and overall health. As mentioned, if the simple fixes and advice from your doctor don't work you may have to try some more invasive treatment options that include prescription medication. Considering how many side effects some medications carry it's at least worth it to try small things first when trying to favourably impact your sleep cycle. These small methods can often carry a big and positive payoff.

https://www.romper.com/p/the-tiny-thing-that-could-help-with-insomnia-24114

Insomnia: Your 3 Worst Ways and 3 Best Ways to Fall Asleep

From health.clevelandclinic.org

Have trouble falling asleep? Wake up at 3 a.m. for no reason? Insomnia can rob you of energy the next day, fog your thinking and put you in harm’s way on the road.
If you’re relying on common crutches for sleeplessness, they won’t help your cause. Here, our sleep experts share their favourite and least favourite remedies for insomnia:

1. Have a  ‘nightcap’ before bed

Do you unwind with a glass of wine or a scotch and soda before bed?
“The literature shows that alcohol is the most abused drug for insomniacs,” says Nancy Foldvary-Schaefer, DO, MS “It’s the single worst remedy you can use.”
Adds Michelle Drerup, MD, “Drinking alcohol may make you feel drowsy. But as it wears off, it fragments the natural stages of sleep.”
Despite alcohol’s quickly sedating effect, when it’s metabolized a few hours later, it causes recurrent awakenings. Your deepest stage of sleep — REM (rapid eye movement) — is suppressed.
Drinking alcohol near bedtime may also worsen snoring and sleep apnea.

2. Bring electronics to bed with you

Your bed is not the right place for smartphones, tablets or laptops.

“Lying in bed and ‘trying to sleep’ by playing games, checking your email, reviewing bank statements or paying bills online will backfire on you,” says Tina Waters, MD.The “blue” light from electronic devices prevents the release of melatonin from the brain’s pineal gland, preventing sleepiness. “Adolescents may be even more vulnerable to this effect than adults,” notes Dr. Foldvary-Schaefer

3. Rely on antihistamines

Antihistamines like diphenhydramine (Benadryl®) sure make you drowsy. But they’re not a long-term solution for insomnia.
“Antihistamines may help you get to sleep. But they accumulate in the brain over time, causing grogginess and even cognitive impairment the next day,” cautions Harneet Walia, MD.

The 3 best ways to get to sleep

1. Get out of bed

Can’t sleep? Get up, go to another room, and read a little, take a bath or try some other relaxing activity. That way, you won’t reinforce the unhappy habit of lying awake all night.
“Lying awake in bed is one of the least productive thing people with insomnia can do,” explains Dr. Foldvary-Schaefer. “It leads to a self-perpetuating cycle of chronic insomnia.”

2. Reset your body clock

Start getting to bed and waking up about the same time every day — even on the weekend and your days off.
“A consistent schedule can help prevent ‘social jet lag’ from following a different sleep schedule on weekends,” says Dr. Drerup. “Just as a cross-country flight can disrupt circadian rhythms as you abruptly cross time zones, social jet lag will upset your body’s biological clock.”
Adds Dr. Walia, “Patients often don’t realize that maintaining a consistent sleep-wake schedule really works.”

3. Write your ‘to do’ list early

To keep “shoulds” off your mind when you’re trying to sleep, write your to-do list early in the evening.
“Later, when the house is quiet, unwind on the couch with a calming book under light from a low-wattage bulb. Sip on some soothing peppermint tea,” says Dr .Waters.
Try these suggestions from our experts to free yourself from the insomnia trap. A new sleep routine may make all the difference for you at night and the next day.

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/2016/11/insomnia-your-3-worst-ways-and-3-best-ways-to-fall-asleep/

Smartphones cause insomnia, study finds

From networkworld.com

Put that smartphone away or limit your use of it if you want to get a decent night’s sleep and stay healthy.
Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco say they have confirmed that sleep deprivation is magnified by exposure to a kind of blue light emitted by the devices. And missing sleep can instigate deadly diseases, such as obesity and depression.
“Longer average screen-time was associated with shorter sleep duration and worse sleep-efficiency,” the journal PLOS ONE says of the research on its website.
Sleep took longer to come on and quality was generally poor, according to the researchers.

Over 600 participants were studied over 30-day periods, and researchers overwhelmingly found that the more people used their smartphones, particularly just before bed, the worse sleep was for them.

“Screen-time is associated with poor sleep,” the journal article says. 

The problem is that blue light spectrum—as is produced by smartphones—can suppress the body’s creation of melatonin. That leads to “decreased drowsiness, difficulty initiating sleep and non-restorative sleep,” the researchers say.

Smartphones disrupt melatonin production

Melatonin is a hormone produced by the brain’s pineal gland; it triggers the body’s natural rhythms. Light is part of what regulates melatonin in the body. As the body produces melatonin, the body’s sleep rhythm kicks in. That’s interrupted by the phones.

Excess light means less melatonin is created, which is why the body gets used to being awake during the day. In this case, roughly, that artificial burst of blue light from the phone, suppressing melatonin, fools the body into thinking it should be awake— that it’s daytime, not night.

Those sleep issues might not be a major problem if it weren't for the fact that sleep deprivation has been linked as a risk factor for morbid diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, depression and overall mortality.
In other words, messing around with your smartphone, particularly when your body is preparing to be asleep, might contribute to tiredness, if not kill you. It might not be your partner’s snoring or inconsiderate neighbours slamming doors that’s really affecting your sleep, but your use of the phone.

Younger people suffered more than older people, the study found. They spend more time on phones, however.

“Longer average screen-time was associated with shorter duration of sleep and reduced sleep efficiency,” the researchers say.

Sometimes smartphones and blue light are good

Some people say smartphones and blue light aren't all bad. The Daily Mail, in its coverage of the blue-light study, points out that researchers at Mid Sweden University have discovered that mixing blue light with caffeine intake makes the brain more alert.
“It has the potential to positively influence a range of settings where cognitive function and alertness are important,” the researchers say in the Daily Mail article.

http://www.networkworld.com/article/3141938/mobile-wireless/smartphones-cause-insomnia-study-finds.html

Stressed and Sleepless? 6 Ways to Get a Better Night’s Rest

By Elizabeth Varnell

Sleep is elusive in the smartphone age. And stress compounds the problem, making it nearly impossible to relax as screens light up. Quick glimpses of incessant notifications trigger agitated nervous systems to release floods of hormones, including cortisol and adrenaline, causing blood pressure to spike and muscles to tighten. Whatever the cause of anxiety-induced sleeplessness—this past week has offered many—National Sleep Foundation guidelines say adults still need seven to nine hours of sleep per night just to stay healthy. Without rest, we’re more susceptible to heart disease, obesity, impaired immune function, insomnia, and even depression. Here, two experts sort out restorative solutions to calm the mind and body.
Rise and ShineGetting out of bed at the same time each day is one key to fighting sleeplessness, says UCLA psychology clinic director Danielle Keenan-Miller, Ph.D. Napping or sleeping later than normal can actually throw the body’s natural rhythm off and “set people up for a protracted course of insomnia,” she says.
This rule applies even if you’ve experienced a few days of anxiety-related tossing and turning, Keenan-Miller notes. “The body naturally compensates for lost sleep; it knows how to bounce back,” she says. Seeing sunlight also helps. The earlier you open your eyes each day, the easier it will be to fall asleep that night. Exposure to late-afternoon sun also helps you stay asleep. “The angle at which sun comes into our eyes matters,” Keenan-Miller says, adding, “Our bodies have evolved to be responsive to natural patterns of sunlight on earth.”
Seek Sleep-Promoting FoodsNutritionist Frances Largeman-Roth, R.D.N., author of Eating in Color, says that boosting levels of melatonin throughout the day can also help regulate sleep patterns. Tart cherries are packed with it; she suggests eating some with breakfast and at night. “Almonds are a rich source of magnesium, a mineral that’s necessary for good sleep,” she adds. Black rice, sesame, and pumpkin seeds are also good sources. Then there’s turkey, full of tryptophan that makes us drowsy when eaten with carbs, another sleep-inducing food.
Foods high in caffeine obviously won’t bring on a peaceful slumber. Surprisingly, alcohol doesn’t help either. Keenan-Miller says it can aid sleep initially, but those glasses of Sancerre “disrupt sleep architecture” by waking you up in the middle of the night.
Develop a Relaxing RoutineStudies have shown that light exercise like evening power walks can function as an antidepressant, clear the mind, and help bring on a restorative night of sleep. Continue a relaxed routine as bedtime nears: Avoid stressors like paying bills or checking email. Read a book or pet the cat; Largeman-Roth also recommends settling nerves with chamomile tea.
Winding DownFor a good night’s rest, you need a cool room that’s free of ambient light. “Starting each evening, avoid electronics that emit a blue light,” says Keenan-Miller. This is because the body responds to sunlight to set sleep patterns, but blue light disrupts these environmental cues. Once you’re lying in bed, try deep-breathing techniques borrowed from yoga class, or body-focused contemplative practices. Keenan-Miller says grounding exercises like body scan mediation (being aware of each body part, sequentially) and progressive muscle relaxation (tensing and relaxing muscles) are both good options because they’re “physiologically relaxing and boring.”
Get Out of BedIf you find yourself tossing and turning, get up. Keenan-Miller recommends going to a different part of the house to do something boring in dim light. Read a catalogue or recipe book or do something else low-key, she says: “Don’t stay in bed. A bed is for sleep, sex, and nothing else.” She even discourages aimless lounging on lazy mornings because it detracts from the mental association between the mattress and sleep.
Calming TechniquesAs the clock ticks toward morning, don’t let catastrophic thoughts take over. Accept that you can’t sleep. Keenan-Miller says a couple of nights in a row of insomnia won’t have a huge impact on subsequent days. After all, marathoners can run without great sleep the night before, she points out, and surgeons on call perform well, too. “Try to get the anxiety out of your head and onto a piece of paper,” she suggests. Keenan-Miller recommends making two columns: concerns and potential solutions. Fill them out, then put away the paper so there’s no temptation to dwell on it. And, she points out, a solution can simply be the acknowledgment that there is no easy fix.

http://www.vogue.com/13503767/how-to-sleep-when-youre-stressed-out-anxiety-insomnia-tips/

How will tonight's moon affect human behaviour?

By Sam Dean

Do not be alarmed if you find yourself struggling to fall asleep tonight, for there could be a perfectly scientific reason for your insomnia.
Hovering outside your window will be the biggest and brightest moon the planet has seen since January 1948 - a scientific phenomenon that takes place only when a full moon coincides with the moon being the closest it gets to us on its orbit.
Clouds permitting, the “supermoon” will look around 14 per cent larger and 30 per cent brighter than the average full moon. It will be the closest the moon has been to Earth for more than 60 years, and the closest it will come until November 2034.

So what does it mean? According to astrologers a supermoon is simply an intensified new moon or full moon -  a time to focus on new beginnings. But when a supermoon is involved these new starts can take on an even more dramatic tone. Some even see them as omens of impending disaster, or a warning of something momentous coming towards us.
Aside from mythical meanings and unfounded alarmist proclamations, any full moon - never mind a supermoon as big as this  - has long been seen as having the ability to trigger emotional reactions and extreme behaviour.
And while it may be easy to scoff, these theories have been given added credence in recent years by claims that there is a spike in admissions to hospitals when the moon is full, and by police forces reporting a rise in crime.
Just last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that nearly all the staff in a hospital in Connecticut were convinced that a full moon ensured they had a busy night ahead of them.
Meanwhile, a study published in the World Journal of Surgery in 2011 found that more than 40 per cent of medical staff believed lunar phases had an impact on human behaviour and, in 2007, Sussex Police announced that they would put extra officers on patrol on nights when the moon was full, following research that showed “a correlation between violent incidents and full moons”.
One theory is that the water in our bodies is affected by the movement of the moon in much the same way as its gravitational pull controls the tides. As the fluid in our body shifts, it tips the balance in our minds, which can trigger extreme emotions.
The “lunar effect”, though, has been rubbished by a series of studies which have found no statistical correlation between lunar phases and events such as births, deaths, suicides, violence and psychiatric hospital admissions. However, says Dr Niall McCrae, a lecturer in mental health at King’s College London and the author of 'The Moon and Madness’, we should not dismiss the moon’s effect so swiftly.
Although he agrees the idea that our internal waters have some sort of tidal motion is “unfounded”, Dr McCrae points to studies that have shown the impact of moonlight on sleep as a feasible demonstration of the moon’s effect on the brain. Swiss researchers found in 2013 that, on average, people slept for 20 minutes less when there was a full moon. It may not sound like much, but such differences might well be the reason for the centuries-old association of lunacy with lunar cycles.

“A brief loss of sleep might mean very little to you or I,” Dr McCrae says. “But for somebody of a condition like bipolar affective disorder [formerly known as manic depression] who may be on the cusp of going into a manic phase, that could be a significant trigger.
“For someone with mental health problems, it can be something that sets off a more significant episode of psychological distress.”
As part of his research into his second book, a history of mental health nursing, Dr McCrae spoke to former nurses who worked at old mental asylums more than half a century ago. “Anyone who worked in those institutions, old nurses and guards, they will tell you with utter conviction that there was a lunar effect on wards at night,” he says. “But because they weren’t observing in a scientific way, their observations have been dismissed as anecdotal.”
In many ways, it is not too hard imagine. Often, these asylums were built up on hills away from the lights and pollution of towns, had dozens of a patients in a single dormitory and nothiong covering the windows. “If there was a full moon, a mental hospital was the best place to see a change in the light,” Dr McCrae says.
Picture, then, a “supermoon” shining outside their window. If the light kept just one or two patients awake, it could easily lead to others being disturbed. In turn, that could cause irritability, fighting, or trigger a mental episode. As Dr McCrae says, “it’s not quite so unbelievable, is it?”
So as tonight’s phenomenon shines bright, head outside to marvel at its majesty. After you have had your fill, though, once you are back indoors and in your bed - don’t forget to pull those curtains extra tight.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/how-will-tonights-moon-affect-human-behaviour/

Five Ways To Alleviate Insomnia

From goldenmonkeyhealing.com

Insomnia is a phenomenon almost everybody experiences at some point in their life. And most of us don’t know how or why it happens.  Insomnia is defined as difficulty falling asleep, despite being tired. Combatting insomnia may be easier than you think. Here are five simple ways to fall asleep faster and stay asleep all night.

Turn off your phone

In today’s society, we are almost surgically attached to our phones, iPads, laptops, etc. And while the devices keep us informed and connected, they are also harm us when it comes to our sleep.  Smartphones and other gadgets emit blue wavelengths. These wavelengths suppress the production of melatonin in our bodies. Melatonin is a natural hormone that makes you feel sleepy. Also, the light given off by your devices can actually stimulate the mind, thus causing poor sleep. So as hard as it may be, buy a regular alarm clock and turn off the phone.

Keep a sleep schedule

Sleep is just as important to proper health as eating healthy-wholesome foods. In other words, make sleep a priority. You don’t have to give up dinner with friends or that periodic concert, but staying out late every single night will eventually take its toll. Make a sleep schedule and do your best to stick to it.  Lack of sleep has been proven to increase blood pressure, depression, weight gain and stress. Why do this to yourself when you don’t have to? Once you set your sleep schedule, your body will react favourably.

Meditation

How many of us groan when we hear the word “meditation”? Meditation really isn’t difficult but people constantly tell themselves it can’t be done because they can’t shut off their minds. But what most people don’t realize is the goal of meditation is not turning off your mind or your thoughts. Meditation helps you cope better while telling your sympathetic nervous system to relax. When the thoughts come in, you should acknowledge them but do not dwell on them. That’s what meditation helps you do. And there are many different types of meditation. For beginners, guided meditation tends to work best because you are listening to somebody guide you through the journey. Why not give it a try?

Bedtime Yoga

Yoga is an ancient Indian practice that combines physical exercise, mental clarity and spiritual beliefs all rolled into one discipline. Bedtime yoga poses are very low-key and quite simple. Utilizing yoga just before going to bed can signal to your brain that slumber time is approaching. Poses such as forward bends, happy baby pose, cross-legged bends and corpse pose all have been shown to help the body prepare for restful sleep. Also for those who are a little more skilled, inversion poses like shoulder stands can help alleviate stress and calm the mind.

Acupuncture

Really? Getting poked with needles will help me sleep better? The simple answer is YES!  Acupuncture works with your own body to help bring it back into balance. If you have stress, you have an imbalance.  Acupuncture needles are strategically placed on points that will calm the mind, balance hormones and settle the nervous system. Most people will notice some change after just one treatment, but to get the full effect and truly eliminate insomnia, you should commit to several treatments. And always seek out a properly trained and fully licensed acupuncturist to get the best results.
There are many other ways to fight insomnia too, but these are some of the best. Give these five methods a try and then focus on the ones that resonate with you. Over time, your body and mind will thank you and there won’t be any harsh side effects…just good sound sleep. Sweet dreams!

http://goldenmonkeyhealing.com/five-ways-to-alleviate-insomnia/

Battle Insomnia With The Right Diet

From hungryforever.com

Insomnia is a problem that has plagued all of us at least a couple of times. It’s defined as the “inability to fall asleep and stay asleep” and can be caused by a variety of problems including stress, sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome.
Because of the lack of sleep, insomniacs tend to suffer from daytime drowsiness, fatigue, irritability and have difficulty coping with everyday situations.
While everyone suffers from insomnia every once in a while, frequent (every night or second night) bouts of insomnia may be signs of a larger problem like depression, gastrointestinal problems and endocrine problems. If you’re a regular sufferer, it’s advisable to consult your doctor who can run necessary tests.
An individual who regularly suffers from insomnia can also control the problem with an appropriate diet. Here are some tips:

Eat Melatonin Boosting Foods

Melatonin is a hormone which the body associates with sleep; more melatonin in your system will therefore make you feel drowsier.
Some foods contain components which boost the production of melatonin. These include cherries (eat handful an hour before bed time), oats, sweet corn, rice, ginger, tomatoes, bananas and barley. Melatonin is also an antioxidant which can help fight heart disease and cancer making the benefits of eating these foods threefold.

Additionally, experts recommend eating magnesium rich foods such as beans, nuts, seeds, avocados, yogurt, bananas and fish – as magnesium also boosts the body’s production of melatonin.

Herb It Up

You probably already know that chamomile tea is an excellent remedy for insomnia as it brings on a light drowsiness. Other herbed and flavoured teas you can sip on are lavender, orange and lemon; each of which work towards relaxing your system.
Try incorporating a good amount of these herbs in your dinner as well; try a lemon chicken or herb roasted root vegetables recipe.

Battle Fatigue With Food

One of the worst side effects of insomnia is that it prevents you from going about your day to day routine because you feel overwhelmingly tired. You may even be tempted to take naps through the day which will further mess with your sleep patterns at night.
Keep yourself alert through the day with the right diet. Start your day with a bowl of cereal; research has found that beginning the day with large amounts of fibre gives you a wonderful boost of energy.
Chicken broth has also been found to keep your brain alert as have lentils, almonds and eggs.
Why not give these measures a try and see if they help you fight insomnia?

https://www.hungryforever.com/battle-insomnia-right-diet/