Question
Hello,
I hate to go into a wordy long drawn out description of my sleep problem and I hope I won't bore you to sleep. As a younger person I was able to sleep well, once and awhile I'd wake up early or a little trouble falling asleep, but only once & awhile. As I got older, I started having problems falling asleep, but then after a couple of nights would be better. Now, it's different,I fall asleep right away very seldom a problem..But I wake up after 4 to 5 hrs. sometimes less, It can be 3 in the morning that I wake up, sometimes I get to 4 or 5. Then every so often I sleep well, I'll go back to sleep and get a few hrs. Before.. this only happened a couple times a week, now it's almost nightly. I've heard that it's something I'm lacking in the brain, and that if I take certain things, (not sleeping pills) I build up this enzyme or whatever it is. Is this true? Can this be helpful? By 2 or so in the afternoon, I start to feel really tired, But I can't seem to nap, very seldom and then it's just a quick nap. I think the worst of it is, and I've heard this from other people, that you wake up you're tired and you can't sleep, a terrible thing to feel fatiqued and can't fall asleep we would like to hear what you're thoughts are, and if there is something we need to do other than sleeping pills. Some people sleep and sleep with no problem, they get up anywhere from 6 to 7 or later, whatever they have it's something I don't.And I would like to mention I walk on a treadmill almost daily. So I'm getting exercise.
thank you for your help.
Answer
You must go to bed and awaken the same time each day regardless of little or much
sleep you got the night before. This starts to reset your sleep clock
3 hours before bedtime stay away from
tea, coffee, caffeine, caramel colored soda like, coke,pepsi, ginger ale,
or root beer, chocolate and exercise .All these make for restless sleep.Do the following religiously for 4-6 weeks although some have seen changes in as little as 2 weeks.
Make sure room is quiet and dark. When you go to bed if you start to
twist and turn or if you wake up in the middle of the night and cant
go back to sleep, twist and turn for only 20 minutes, then get up, go
into a different room and read a book or magazine only! No computer!
When you start to doze immediately go back into the bedroom.This retrains
the brain into thinking that the bedroom is for restful sleep only. Do
this as many times as you awaken thru the night, it will lesson.
30 minutes before bedtime take a hot bath and immerse hands under the
water.Latest research states that the palms of the hand when immersed
in hot water send signals to the brain to relax. 15 minutes before bedtime\
drink a glass of warm milk. Milk when heated contains tryptophan, a
natural amino acid sleep inducer. Go to sleepnet.com click on disorders
insomnia for more tips. Feel free to email again , Karel
