Getting enough sleep is essential no matter what your age. With age many sleep less or their sleep is disturbed. Up to 30 percent of the people suffer from insomnia in some form. Many rely on prescription drugs with bad side effects to help them doze off. Don’t. There are better ways.
Causes of insomnia
□ Anxiety
□ Fear of insomnia
□ Taking stimulants such as caffeine (coffee/tea), nicotine or alcohol
□ Eating too many high-glycemic carbohydrate convenience foods which disturbs the
blood sugar
□ Low levels of melatonin
□ Low levels of serotonin
□ Use of drugs
□ Depression
□ Chronic illness
Sleep and immunity
Research has shown that when healthy male volunteers were deprived of four hours of sleep for a single night, the activity of the natural killer cells in their immune system fell by 30 percent. Shift workers with continually changing hours have difficulty falling and staying asleep, and experience more accidents and illnesses and die younger than people with normal sleep schedules.
Types of sleep
There are two kinds of sleep and both are important. Orthodox sleep which is dreamless is also sometimes called synchronized slow-wave sleep – because of the brain wave activity that accompanies it – and paradoxical sleep during which dreaming occurs with rapid eye movement or REM.
Orthodox sleep helps restore the body physically. Your heart slows down, your blood pressure falls slightly and your breathing becomes slower and more regular. The brain waves are synchronized and everything is at peace.
REM sleep is diametrically opposite to orthodox sleep in many ways but is just as vital. During the REM state, the body is paralyzed, the fingers and face often twitch and the genitals become erect. Your breathing speeds up to the level of your normal waking state. Heartbeat, blood pressure and temperature rise and adrenalin shoots through the system. Meanwhile, beneath the lids, your eyes move rapidly from side to side as though you were viewing something. Your brain waves in the REM state show a marked similarity to the rapid, irregular patterns of being awake.
The exact purpose of REM sleep remains a mystery, but scientists know that it is essential for maintaining and emotional equilibrium. Too little REM sleep makes people restless and anxious. It also contributes to a loss of short-term memory and poor concentration. Usually longer and more frequent periods of REM sleep take place each night in times of emotional disturbance and psychic pain or when your defences are being challenged by new demands. Women often have increased REM sleep just before a menstrual period, for many a time of increased anxiety, irritability, mood change and unstable defence patterns. REM sleep seems to process psychological difficulties so that the body and mind are protected from damage that such factors might cause.
SAY NO TO DRUGS
Sleeping pills come in the form of benzodiazepines such as Valium, Normison, Ativan or Zanax. These drugs put you to sleep because of their ability to increase the calming action of GABA – the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid – which blocks the arousal centres in the brain.
Sleep pills are meant for short-term use and are addictive. Benzodiazepines can cause drowsiness, dizziness, impaired coordination, morning hang-over, indigestion, nausea, constipation, lethargy, blurred vision, and diarrhoea. Many people who use them also experience impaired memory, nervousness, and have a sense of confusion, irritability or aggressiveness. Some even report having hallucinations or depression. The side effects of benzodiazepines can be daunting. Avoid them.
The other class of drugs used for insomnia are the anti-histamines which are also used for allergies. They work by blocking the production of histamine in the brain and bring about a sense of drowsiness and sleep. Using anti-histamines to treat insomnia can result in nausea, headaches and drying of the nose, mouth and throat.
NIGHTMARES
Using benzodiazepines and anti-histamines severely interferes with REM sleep, which is the reason why people tend to wake up with a “hang-over” and feel more exhausted than they did before they went to sleep. Using these drugs over a long period of time leads to an increase in nightmares and other sleep disturbances. As soon as you stop taking them as your body, desperate for REM sleep, tries to make up for what is lost.
STOP WORRYING
A lot of so-called insomnia is nothing more than the result of worry or agitation. Nothing is more likely to cause sleeplessness than the worry that you won’t be able to drop off. Sometimes sleeplessness is normal, and it happens when there are certain moments when we are excited or faced with difficulties in life.
Real chronic insomnia is less common. There can be various causes such as taking stimulants like chocolate, soft drinks, coffee and tea or not having enough exercise. Nocturnal hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) is another major cause of insomnia.
BOOZING SLUMBER
Alcohol can severely interfere with sleep. It brings about a release of adrenalin that gives you a sense of excitement when you are about to put your head down on the pillow. It also interferes with the transport of tryptophan (an amino acid) into the brain. The brain depends on a good supply of tryptophan to produce serotonin, a neurotransmitter that brings about sleep; hence that late drinking session can severely disrupt your serotonin level.
Alcohol, of course, is also a relaxant to some and will put people to sleep provided they have drunk enough. They then find themselves getting up in the middle of the night dehydrated, their sleep-wake cycle disrupted, and unable to doze off for the rest of the night.
SUGARLESS SLEEP
Where Syndrome X is present, you often find low night-time blood glucose levels. Accompanying metabolic disturbances from high GI foods leading to high insulin levels, leads not only to nocturnal hypoglycemia but also to the release of hormones such as adrenalin and cortisol, which stimulate the brain. You wake up feeling hungry, your mind racing. Refer to Syndrome X in Chapter 3.3.6.
MELATONIN
Melatonin is produced in the pineal gland. Its production is turned off when light enters the eyes but in the darkness of the night the pineal gland turns on.
Melatonin does not induce sleep as it has no sedative effects. It only works for people whose natural levels of serotonin levels are low as serotonin is a precursor of melatonin.
A dose of 0.5 to 3 mg is taken half an hour to two hours before bed. It is also useful for jet lag.
THE SEROTONIN SLEEP
Serotonin, one of the relaxing neurotransmitters in the brain, plays an important role in initiating sleep. In order for your brain to make serotonin, it needs adequate tryptophan. One to three grams of this amino acid can help relieve insomnia.
Tryptophan is converted by the body into 5-HTP, which is then used in the production of serotonin in the brain. 5-HTP is available commercially in some markets and can be extracted from natural sources such as seeds of Griffonia simplicifolia, an African plant. 50-100 mg of 5-HTP before bed is useful for sleep, particularly for people with insulin resistance and blood sugar problems. High sugar levels interfere with conversion of tryptophan to 5-HTP, which is then converted into serotonin.
TIPS FOR BETTER SLEEP
- First, evaluate your bed. A better night’s sleep may be as simple as changing your mattress. Shop around for a comfortable mattress.
- Create a bedtime ritual. Your body will recognize the pattern over time, which will act as a trigger to unwind. One suggestion is to take a warm bath (not too hot). Soothing aromatherapy bath salts or a scented candle can promote relaxation as well.
- Avoid using your bedroom for anything other than sleep. Put away the work and take out the television. Reserving this room for sleeping will allow your body and mind to forget the worries of the day and drift into sleep.
- Keep your sleeping place as cool and dark as possible – a room that is too humid or warm can disrupt sleep.
- Avoid exercise 2-3 hours before bedtime, since the endorphins released keep your body energized. But get more exercise every day as this helps counter the adrenalin build-up in the brain causing a tense nervous feeling. The best time to exercise is late afternoon and early evening.
- Avoid sugar and caffeine several hours before bedtime.
- If you can’t sleep, don’t stay in bed feeling frustrated. Get up and go to another room to read or watch television.
