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Tag: insomnia

  • Insomnia: Tips for Managing Sleep Problems Following Time Change

    Another Daylight Savings Time that caused us all to lose an hour of sleep on Saturday night no doubt led to many complaints of insomnia in the break room on Monday morning. The hour time change may have thrown many of us off our sleep schedules, but there are a few things you can do that may help you get back to your normal sleep cycle.

    According to Dr. Colleen Carney, most people will be able to adjust to the time change even “if they do nothing to compensate. That is, the deprivation will result in an increase in deep sleep the following night and in a day or two you will feel like you did previously.” If you don’t think you will be one of those people or want to make the adjustment more quickly, check out the tips below.

    Limit Caffeine and Alcohol Intake

    While it’s probably a no-brainer to skip out on coffee and soda a couple hours before you plan to go to sleep, any caffeine you consume after lunch can impact your ability fall asleep. To help matters–at least until you’re back on a regular sleep pattern–switch to decaffeinated tea and soda with your evening meal.

    Alcohol is another culprit that can affect your sleep quality. Even though alcohol is classified as a depressant and may very well help you fall asleep, it reportedly “prevents deeper stages of sleep and often causes you to awaken in the middle of the night.” If quality of sleep is important to you–and it should be, especially when you’re trying to adjust your sleep schedule–nix the nightcap.

    Exercise During the Day

    Exercise is often suggested to people who struggle with insomnia, and it could help a short-term sleep problem as well. According to the National Sleep Foundation, a “single exercise session found that a bout of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (e.g., walking) reduced the time it took to fall asleep and increased the length of sleep.” The study also found that “vigorous” aerobic exercises such as running didn’t help, so getting in a good 30-minute walk before you start your nighttime routine may be just what you need to get back on a regular sleep schedule.

    Try an Over-the-Counter Sleep Aid

    If you aren’t able to get back on a regular sleep schedule on your own after trying for a couple of days, you may want to try an over-the-counter (OTC) medication. While long-term use of OTC sleep aids can cause you to become dependent on them, using a sleep aid for a couple of nights could help you get back to normal. Some sleep aids such as Tylenol PM and ZZZQuil can leave you feeling groggy the next day, so you may want to give the hormone melatonin a try. According to Medline Plus, people often take melatonin to “adjust the body’s internal clock.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • The Sleep Whisperer: The New Cure for Insomnia

    Chronic insomnia is an inability to fall asleep and stay asleep and lasts for longer than a month. It affects 1 in 10 Americans. Possible causes include stress or hormone factors.

    For decades, people have been trying to cope with this disorder – from taking sleeping pills to counting sheep. But now, thanks to sleep whisperers, there is a new way.

    Ilse Blansert, a Toronto native, is a sleep whisperer and part of a growing phenomenon known as Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR).

    ASMR is a response to visual, auditory, olfactory, and/or cognitive stimuli and can be felt pleasurable tingling sensation in the head, scalp, back, or peripheral regions of the body. Though controversial, it is appealing to many because, unlike pills or therapy, it is free.

    “It has to do with the combination of sounds and voices,” Blansert said. “I’m not convinced that it works. It actually works.”

    Blansert’s videos alone have accumulated over 16 million views.

    “It is quite believable to me that somebody says that is works better than a sleeping bill for me,” says sleep specialist Dr. Amer Khan.

    “It brings me comfort that I can’t find in other things,” says Emily Hanson, a follower of Blansert’s videos.

    The first time Hanson watched a ASMR video, she said it was “one of the most euphoric experiences” of her life. “I didn’t know what is it was, but I was hooked.”

    According to Yahoo News, the videos consist of Blansert whispering, tapping on items, pouring water, and gently rearranging items (such as crayons) to help put her viewers to sleep.

    “I think…it has to do with the combination of sounds and voices. It’s a calming relaxing voice because if it’s too fast you don’t really have a chance to experience those tingles,” she said.

    Lindsey Davis of ABC asked Blansert if the videos could be addicting.

    “You can become addicted in the sense that you really want to watch it every night,” she said, but “If you give yourself an over-kill of those types of sounds you’ll become immune to it, which basically means that if you watch the video, you aren’t going to experience tingles anymore.”

    “There are no true bad physical effects of this kind of activity on the body,” Dr. Khan said. “It’s not extremely unhealthy to do something like this but what it’s really doing is taking you away from the real issues that you’re dealing with, which is how to turn off your mind, how to feel relaxed at the end of the day.”

    For more information, visit Blansert’s YouTube channel.


    Image via YouTube

  • Stroke Risk Linked to Lack of Sleep

    Stroke Risk Linked to Lack of Sleep

    Stroke risk increases slightly if you’re middle-aged and sleep less than six hours a night, according to a recent study. If you’re of normal weight and do not suffer from sleep apnea, your chances of having a stroke are increased fourfold. Lead researcher Megan Ruiter stated that getting an insignificant amount of sleep ultimately increases inflammation in the brain, causes increases in blood pressure, and generates the release of certain hormones, all of which are contributing factors.

    Ruiter and company gathered data on approximately 5,600 individuals who had taken part in a study about now geography and race affect your chances of having a stroke. After sorting through all of the data and conducting follow-ups, researchers discovered that the chances of suffering a stroke increased in those individuals who were of normal weight and received less than six hours of sleep per night. Interestingly, the same conclusions were not reached in those who were considered overweight or obese.

    “Sleep is important,” Ruiter explained. “There is evidence that insufficient sleep increases all sorts of abnormal responses in the body.” It’s worth noting, however, that researchers did not find a direct correlation between a lack of sleep and strokes.

    “We know that in about a third of patients with ischemic stroke, doctors are unable to define a cause,” Dr. Michael Frankel, director of vascular neurology at Emory University said. “Reduction in sleep may be contributing in some of these patients. For those of us who chronically work long hours, we may need to listen closely to these findings and adjust our lifestyle to reduce our risk of stroke.”

    In addition to getting a handle on their sleep schedule, other things individuals can do to reduce their chance of stroke include eating a balanced diet, exercising, cutting back on alcoholic drinks, and having regular check-ups.