Emmitsburg Osteopathic
Primary Care Center
Primary Care Center
Talk to you doctor about you medications, sometimes just changing the timing of the medications to an earlier time of the day can let you sleep better at night. ADD and ADHD medications, Wellbutrin, Effexor, beta-blockers, SSRI and MAOI antidepressants to mention a few, can keep a person awake. Zocor, a cholesterol medicine has been known to interfere with sleep. Sometimes the medication(s) will need to be changed.
Sometimes we self medicate. Lots of other non-prescription items keep us awake: Caffeinated beverages, alcohol, street drugs as heroin and cocaine (JUST SAY NO!).
If your thyroid function is too high or too low, insomnia could result. A simple test could find this out. Look also at how much water and real hydration you provide your body each day. Coffee, non-herbal tea, soda and beer are all diuretics and do not provide hydration. How do you know you are well hydrated? Check your tongue. If your tongue is glistening pink you are probably well hydrated. Check you urine. If your urine is a pale yellow, you are probably well hydrated.
How are you doing on your fruit and vegetable consumption? If these are very low profile in your diet and very little vitamins and minerals are slipping through to your dietary support, insomnia can be exacerbated. Junk food overdose will not just ruin your teeth and your cholesterol and coronary arteries, it can also keep you up at night.
Too many of us are vitamin D and Vitamin C deficient. All that arm and leg bruising and achiness might be a sign that your vitamin C is low. One of my patients let me know that when we gave him Vitamin D replacement his arthritis got much better. Having enough calcium and magnesium in our diet with calm our being and help with rest.
It is important to have a rhythm to life going to bed and getting up at the same time each day with hopefully at least 8 hours of rest logged in each night. The “nuns” have shown us the way on this. Amazingly, on their 8 hours and scheduled life they have built and run schools, hospitals and orphanages to log a few accomplishments. Many do not retire until well into their 80’s. We could learn from them.
Some of us just want a quick fix. There are a few, but most of them are DANGEROUS. One in eight to one in twenty will have a bad outcome on (eg delirium, sleepwalking, fractured hip after a fall, under the influence) on the new sleep aids as Zolpidem and the benzodiazepines. Benadryl is a bit safer an actually works in mild to moderate insomnia. Melatonin does seem to help in some instances and so far has been found to be very safe. There are other agents, not necessarily better agents as such, that your doctor may try when other options have failed. Alcohol is NOT a sleep aid.
To get some sleep or at least some rest:
Look at you in the mirror and learn to like yourself better, start the day with giving yourself permission to have a better day.
Give the day your best effort. Enjoy and do some physical work each day, even if you have a desk job.
Eat healthy!
Go for a walk or do SOME exercise for 30 minutes every day.
Forgive your world for being a mess and try to make it better.
Face off with your stressors and demons, name them and address them.
Let go of one grudge - really let go - each week.
Enjoy your friends and family. If you cannot, work toward improving your situation to where you can have some enjoyment.
Do not take alcohol or caffeine within four hours of bed time.
Do not have a TV in your bedroom. The positive ionization from this will keep you up.
Do not have your computer in your bedroom. The positive ionization from this will keep you up.
Keep your sleep area dark, light is the strongest waking stimulant there is, even stronger than loud noise.
Keep your room temperature between 65 and 68 degrees, the best for sleep.
Keep your sheets fresh and clean and have a sheet, at least, for covering, it gives a sense of security.
Find a mattress that you like and that likes you in feel, width and length.
If you sleep on a couch or cot - many homes I have visited have this arrangement, work toward a set up that gives more of a feeling of a real bed.
When your head hits the pillow, give yourself permission to have a wonderful night, or at least a good night’s rest, and trust that the “world can spin without you tonight.”
Some of you are caretakers, you often go without sleep. Try to get some time during the day for catch up sleep. Get others to volunteer to give you time off for rest and restoration. Find community help.