MAINTAIN A SLEEP SCHEDULE *Get up at the same time every day 7 days a week, so the light sets our biological clock.
*This is the most important thing you can do to help you get to sleep and sleep better. Getting up every day at the same time causes melatonin to be produced around 10 pm so you can get sleepy and go to sleep easier.
*Get to sleep at the same time every night so you can get 8-9 hours of sleep and have a 1/2 hour to get to sleep.
BEDROOM ENVIRONMENT
Temperature:
*Keep your bedroom at a comfortable temperature. Cooler is usually better than warmer.
Clock:
*If you are a clock watcher, turn the clock away from you. Have the alarm clock turned away from the bed. If you look at the clock every time you wake up you may think that you did not sleep between the last time you looked and this time, which is often not true.
Darkness:
*Your bedroom should be dark.
*Turn off any bright lights & turn your clock led lights away from you.
*Get good blinds or curtains if needed.
Quiet:
*Your bedroom should be quiet.
*Turn off the TV and other noises that may disturb you.
*Background white noise like a fan is ok
*If your partner snores, sleep in a separate bedroom (after tucking in or being tucked in by your partner) or get a good pair of earplugs and use them. The wax plugs that mold to the shape of the ear are often the best ones.
Pets:
*If your pets awaken you keep them outside the bedroom
BEDS
*Have a good bed.
*You want a bed that conforms to your body and supports you in the areas that need support, such as your low back.
*All the types of mattresses are good, if they conform to you and support you: a regular mattress, an air mattress, a water mattress or a combination.
*The firmness is a personal preference. Some people have pain sleeping on a firm mattress and some people have pain if they do not sleep on a firm mattress.
*If one of you need a hard mattress and the other needs a soft mattress you may want to look at an airbed or water bed that has 2 parts. That way you can fit the firmness to each of you.
*If you already bought a mattress that is not right, you can put a firmer or softer pad on top to modify it. If you each have different needs buy 2 half mattress pads of different densities to modify each side to your liking.
*No matter what the warrantee says no mattress lasts more than about 7-10 years. Sometimes they last even less time. If you have a groove in your bed that fits your body, buy a new one.
Pillows: When you sleep on your side, your head should be parallel to the bed.
When you sleep on your back, your head should not be elevated. It should support your neck and let your head rest back.
A cervical pillow is made to support you properly both on your back and side, so use a cervical pillow. Let Dr. Berju test your pillow to see if your pillow fits you properly.
Sleep Posture:
Talk to Dr. Berju about good sleep posture to prevent aches and pains at night.
Pillow:
Use a cervical pillow. Talk to Dr. Berju to see if your pillow fits you properly.
Sleep Posture:
Talk to Dr. Berju about good sleep posture to prevent aches and pains at night.
PRE-BED ROUTINE
*A warm bath or shower
*Use aroma therapy, such putting lavender on your pillow or on a face mask, or in a warm bath
*Meditation or quiet time
*Complete relaxation techniques
*Gentle stretching or gentle yoga
*Think of a quiet thought or picture a soothing place or experience.
*Deep breathing
*Play soothing music
*Play a meditation or relaxation CD
*Delta Wave Sleep CD
*To fall asleep, you can play deep sleep-inducing tapes or CDs. If you wake up during the night, you can push your sound system's replay button. Better yet, get a CD or tape player that can replay continuously throughout the night.
AVOID STIMULANTS
Cigarettes
Over the counter medications
Caffeine:
*Do not drink any caffeine after 4 pm. Coffee, tea, soda and chocolate all have caffeine. Caffeine after dinner can delay sleep onset, shorten overall sleep time and interrupt proper sleep cycles.
Alcohol:
Do not drink any wine, beer or alcohol in the evening. In the second part of the night, the alcohol will disturb your sleep stages, even if you do not wake up. Alcohol ingested after dinner can disrupt the sequence and duration of sleep cycles, alter the time required to fall asleep and total sleep time.
Exercise
*Exercise before 2 pm. Exercise promotes a good night’s sleep if it is not too late in the day.
*Avoid exercising in the evening. Exercise increases your blood pressure for the next 12 hours. It also circulates endorphins, which may cause difficulty getting to sleep.
Activities:
*Do not use your bed for anything but sleeping & hanky panky. No TV, reading, studying, problem solving or working. These activities are too arousing and may interfere with your ability to sleep.
Disharmony:
*Do not allow any disharmony before Bed. If you argue, watch upsetting TV, or read upsetting information before bed you will sleep with that upset and wake up in that same state. Therefore, what you do before bed affects you the whole next day.
Naps
*Avoid naps that are any longer than 20-30 min. *Naps may make it harder to get to sleep at night.
TROUBLE GETTING TO SLEEP
*Don’t stay in bed awake for more than 10-30 min.
*If you find your mind racing or worrying about not being able to sleep during the night, get out of bed and sit in a chair in the dark.
*Let your mind race while in the chair until you are sleepy, and then return to bed.
*No stimulating activities such as TV or reading while sitting up.
*If this happens several times a night that is ok. Just maintain your regular wake time and avoid naps and your body will reset itself.
*Some people handle the mind racing by doing a to-do list earlier in the evening.
*If you are worrying about things that may happen, things that you have no control over do releasing techniques earlier in the evening or pray. Talk to Dr. Berju about releasing techniques.
*If you have trouble getting to sleep be sure to do more of the pre-bed preparations.
WAKING UP AT NIGHT
Urination:
*If you frequently wake up to urinate during the night, do not drink a lot of fluids near bedtime.
Pain.
Most pain patients wake during the night because their sleep center is not working properly or because of the pain. Because they also have a full bladder, they think they are waking up because they have to urinate. This is not the case. They are waking up because of their pain syndrome. There is a simple way to remedy this problem. If you wake up during the night and you notice your bladder is full, just talk to it (in your mind, so your spouse does not think you are nuts) and tell it, "Nighttime is for sleeping. We will go to the bathroom in the morning when it is time to wake up." Then roll over and go back to sleep. If you still have to urinate five minutes later, go to the bathroom. Most of you will find that your bladder will happily go back to sleep, and when you wake up in the morning, you will not even have to urinate as badly as you did when you woke up in the middle of the night.
Fear:
The fear of not being able to fall asleep leads to a self fulfilling prophecy, so look forward to sleeping like you would a good meal.
Suggestions:
If you have trouble going to sleep try some of the following suggestions
Use a mental distraction such as counting sheep.
Say a soothing phrase of words, or a word or mantra or prayer.
Use aroma therapy, such putting lavender on your pillow or on a face mask, or in a warm bath
Meditation or quiet time
Complete relaxation techniques
Gentle stretching or gentle yoga
Think of a quiet thought or picture a soothing place or experience.
Deep breathing
Play soothing music
Play a meditation or relaxation CD
Delta Wave Sleep CD. To fall asleep, you can play deep sleep-inducing tapes or CDs. If you wake up during the night, you can push your sound system's replay button. Better yet, get a CD or tape player that can replay continuously throughout the night.
Some of the above info is from
Isleep at isleep.com
Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum MD at EndFatigue.com Somerset Sleep Consultants Center PA 245 Union Ave Suite 2A & 2C Bridgewater, NJ 908-722-5244
Dr Christine Berju D.C.