One of the articles in the paper today was on the impact that 'blue light', or the light emitted from our smart phones, tablet screens and gadgets, is having on our sleeping. While it has been known for a while that lights and other types of electronic media can exacerbate sleep disorders, recognized again by the American Medical Association in June, recent attention has been given to the 'blue light' phenomenon.
In the article published in the July 15, 2012 edition of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Monica Eng, of the Chicago Tribune writes, "Any light at night can be disruptive, researches say, but in recent years studies have zeroed in on the particularly potent "blue light" emitted abundantly from the energy-efficient screens of smartphones and computers as well as many energy-saving fluorescent bulbs. Because blue light is especially prominent in the daylight, our bodies associate it with daytime, which may be why exposure to blue light can make us more alert and improve our response times. It also has been shown to suppress melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate sleep and is not produced during the day."
It is hard to disconnect at the end of the day and I myself have been in bed on more than one occasion, iPad in hand, reading a book or checking for the latest facebook updates. The result is a little more tossing and turning before finally reaching the point where I drift off. Overall, it seems that most of us are spending more time with our heads on the pillow without actually sleeping. So as I washing dishes this morning, pondering the article I had just read, it occurred to me that we are really are trying to "catch" zzz's.
Being able to fall asleep soundly has little to do with the moment you get into bed, and a lot to do with your actions and behaviors during the day leading up to bedtime. Admittedly, I've never been a great sleeper, but over the last few years, that has changed quite a bit. I started to identify and acknowledge the disruptions that were keeping me awake and focused on changing the patterns associated with each one until the night's rest was effortless. If you're having troubles falling asleep or staying asleep here are a few things to try.
Keep your bedtime routine consistent. Our bodies have all sorts of internal clocks and schedules and providing consistency in terms of bed time and other daily habits can aid in our ability to turn in at night. Try and wake up at the same time each day and go to bed at the same time each night.
Love your bedroom and keep it comfortable and cool. Some people can fall asleep anywhere (my husband included in this bunch). And some are more like the Princess and the Pea. I fall into the latter category. I am a believer that rooms in our home should be maintained as the type of room that they are designated. Your kitchen is for cooking and eating, you living room is for relaxing and visiting, and your bedroom should be for sleeping and well...you know ;-) Having a bedroom that is cluttered or doubles as a craft room/exercise room/computer room/office does not make it conducive to sleeping. In fact, it can do the opposite. Seeing visual reminders of stimulating activities can cause your thoughts to turn into a to-do list instead of promoting relaxation. Likewise, if your bedroom is full of untended to laundry and piles of other things, you may be reminded of what didn't get done causing anxiety and another list of things to do. Aside from keeping the room clutter free and clean make sure that your bed suites you. Bedding should be weather appropriate for the temperature, your room should be dark when going to sleep, and the temperature should be cool to promote better sleep.
Avoid eating and exercising within a few hours before bedtime. Exercising before bed can increase heart rate and body temperature, not to mention release endorphins and adrenaline that while at other times may leave you feeling great, but pre-bed can leave you feeling restless. Some people swear by a nighttime workout, but I have found that it doesn't work for me if its within two hours of my bedtime. As far as the eating goes, it's best to avoid meals or desserts that are high in fats and sugars and to avoid beverages that contain sugars or caffeine. These beverages or types of food can also increase heart rate and body temperature leaving you laying in bed waiting for the effects to wear off.
Organize your thoughts. A lot of the time what keeps you awake at night are your thoughts. It can be a recap of the day or an endless barrage of ideas and notions that just doesn't seem to stop. When you find this happening, tune into what you're hearing in and give it some attention. There are times when it is warranted to get back out of bed and grab a piece of paper and a pen and put some of these things down on paper. When you're in bed, your body is idle giving your brain time to take over. You don't often find yourself where the only demand being made of you is to fall asleep. If you find that the thoughts that you are having are consistent, then I would suggest looking at these as being areas for you that are out of balance. During your awake hours, you can then spend some time devoted to better managing these areas alleviating some of the evening hour concerns.
Have a routine. If you have kids, or recall being a kid, you know that bedtime had a routine. Parents sound the alarm, "Okay, it's time for bed!" and then a whole host of activities start around the preparation for bed. In my house, the alarm is preceded by "bedtime snack" and "bedtime movie", followed by "bedtime hug and kiss." In between, there's pajama time and time to brush your teeth. In the adult world, yeah...not so much. Maybe adult bedtime looks more like this...bedtime starts around 9:30 PM where eyes start to take a little longer to open in between "watching" whatever happens to be on TV. This is preceded by a little internet perusing. When subject realizes that they are starting to fall asleep but doesn't want to go to bed yet, it must be time for a snack. Mmmm...ice cream. Subject returns to the couch with a bowl of ice cream and some soda (pop - for my Midwestern readers) and decides to now peruse the internet while watching TV and eating ice cream. Around 10:30 PM, the laptop is closed and so are the eyes. With a stomach full of fat and sugar, the subject has dozed off on the couch with the light and TV on. Subject rouses around 1 AM, ambles upstairs to bed, and then lays there for while because #1 they are full of sugar and caffeine and #2 they are thinking about the sticky bowl they forgot to bring upstairs and the light they left on in the haze when waking up. Subject gets back out of bed, turns off the light, puts the bowl in the sink full of dishes and climbs back into bed. Now they are laying there thinking about the sink full of dirty dishes and the fact that the sink is full because the dishwasher didn't get fixed this weekend like it was supposed to. Now the subject starts thinking about what they are going to need to fix the dishwasher and the trip to the store that will be necessary to get the parts. While they are at the store, they might as well pick up a few of things that were on sale this week like deck stain and laundry detergent. They wonder about what color they are going to stain the deck this year and then realize that they don't know what type of finish to buy so the grab the iPad next to their bed to look it up....and so on and so forth. It's now 3AM.
Yes, yes, I got a little carried away there, but you've been there, right? So the routine...designate your wind-down time (TV, books, knitting, internet browsing) and complete it by that time, wear pajamas or other clothing that suggest bedtime, wash your face, brush your teeth, turn down your bed, and try to do these things around the same time every night. I know it can sound a little silly, but our bodies really do better when they know what to expect. Do I do this each and every night? No. Do interruptions and spontaneity happen? Yes, of course. But does it help...yes.
Here's to a better sleep!
