Mental Health Matters: Sleep

According to the National Institutes of Health, 50 to 70 million adults have sleep disorders. This includes sleep apnea, narcolepsy and insomnia. A lack of uninterrupted, restful sleep of seven to eight hours is necessary for good adult mental and physical health. Without it, memory, attention, mood, heart health, metabolism and healing are deficient. Daytime sleepiness may be responsible for more accidents and mistakes, not to mention detracting from the enjoyment of life.
If you have excessive sleepiness during the day, you can look at your sleep habits to see if you have good sleep hygiene. First, is your bedroom conducive to good sleep? Are there distractions such as noise, light, uncomfortable temperature or mattress, or a bed partner who interrupts your sleep? You can try to manage these factors by using white noise, earplugs, blackout curtains, a fan or space heater, etc. If small children frequently interrupt your sleep, consult with their pediatrician for strategies to help them sleep through the night. If your bed partner is very restless or snores, he or she may need to see a sleep specialist.
While the world seems to run on coffee, caffeine may be interfering with getting to sleep early enough. If you consume caffeine in the afternoon or evening, try cutting off your caffeine intake (sodas, teas, coffee or chocolate) after lunch for a few days to see if that helps.
Even though alcohol can make you sleepy, it is known to interfere with sleep, so avoiding or limiting alcohol is another way to improve your sleep.
Television, phones and computers can also interfere with sleep either because they grab your attention or because of the blue light. Computers and phones have blue light filters you can set for evening use; however, it is often the case that what you are watching, reading or playing may keep you alert. Putting away the screens as part of your bedtime routine can help you get to sleep on time. Some people like to read in bed at night, which is okay unless you find it makes you more alert.
Another source of sleep deficiency is worry. Many people find that when the light is turned out, their thoughts begin loudly going over their problems. It may also be the case that worry keeps you from returning to sleep if you wake up at night. It is difficult to actually solve a problem or relieve a worry by ruminating on it in bed. Allow yourself to set them down at night and instead create time in your week when you can do constructive problem-solving and planning.
If you find yourself wide awake in bed, don’t toss and turn and fret about all the sleep you are losing. We want your brain to associate bed with sleep, so it is better to get up and in dim light, do something quiet. You can read or listen to soothing music until you feel sleepy and then get back in bed ready to fall asleep.
If you have evaluated and worked on the above steps but you still have insomnia or wake up feeling unrested, it is important to get some data. Keep a simple journal for one or two weeks, writing down when you turn off your light, how long it took to go to sleep, when you wake up and if you feel rested. First, are your sleep and wake times regular? If not, begin by setting a wake-up time that works with your daily schedule. Then count backwards seven to eight hours and this is the time you should fall asleep.
If you get enough sleep but continue to feel sleepy during the day, it is very important for you to consult with a sleep specialist to rule out sleep apnea, narcolepsy or other issues which contribute to daytime sleepiness. Most likely, the doctor will request a sleep study which is done either in a sleep lab or at home. These studies may include a daytime component if the doctor suspects narcolepsy. Sleep studies can show not only when you are awake and asleep but also which phase of sleep you are in and if you spend enough time in the deeper, restorative phases of sleep. If you have sleep apnea then the doctor will likely discuss using a CPAP, which helps you get enough oxygen at night. Narcolepsy can be treated with medications that promote wakefulness.
Nora Sinclair is a licensed professional counselor and a national certified counselor based in Lexington, S.C.