Can't Sleep? How to Treat Sleep Issues Without Medication
By Sheila Patel, M.D.
Sleep is vital to your health and well-being, but for some people, it's elusive. According to the American Sleep Association, there are an estimated 50 to 70 million U.S. adults who experience some type of sleep loss or sleep disorder. Sleeping issues can interfere with the quality of your life, your physical health, and negatively affect your emotional balance, cognitive ability, and motor skills. If you suffer from sleeping issues, you understand that this disruption can cause problems in your home, work, and community life.
While sleep issues may be common, it doesn't mean you have to accept them as a part of your everyday life. Take control of your well-being by understanding how sleep issues negatively impact your health and the best treatment options for long-term change.
The Consequences of Sleep Loss and Sleep Disorders
While the amount of sleep a person needs can vary depending on age and other health factors, it seems that for optimal health, you should get seven to eight hours per night. This amount of sleep should be good quality and during the right times, so your body can restore and rejuvenate. When you don't get enough quality sleep, you don't wake up feeling rested. Outside of the normal fatigue, negative attitude, and fogginess that you may experience with lack of enough quality sleep, it has also been linked to a host of long-term health problems, including:
Obesity
Diabetes
Heart disease
High blood pressure
Mood disorders
Poor immune function
Alcohol dependence
Reduced life expectancy
The body functions by means of an "internal clock" that regulates the physiological processes in the body, including hormonal and metabolic cycles. This is known as your circadian rhythm. Research is beginning to shed light on the molecular mechanisms that control this biological clock. It functions automatically via "clock genes" in every cell of the body, and is also affected by external stimuli such as light, timing of meals, and emotions. To be the healthiest you can be, your waking and sleeping cycle should be aligned with this programmed biological clock. Chronic disruptions to the internal circadian control mechanisms predispose you to many health conditions.
The most commonly reported sleep disorder is insomnia, which occurs due to various biological, psychological, and social factors, including chronic stress. Insomnia can include issues with falling asleep, staying asleep, or quality of sleep. Diagnosable insomnia affects approximately 6 percent of the U.S. population, but, like other sleep disorders, can often go undiagnosed and untreated.
Treatment Options for Sleep Issues
There are many different treatment options available for sleep loss and sleep disorders. However, not all treatments are created equal. In today's clinical culture, it's easy to view sleep medication as an attractive option to treat sleep loss and sleep disorders because it's common, easy to use, and readily available. While sleep medication, and even alcohol used to induce sleep, can offer short-term relief of your symptoms, they are not a long-term solution, and can lead to other health problems down the line.
Sleep medications and alcohol do not give you the same type of deep restful and restorative sleep as falling asleep naturally. In a recent study in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, researchers discovered that certain hypnotic sleep aids—such as Ambien and Sonata—may interfere with sleep-related memory consolidation that occurs during natural sleep. Another study found that benzodiazepines—another widely used class of sleep medications—can suppress respiration and worsen symptoms of sleep apnea.
To create lasting change, you need to adopt a holistic treatment regimen that allows the mind and body to settle and calm, and that re-connects you to your natural sleep mechanisms.
Pranayama: Foundation for Balance
Pranayama is a yogic practice that
Pranayama is a yogic practice that is foundational to help achieve healthy, restful sleep. This type of concentrated and deliberate breathing can help calm your central nervous system and "turn off" the stress response in the body while "turning on" the relaxation response.
If you take the stress of the day to bed with you, it will interfere with your body's natural programming to relax and fall asleep. When you are in the stress response during sleep, although your eyes are closed, you may not be restoring and energizing the system because your body and mind are ready to deal with a threat at any minute. On the other hand, when the relaxation response is activated, you are more in sync with your natural circadian rhythm, and are more likely to fall asleep naturally and easily. Because the mind and body are calm, and not feeling threatened, they can do the job of healing and repairing what is necessary for longevity and healthy aging.
To help your body prepare for restorative sleep, use yogic breathing techniques. Before you go to bed, try practicing belly breathing for 5-10 minutes. This simple breathing technique will allow you to drift to sleep in a relaxed state, and you will be more likely to remain in a relaxed state during sleep. Here's how to do it:
Lie on your back, close your eyes, and bring awareness to your chest.
Without too much concentration, gently breath in and out through your nose while your belly gently rises on inhalation and falls with exhalation.
As you inhale, bring in a positive emotion to the area of your heart, such as gratitude, compassion, and love. (You can simply repeat silently: "I am gratitude" "I am compassion" "I am love")
Another yogic breathing technique you can try is alternating nostril breathing for 5-10 minutes. Follow these steps to learn the practice. This type of breathing calms the mind and allows you to detach from thoughts, which are often keeping you from sleeping. Note: If you are experiencing stuffiness, and find it difficult to breathe through your nose, try using a neti pot to clear your sinuses before practicing.
When you remove the things that are getting in the way of your natural sleep, such as the stress response, and bring in practices like these to align with your natural cycle, then healthy, natural sleep is possible.
Preparing Your Mind for Sleep
A rested mind allows you to think through situations, make decisions, and even access your higher intuition and creativity. When it's not cared for properly, your mind can become consumed by unnecessary stress that can wreak havoc on your health and negatively affect natural occurrences—like sleep.
You might find that thoughts are running endlessly through your mind as you try to fall asleep. This can be due to holding on to the stress of the day, worrying about the next day, or general anxiety.
In today's constantly connected world, you experience a high level of stimuli throughout the day and into the night. Do yourself a favor and remove things that are causing your mind to stay "on." Turn off anything that may be distracting at least one hour before heading to bed to allow your mind time to disconnect and slow down, including:
TV
Computer
Phone (at least put it on "Do Not Disturb")
Lights
Another technique to quiet your mind is to journal for 2-3 minutes before going to bed. This type of light journaling releases the stress of the day and allows you to let go of your to-do list and anything else keeping you up. By writing it down, your mind is able to release anxiety and embrace stillness to help you sleep. Follow these steps:
Keep a small notebook and pen by your bed.
Write down the events of your day without any emotion, judgment, or analysis.
Record anything that you are repeating to yourself (recurring thoughts or list of "to-do's").
Finish by listing three things for which you are grateful.
Preparing Your Body for Sleep
Keeping your physical body in balance can do wonders for improving your sleep pattern.
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