Get Sleep Now

How to Prevent Insomnia

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Even after being a good sleeper for over 75 years, you can suddenly develop severe insomnia out of the blue. It can hit anyone and any age. Surprisingly, one in every three people complain about insomnia. Not only is this the inability to fall asleep, but it also involves not being able to stay asleep or continually waking up earlier than planned. Here's how to practice techniques to help you win the fight and be insomnia-free.

  Steps

1. Go to bed and get up at the same time every night (including weekends). Keep the same routine every night at bedtime. Brush teeth, take a bath, change into night clothing, say good-night to your family, turn off the lights in exactly the same order every night.
2. Get a check-up from your physician.  Your insomnia could be the result of a medical problem or chemical imbalance. For example, a mild case of something such as bipolar disorder can cause periods of "cycling" insomnia without causing mood swings.
3. Explore potential causes. Insomnia is considered a symptom of an underlying condition, which may or may not be easy to identify. The most common root causes are tension, anxiety and depression. Other causes could be pain, major illnesses, medications, dietary and lifestyle factors, environmental factors, or just a bad mattress. Trying to find the underlying cause to your sleep problems is the best way to finding a cure.
4. Avoid the following for up to six hours before bedtime:
   
   • Alcohol may help you relax in the short term, however, chronic use can lead to insomnia and even a small amount can cause disruptive and fitful sleep and early wakening.
   • Caffeine is a stimulant found in many common substances including coffee, tea, soft drinks, chocolate and many medicines. Obviously any stimulant is going to make sleeping harder. And, you will probably wake sooner or more often.
   • Nicotine, most commonly found in tobacco products, is a very powerful drug that can act as either a stimulant or a depressant, depending on the set of the person taking it. As a stimulant nicotine can be highly disruptive to sleep patterns.
   • Avoid beverages that contain ginseng, guarana, kola or cola nut, and ginger.
   • Heavy meals: eating a great meal soon before attempting to sleep can be awkward. Food creates energy, and energy keeps you awake. In addition falling asleep before fully digesting a large meal can cause indigestion, heartburn and fitful sleep. Inversely, going to bed hungry can also contribute to restlessness.
5. Exercise vigorously at least thirty minutes sometime during the day. Walking is excellent. Just don't exercise within three hours of bedtime.
6. Try to get at least one hour of direct sunlight each day.  This may be difficult in winter or bad weather, but the proper amount of sunlight regulates the body's "sleep-wake" cycle.
7. Try natural sleep aids. Rather than doping yourself with sleeping pills try natural sleep aids first in order to have a deeper more natural sleep cycle.
   
   • Tibetan sleep aid: Mix two drops of ginger essential oil into one teaspoon of a carrier oil (grapeseed oil is lovely and light).  Rub firmly on the soles of both feet, put on warm, soft socks and get into bed.
   •   Certain foods have a calming effect on the body and help promote sleep in modest quantities. Milk, for example, contains melatonin, a chemical produced by the body to help produce sleep. Try some warm milk before bedtime,  with a little sugar and a pinch of nutmeg, if you like.
   •   You can take melatonin tablets as well (available over-the counter in most counties, sold as dietary supplement in US). Some people say that it causes more vivid dreaming.
   •   Drink a herbal tea thirty minutes before bedtime, especially tea containing valerian root or chamomile.  As an alternative, you can take valerian root tablets (available over-the counter).
8. Practice meditation or relaxation techniques at least twenty minutes twice a day.
9. Keep the bedroom as cool (though not cold) and dark as possible.
10. Use a "white noise" generator (available at discount stores and some drug stores) to mask outside sounds that could disturb sleep.  There are many free and very inexpensive mp3's of white noise available online.  You can try setting up your computer or mp3 player to play soft music for a short time, and then play white noise until you want to wake up.
11. Another option is to play soft music when you're trying to go to sleep. Make sure not to play music that you can tap your finger to because you're just going to be listening to music and not trying to get to sleep. If the music has a good beat, pretend that you've never heard the song before and it's your first time listening to it. Don't think about anything else and just let your mind hear the music. Relax every part of your body and close your eyes. It usually works.
12. Use your bedroom for no other purpose than relaxing. Scientific research suggests that many people unconsciously associate the room with stress or work if they do homework or paperwork in there. For example, don't do your bills or taxes and then try to sleep.
13. Don't get yourself wound up emotionally before bedtime with inappropriate media: scary films, loud music, distressing documentaries etc.  
14. Wear socks to bed (You'll be surprised at how much this one little thing will help you to sleep.)
15. Wear leg warmers on your arms if you're cold.
16. Take your worries and "throw them away" before bedtime.  If you believe in God, give your problems to him. He knows how to solve them.  He's going to be up all night.  You don't need to be. If you're not spiritual, use visualization techniques to imagine yourself throwing away your worries, one by one. Try to come up with quick solves to them as well. ( Ex: If you have homework you didn't finish, finish it in homeroom.)
17. If nothing else works, ask your doctor about non-addictive sleep aids such as Lunesta, or instead try plain antihistamine products (the ones that cause drowsiness) that are safe when taken without extra ingredients:  no pain reliever, nor decongestant nor expectorant, etc. (Read the labels. Note: Check with your doctor if you take prescription drugs.). First try only 1/2 or even less of the usual dose to have less morning/daytime drowsiness. Half one kind with half of the other may prove desirable:
    
    • Corcidin-HBP (Generic: chlorpheniramine maleate, include ChlorTrimeton, or Equate Chlor Tabs)
    • Unisom-1 (Generic: doxylamine succinate, include Equate Sleep Aid)
    • also some people find Benadryl helpful for some time, but eventually becoming less effective as you build a tolerance (Generic: diphenhydramine-HCL, includes Sominex, Unisom-2, Equate Allergy Medication). This med should be used with care because you fall asleep quickly if you're sensitive (have not built up a tolerance), similar to passing out--so lie down to sleep.
18. Shortly before getting ready for bed, tell yourself how tired you are.  Rub your eyes, breath deeply and slowly, and deliberately make yourself yawn over and over again. As yawning is contagous, soon the yawns will be real.
19. Comfort yourself--physically and emotionally--the way you would a young child: Before going to bed sit in a chair and rock yourself backwards and forwards; sing yourself a lullaby; take a hot water bottle, teddy bear or cuddly pillow to bed; soothe yourself with loving thoughts about what a precious and lovable person you are; tell yourself that you are very, very, very sleepy and that very soon you will be fast asleep having sweet dreams in your warm, cosy bed.
20. Make your bed all the more warm and cosy by using flannel sheets and pillow slips.
21. Use satin sheets and satin pyjamas if you have a health condition that makes it hard for you to roll over in bed. You're less likely to wake yourself up if you can slide around freely.
22. Even a warm doona might not be warm enough in winter. Try adding at least one blanket.  Not only will you be warmer but the weight of the blanket on your body can be quite comforting.
23. When lying on your side, you may be more comfortable if your spine is supported by using two pillows: one between your legs, the other under your arm to cuddle. In no time at all, rearranging the cushions whenever you roll over will become second nature.
24. A contoured orthopaedic pillow is well worth the investment. It has a raised arch that comfortably supports the neck and promotes a good posture when lieing on both your back and your side.
25. Put a vase of sweet smelling flowers in your bedroom.
26. Rearrange your bedroom so that your bed is in a different position or, if possible, swap beds or bedrooms with someone else. A change in scenery might be enough to break the cycle of insomnia.
27. Take the pressure off having to sleep through the night by simply accepting that it is perfectly OK to wake up and (if necessary) get out of bed.  Plan in advance what you will do when you get up: watch a DVD, read, do light housework, enjoy a crossword, eat a light snack, take a bath.  
28. Send yourself to sleep by watching a DVD made especially for insomniacs (trains choofing along, clouds floating by) or make one yourself. If you're not interested in sport, tape a game of lawn bowls or cricket.  Make a video of people yawning and sleeping. Watch your cousin's wedding video!
29. Spray perfume on your body or on your pillow.  Choose a scent that has a positive association for you.  An "old fashioned" perfume like lavender, roses or honeysuckle might remind you of your mother or grandmother.
30. Spoil yourself in quirky ways that bring you pleasure: iron your sheets, polish your bedhead, shave your legs, wear posh pyjamas, put a cashmere rug on top of your doona, let the cat sleep with you, use expensive toothpaste or mouthwash.

  Video

  Tips

• Believe it or not, in most cases, continued insomnia may be "all in your head."  If you worry that you won't get to sleep, you probably won't.  You can't "make" yourself sleep.  Just lie down, get comfortable, close your eyes, breathe normally (or breathe slowly and deeply until it causes you to yawn) and let your thoughts drift away to something simple like a color or a phrase such as "That was then and this is now..." to drown out bothersome thoughts.
• If you cannot sleep do not stay in bed. After thirty to forty-five minutes, if you are still wide awake, get up, drink a little water, and do something non-stressful, or just sit in a chair. Avoid conversations.  If you begin to associate stress — even the stress of not being able to sleep — with your bed, you are less likely to be able to relax there.
• If you wake up in the middle of the night (and this is especially a problem for middle-aged men making one or more bathroom trips) don't worry about going back to sleep.  It's all a matter of attitude.  If you wake up, don't say, "Oh, no, I'm awake again! Instead, simply accept the "call of nature" and respond to it matter of factly, knowing that, after your bathroom break, you will be comfortable again and ready to snuggle up and quickly fall asleep. If that fails, consider taking an antihistamine (a drowsy kind). Try a half dose at first.
• Use self-hypnosis to help you get back to sleep quickly after you have been awakened.
• Many people find acupuncture helpful for many sleep disorders. Talk to your acupuncturist for more information.
• Turn off the TV and computer a couple of hours before you go to bed and don't try to fall asleep watching TV.  The light from these electronic devices stimulates the brain and inhibits the ability to go to sleep.
• Look for others who have had the same problem. Find out what they are doing to solve their problem.
• If you wake in the middle of the night, eat if you're hungry. Try a few eggs. Try eating a normal breakfast. The weight of the meal may make you tired, and hunger won't keep you awake.
• Before you go to bed, install a colored light bulb, such as blue or red, in your night-stand light. Traditional lights imply being awake, while colored lights encourage relaxation.
• Beds are made for two things, sleep and sex. That means you shouldn't eat in your bed, you shouldn't do taxes in your bed, you shouldn't use wikihow on your bed (GET OFF YOUR BED NOW!). Interestingly enough, though, having sex/masturbating on your bed actually helps you sleep better than having sex/masturbating anywhere other than your bed.

  Warnings

• Don't look at the clock!
• Use essential oils with extreme care. Never apply undiluted oils directly to the skin and never ingest them.  Do not use essential oils or petroleum if you are suffering from any illness or are pregnant.
• Clinical depression is a common cause for insomnia - see the Overcoming Depression article (and your doctor) to ensure this possible condition is addressed.
• If you feel that the world is against you, then you really need to change to get rid of "paranoid thinking or feelings."

  Things You'll Need

• A comfortable bed.  A water bed or adjustable air mattress will work well.
• A positive attitude.

  Related wikiHows

• How to Fall Asleep
• How to Sleep Better
• How to Improve Your Beauty Sleep
• How to Sleep in School
• How to Sleep when Someone Is Snoring

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Prevent Insomnia.  All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.