If you find that you have a difficult time falling asleep each night or quickly awaken throughout the night for various reasons, you are in the majority, at least from my observation. It isn’t unusual to awaken because of the dog jumping on the bed in the middle of the night or your bladder telling you to wake up, but are you then up for an hour, or do you quickly fall back asleep? And how many times a night is your bladder waking you up? Do you tend to wake up with the slightest of movements by the person lying next to you? Many people describe that familiar feeling of the mind just being on while lying in bed, not ready to let go of thinking. After two hours, you may still be uncontrollably planning out the next day’s workload. Some are awoken multiple times with hot flashes and sweating, being overheated and uncomfortable. You may envy the way your young child or the dog has such an easy time falling and staying asleep.
How Do You Feel During the Day?
One thing to consider is that it’s not necessarily the number of hours you sleep that’s most important, but rather how you feel and operate during the day. Do you feel a sense of heaviness in your body or the sleepiness of your mind? Are you enjoying the ritual and taste of a cup of coffee in the morning or are you drinking it throughout the day to keep you focused and effective? There are a certain number of hours of sleep advised depending on your age, but I see that we are each unique and may require fewer or more hours than the average. So pay attention to how you feel during the day to learn more about your specific body’s sleep needs. Five hours of sleep may seemingly be enough to replenish you for functioning the next day.
Again, though there are public health standards, we individuals may vary slightly from the average. Some people can have caffeine after their dinner at 7 pm and not have any trouble while others really shouldn’t be drinking coffee or coca-cola after lunch. How the body processes caffeine can actually vary amongst us. This is similar to alcohol, which may make you drowsy but for some may cause restlessness after a few hours of sleep. Drinking alcohol after 6 pm may be affecting your sleep pattern. Some of us who vigorously exercise in the afternoon or evening, because that’s when we find the time to do so, may cause our bodies to be too over-activated to settle into sleep. You should then consider toning down the intensity of your activity if you can only exercise at that hour.
Other Helpful Tips for Healthy Sleep
You may find better sleep by having less clutter in your bedroom and only occupying it for sleep. Get rid of anything unnecessary or move it to a different space. Many of us have become attached to our electronic devices. Having a curfew for them up to three hours before going to bed may be necessary for your body to calm down to sleep. We are sensitive in different ways; it may be the amount of light or sound or degree of air temperature or electronic stimulation. Pay attention to your habits if sleep is a struggle. It’s worth investigating where your body may be sensitive, as your quality of sleep affects your body’s overall health.
Part of such sleep sensitivity may be related to the nervous system and your hormonal output. As an acupuncturist, I’ve observed how the nervous system and hormonal balance can be affected by stimulating certain points in the body. We speak in terms of yin and yang in Chinese Medicine, which you can simply think of as calming and activating. If there is not enough calming aspect of the body’s system during the nighttime, we tend to have a hard time falling asleep or awakening easily without readily falling back asleep. The answers to some of the questions above would guide our Chinese medical diagnosis. Acupuncture and certain herbs can help balance the body and calm the mind in order to successfully sleep and have effective energy throughout the day. Massage, yoga, and meditation have also been shown to have similar effects.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared insufficient sleep an epidemic in the US. If you’re one of the many struggling with sleep, consider the few thoughts here and feel free to reach out for the Chinese medical approach.