Sleeping Well Without A Pill

Do you find yourself staring at the ceiling at night, afraid to look at the clock and see that yet another hour has slipped by? Millions of Americans suffer from insomnia at one time or another. The prescription of sleep-aids is at an all-time high. Many people are also looking for ways to sleep better that do not involve a pill. Luckily there are a number of techniques that can get you back to sleeping peacefully.

The preparations for sleep begin long before you actually lay down. Vigorous activity before bedtime should be avoided. Relax for an hour before you go to bed. Do not use this time to get the dishes done or clean the house. Take a bath, read a book, or listen to music. This slow transition from the more active portion of your day can help your body get ready for sleep.

Another key is to have a regular sleeping schedule. If you go to bed and wake up at different times every day, your body is never able to establish a normal circadian rhythm and therefore gets confused as to what it should be doing and when. With a regular schedule, you will find that you fall asleep faster and may even wake up a minute or two before your alarm goes off.

Your bedroom needs to be a single use room. Don’t watch television or read a book while lying in bed. This also confuses your body. If you only sleep in your bedroom, your body will recognize that it is time to sleep when you enter the room.

Another technique you can use to help your body distinguish that it is time to sleep comes from the Taoist tradition. I love this technique and recommend it to many of my patients. Lay down in bed and cross your left foot over your right. Place your left hand just below your navel and place the right just below your heart. Relaxing in this position calms your mind and prepares it to sleep. The more you do this technique the stronger this response will be and your body will recognize it as a signal to sleep. The particulars of how you are laying are not important. What is important is that it is always the same and that you do it regularly.

Many people just can’t relax once they have lain down. A popular technique called progressive relaxation is good for this problem. This is a process of relaxing all of the muscles in the body. Start at your feet and work your way up the body relaxing each muscle group. Many people find it helpful to tighten each group of muscles before relaxing them. This technique will help you release built up tension from your day and relax your mind.

If you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t fall back to sleep – just get up. Find a really boring book and an uncomfortable chair. After a few minutes of reading you will be amazed at how tired you are. Your body would much rather sleep that read Tolstoy on a bar stool at three AM.

Whatever you do, do not just lie in bed looking at the clock every few minutes watching the time tick away. Researchers have found that the tension and anxiety associated with this can keep a person awake. Turn your clock around so that you can not see the time. This is also helpful because it hides that LCD display that shows the time. This light although seemingly fairly dim has been shown to disturb sleep.

If none of these techniques are helpful you may want to try acupuncture. It is a very effective treatment for insomnia. Generally, people are back to a normal sleep schedule after a couple months of treatment and need only occasional treatments after that to maintain healthy sleep.

Chronic insomnia can affect every aspect of your life. I always emphasize the need to sleep well when talking to patients. It is amazing how much a good night’s sleep can affect all aspects of a person’s health. Try some of these techniques, find one you like and stick with it. With a better sleep routine you will be a healthier and happier person.