By Anthony Izzo, DO
Neurology Sleep Medicine
St. Vincent Medical Group
Region – The average American spends 26 years over the course of their life asleep. For most of history, sleep was felt to be a simple state of inactivity, but advances in the field of sleep medicine over the past 10-20 years has revealed that sleep is actually a very active state for the brain. It is vital for learning, attention, memory, wound healing, immunity, cardiovascular health and overall well-being. So, how do we make sure that we’re getting the most out of our eight hours? The following tips are proven to help improve sleep and are endorsed by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine:
- Try to stick to a routine – the average person needs roughly 7-8 hours of sleep. Keeping consistent bedtimes and wake times will help make falling asleep each night easier. Daytime naps can often ruin nighttime sleep. Think of naps as “sleep snacks” eaten before a big “sleep meal:” if you snack on sleep during the day, you won’t be “hungry” for sleep at night time.
- Avoid sleep disruptors before bedtime. Caffeine promotes wakefulness, even hours after consumption, and should be avoided even in the early evenings. Alcohol may make falling asleep easier, but promotes wakefulness during the late hours of the night and can significantly disrupt sleep. Nicotine also promotes wakefulness and should be avoided before bedtime. Eating before bed can cause GERD symptoms that may also disrupt sleep, and drinking fluids before bed can create the need for unnecessary visits to the bathroom.
- Exercise during the day helps promote sleep at night! We’re all aware that a hard day’s work helps us to sleep well at night, but even light cardiovascular exercise builds up natural substances in the body that promote sleep. Avoid exercise right before bedtime, though, as this may stimulate the brain and make it more difficult to fall asleep.
- Your sleep environment should be kept dark, quiet and cool. Sources of light, including televisions and smartphones, can “trick” the sleep centers in the brain to think that it’s actually daytime. These should be avoided for at least one hour before bedtime. Try to avoid doing anything in bed other than sleep and sex – otherwise, the brain starts to associate being in bed with other tasks and this can make it hard for the brain to enter sleep mode.
- Some medications may impair sleep. Consider reviewing your medication list with your primary care physician at yearly visits and getting rid of medications that may no longer be necessary.
If you find yourself very sleepy despite getting adequate hours of sleep at night, or if you simply cannot fall asleep at night despite working on lifestyle changes described above, you may have a sleep disorder that requires treatment by your primary care physician or a sleep specialist. Some sleep disorders are common, like obstructive sleep apnea or insomnia, and some are rare like narcolepsy, but mostly all sleep disorders are very treatable with and without prescription medications.
To learn more about sleep disorders, visit www.sleepeducation.com