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Insomnia Tips

Health Products | Health | Insomnia Tips

Insomnia Help by Jane Thurnell-Read

Our recent sleep survey produced some interesting results. We surveyed 781 people (face-to-face, by phone and by email), 368 of them were men and 413 were women.

Men sleep better than women: 21% of men surveyed say they never have problems sleeping, against 12% of women. 31% of women said they always or often had problems sleeping, as against 17% of men. We didn’t look into the reason for this as part of this survey, but one man said:

“I can't really believe that us blokes are more active
in the day, maybe we're just giving the women too much to worry about.”

As well as gender differences there were also age differences. In general people in their 50’s have the most problem sleeping. 27% of women in their 50’s complained of health problems, mainly associated with the menopause, leading to a poor night’s sleep. People who are 70 and over are some of the best and some of the worst sleepers. 20% report never having any problem sleeping – this is only beaten by people in their 30’s (22%). But people in their 70’s also sleep the worst of all the groups – 32% always or often have problems sleeping.

The reasons people give for their inability to sleep does vary between the sexes: women are more likely to get up to go to the toilet in the night than men (32% as against 25%), and are more likely to be disturbed by anxiety and repetitive thoughts (44% as against 35%). Just over a third of men and women gave difficulty in switching off from the day as a reason for a restless night.

A third of respondents found difficulty both getting to sleep and staying asleep, although this wasn’t necessarily every night. Once again there were gender differences with men finding it more difficult to get to sleep, and women finding more problems staying asleep.

Strange as it may seem sleeping does not reduce our calorie intake that much, so it seems unlikely that we sleep to conserve energy. So why do we sleep? No one knows for certain, but many scientists believe that the brain appears to restructure information from the previous day during sleep. The old adage about the benefits of 'sleeping on a problem' may well be true. This may be part of the reason why babies sleep so much - they have so much new information to process. Sleep may be more important for the correct functioning of the brain than for any other part of the body.

Getting a good night's sleep helps us to be happier, more productive people, so here's some tips to help you get a good night's sleep:

1. Avoid drinking tea or coffee late at night

2. Stop smoking – nicotine is a stimulant and so can make it difficult to get to sleep and stay asleep

3. Go to bed at the same time each night so that you set a routine

4. Only use the bed for sleeping and sex

5. Use dimmers on your light switches, and dim the lights in the hours before you go to bed to mimic the change from daylight to night time

6. Avoid taking exercise in the evening – exercise early in the day to promote restful sleep

7. If you can’t get to sleep after a while, get up keeping the lights low and do something boring until you feel sleepy

8. Alcohol may help you get to sleep, but you are more likely to wake during the night feeling thirsty and needing to go to the toilet

9. Get your allergies checked out, particularly if you wake craving particular food in the middle of the night

10. Avoid paying bills and similar jobs just before sleep

11. Try relaxed breathing: breathe slowly and deeply concentrating on your abdomen rather than your chest

12. Try a herbal tea - chamomile, passion flower, lavender flowers or valerian are good, or take a herbal supplement such as scullcap or valerian

13. Put the essential oils lavender and clary sage on your pillow and inhale their soothing vapours as you sleep

14. Try some flower remedies - there are lots of different types. In the Bach flower remedies you might like to try ‘vervain’ if you find it difficult to switch off from the day; ‘holly’ and 'willow' if anger and resentment keep you awake; ‘white chestnut’ for persistent unwanted thoughts; ‘aspen’ if you wake because of nightmares, and 'rock rose' for night terrors

15. Try using affirmations, such as: “I let go of the day, and enjoy restful, peaceful sleep” repeated several times while you prepare for sleep

16. Try holding your frontal eminences if you are awake because of stress

17. Try taking supplements – magnesium and calcium can work well

18. If you suffer with hot flushes/flashes, try some natural support for your endocrine system at this time. I recommend wild yam cream

19. Many alternative and complementary therapists have success with people with sleep problems. Find a therapist here or try a self-hypnosis CD.

20. Sleep problems can be a sign of an underlying medical condition (e.g. thyroid problems or depression), so get this checked out with a suitably qualified health professional.

Copyright Jane Thurnell-Read | Natural Sleep Solutions