Insomnia Story

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Big test in the morning?

High stakes meeting with a very important client tomorrow?

These are normal circumstances in life which make sleeping the night before difficult for some. This is typically due to stress and the unknown of what the outcome of the next day will be.

Where sleep becomes an issue is frequency of interrupted sleep as it is important to a person’s health. I, Mindy Perry, have struggled with insomnia for years without even realizing I had it or that it was a problem.

Here’s some statistics from a survey done by the National Sleep Foundation (1999-2004):

• 40 million Americans suffer from over 70 different sleep disorder
• 60% of adults report having sleep problems a few nights a week or more. Most of those with these problems go undiagnosed and untreated.
• More than 40% of adults experience daytime sleepiness severe enough to interfere with their daily activities at least a few days each month - with 20% reporting problem sleepiness a few days a week or more
• 69% of children experience one or more sleep problems a few nights or more during a week.

This is my life. For the longest time, I dealt with my overall sleepiness and multiple wake ups per night.  I was tired all the time, and I was able to fall asleep anywhere and at any time.  I did nothing about it for a very long time, just like the survey says.  I finally discussed my issue with my primary care physician about my sleepiness, and he suggested doing a sleep study in order to evaluate what was happening. This was the best thing I could have done.

I’m not going to lie, the sleep study was not the most enjoyable experience of my life, but it was bearable. I am very thankful that I did because I was officially diagnosed with insomnia. Once I had the diagnosis, it became real in my mind and I worked at listening to my body instead of ignoring it. One of the options I was given was to seek the guidance of a psychologist who could help with sleep techniques.

According to leading sleep researchers and psychologists, there are techniques to combat common sleep problems:

• Keep a regular sleep/wake schedule (Which I do, and it helps track different times of the month when my insomnia is at it’s peak. By knowing when it may be at its worst, I can take a proactive approach)
• Don’t drink or eat caffeine four to six hours before bed and minimize daytime use (My husband made tea at 8pm one day and I was up all night. Lesson learned!)
• Don’t smoke, especially near bedtime or if you awake in the night (I quit two years ago!)
• Avoid alcohol and heavy meals before sleep
• Get regular exercise (This is important. Since being diagnosed, I have entered in a few 5k races in my community)
• Minimize noise, light and excessive hot and cold temperatures where you sleep (Much to the dismay of my electric bill, I agree that a constant temperature helps to keep me asleep at night)
• Develop a regular bed time and go to bed at the same time each night (This has helped tremendously.)
• Try and wake up without an alarm clock (This is not an option for me, you’re lucky if you can do this.)
• Attempt to go to bed earlier every night for certain period; this will ensure that you’re getting enough sleep

 

All of the above techniques have helped me get a more restful night sleep. If you would like more information or help from a psychologist or counselor trained to help people cope with insomnia, please comment or give us a call. 

Thanks for reading! I would love to hear your techniques on how to manage Insomnia!  

- Mindy Perry

Citations:

American Psychological Association. (2011). How to get a good night sleep. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/topics/sleep/why.aspx#

Image by: babblingdweeb. (2011). Photo license: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/babblingdweeb/194232264 

 

Image by: Allysa L. Miller. (2011). Photo license: Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0). Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/alyssafilmmaker/3628914665/