Beating insomnia by really trying

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

YOU think you've got insomnia problems? Pity the wife of Socrates. Seems the famed philosopher had so much trouble getting shut-eye that he would keep his wife up all night - every night, expounding his views on the nature of the universe. That is, until one night when she took revenge - by hitting him hard on his head.

The main reason for telling this tale? Well, if you're cursed with insomnia, you might take some solace in knowing that at least you're in good company. A recent AC Nielsen poll found that 40 per cent of Asians, and that include Filipinos! -- go to bed only after midnight.

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A good night's sleep means waking up rested and energized. On average, a healthy adult requires just over eight hours of sleep a night, according to Dr. Ravi Seshadri, a sleep expert and clinical director of MD Specialist HealthCare at the Paragon Medical Centre in Singapore.

However, the amount of sleep it takes to achieve rejuvenation varies from person to person. "It's not a fixed number," says Dr. Patrick Gerard Moral, head of the sleep and snore diagnostic and treatment Unit of the University of Santo Tomas and president of the Philippine Society of Sleep Medicine.

He added that if you consistently get less than you need, "a sleep deficit accumulates."

The time it takes for a sleep deficit to accrue depends on how consistent the problem is, says Dr. Seshadri.

"Missing a couple of hours of sleep every night for a week is probably enough," he points out.

Not getting enough sleep is bad for your health.

In the United States, a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that women who slept only five hours a night were two and a half times more likely to have diabetes as those who slept seven or eight hours. One explanation for this link is that sleep-deprivation increases insulin resistance, which contributes to diabetes.

Another study found that when healthy young men slept only four hours a night for six nights in a row, their insulin and blood sugar levels mimicked those seen in people who were developing diabetes. If you already have diabetes, a pattern of sleep-deprivation only further contributes to a flux in blood sugars.

Not sleeping enough can compromise your immune system, says professor Stanley Coren, author of Sleep Thieves.

You eat well and exercise in order to keep your immune system up, explains Coren, but if you aren't sleeping, you undo all that good work.

"The immune system works best when you're asleep," he says. "That's when your natural killer cells are generated."

Natural killer cells are produced in the bone marrow and found in the blood and lymph fluid.

It's not just your immune system that suffers when you cut down on sleep.

"Sleep deprivation may potentially increase risk for the development of cardiovascular problems," says Dr Rafael Castillo, a cardiologist at the Manila Sanitarium and Hospital.

A study done by Columbia University found that sleeping less than 5 hours doubled the risk of high blood pressure.

So, you want to beat insomnia now? Dr. Moral offers these timely tips:

* Make sure your room is quiet and dark and your bed is comfortable.

* Get up and go to bed at the same time every day.

* Limit your caffeine consumption and nicotine use. And eat dinner at least two to three hours before bedtime, it's more difficult to fall asleep if your body is still breaking down the food you ate. A light snack just before bedtime, however, may be helpful.

* Exercise regularly. Physical activity done early in the day may promote deeper, better quality sleep. Too-vigorous exercise just before bedtime, however, may delay sleep.

If you have trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep:

* Don't toss and turn for longer than half an hour: Get up and do something calming such as reading.

* Develop a relaxing pre-sleep ritual: have a glass of warm milk or herbal tea; read or take a warm bath.

* Get treatment for any medical problems that may contribute to sleep troubles, such as sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome.

If you still have trouble sleeping, there are a variety of sleep aids available like sleeping pills.

"While it is true that you can develop a tolerance to them, there are sleeping pills that don't have such side effect," says Dr. Moral. "If it bothers them, I prescribe to my patients sleeping pills that have no drug-dependence."

Unlike in the past, newly developed sleeping pills are less addictive and they clear the body more quickly.