Restoring Sleep Although sleep medicines are helpful for the short-term, they can sometimes become addictive if used too long. Fortunately, there is a natural method to restore sleep. The first step is to avoid things which keep you up at night: 1. Avoid using the bed for anything except sleep and intimacy. When in bed at night, do not read or watch TV or do anything that your mind would associate with being awake. 2. Avoid bright lights and noise/activity in the evening, but use light in the morning. 3. Avoid exercise at night, but do exercise in the afternoon (this can help restore sleep). 4. Avoid caffeine (chocolate has lots of caffeine), nicotine, sodas, and alcohol, especially at night. Although alcohol can make you fall asleep, it disturbs sleep-waves so that your sleep is not restorative. Also, continued use can cause insomnia. The next step is to reset your sleep cycle: 1. Wake up (and get out of bed) at the same time every morning. This is more important than going to sleep at the same time. A bright light connected to a timer can help in waking up. 2. Avoid daytime naps. The final step is to train your body to be asleep while in bed. Unfortunately, insomnia can cause you to lay awake in bed worrying about falling asleep. While you lay there, your body is learning to be awake in bed! These steps are designed to break that cycle: Get in the bed when you are tired (not at a set time). If you are unable to fall asleep after 20-30 minutes (but don’t watch the clock), get out of bed and sit in the dark, doing nothing, until bored and tired. You might try relaxation exercises. Once you are tired, return to bed. Continue these instructions until you fall asleep, then wake up at the same time each day. What if that means you only sleep 1 hour? That can be good, because if you avoid daytime naps, your sleepiness will catch up so that you’ll be more likely to fall asleep the next evening. One final word of advice: it is common for people with insomnia to worry about falling asleep. Fear and worry actually keep you awake by activating your “fight or flight” response (which involves adrenaline and the sympathetic nervous system). One way to conquer these fears is through cognitive-behavioral therapy. Talk to your doctor or therapist about this if such worries are keeping you from sleeping at night. This method takes about 4-8 weeks to fully work. More help… http://www.study.shuti.net This is an internet-based treatment program for insomnia. It appears though that you can only use it by signing up for a research-study when they are conducting them. Updated 8/5/11 by Chris Aiken, MD

Edouard Vuillard, Woman In Bed, National Gallery of Art