Sleep is Sweet
Sleep is sweet, when you can get it. When you can’t…. Well, that’s a whole different story.
Most people will have periodic bouts of insomnia. Stress from work, family issues and health concerns—not to mention Covid-19 anxiety—are just a few of the reasons these days. Advancing age is another. Having to wake up to go to the bathroom several times a night is yet another nagging cause. But, what to do about having trouble sleeping? Let’s unpack this issue together with advice from the pros and from friends. These collective tips will help you get the shut eye you need and deserve for a healthy life.
Before we start, let’s put one misconception about sleep requirements to bed. Contrary to opinion, older adults require about the same amount of sleep as when they were in their 20s. Although the number of hours per night varies from person to person, normally seven to eight hours is what doctors recommend.
With that settled, here’s how my friends avoid tossing and turning at night.
Deborah Mintcheff, cookbook editor and calligrapher extraordinaire, periodically has to deal with disrupted sleep. “Normally, if I wake up in the middle of the night, I’ll turn on MSMBC or Sharp Tank and watch an hour of television. Or I’ll get up and practice a new calligraphy technique for thirty minutes. Whatever technique I use, as soon as I start yawning, I know I can fall back asleep.”
Years ago, Deborah taught me another method to address my fragmented sleep pattern. I explained to her that falling sleep was easy. But after several hours I would wake up with my mind racing. She explained the best way to get rid of all those whirling thoughts was to visualize a blank, grey, cement wall. Easy enough, right? The next night when I woke up at 2:00 AM, I gave it a try. Lying in bed, I conjured up that blank wall of nothingness. The grey slab eventually morphed into the then Breuer museum building (now Frick Madison). This is the structure New Yorkers affectionately refer to as the cement bunker.
But focusing merely on a cement wall was impossible.. Through free association, my fertile mind leaped towards the thing I liked best at the museum: Alexander Calder’s joyful miniature circus housed on the building’s lower level. Suddenly the various parts of the artist’s wire ensemble paraded through my head. As described by the NYTimes, the “ingenious, almost fatally cute” figures emerged one by one: the animal tamer; the lion in the cage; the sword swallower; and the scantily dressed female acrobat. Then I envisioned Calder’s video where playing the role of circus ringmaster, he manually animates the various figures via levers, pullies and tiny ropes. By this time, I was wide awake albeit with a smile on my face. But again, sleep had evaded me. What to do?
Joan Ross, retired CPA, laughed out loud, when I asked “What do you do when you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t go back to sleep?” Still chuckling she replied. “Well, you’ve come to the ultimate insomniac. I have never slept well. My fallback trick is to listen to an audiobook. It can’t be a mystery as the suspense will keep me up all night. Currently, I am reading a book called Sapiens which is the history of mankind. It is written by Yuval Harari and read by D. Perkins who has a calming, soothing voice. I love the book and plan to listen to it again as I frequently doze off and certainly have missed some interesting parts.”
Another thing Joan recommends is listening to Bedtime Beats, a compilation of works by classical composers such as Bach, Debussy, and Tchaikovsky. Bedtime Beats promotes itself as having “the secret to sleep.” While I’ve yet to use it, it is definitely on my radar as it includes my favorite piece of music by Gabriel Fauré, “In Paradisium” from his Requiem OP 48.
And then, Joan added “As a fallback, there’s always Ambien.”
Wine writer Marguerite Thomas has an amusing technique: “Instead of counting sheep, I recite letters of the alphabet using the first letter to alternate with names of boys, then girls. For example, Arnold, Bridgette, Carl, Daphne, Earnest, Fiona. You’d be surprised how quickly it goes.” Marguerite was right. The following evening when I woke up bug-eyed at 1:30 AM, I zipped through the alphabet to Zelma and then started my second round only to fall asleep by Gertrude.
Veteran writer and founding editor of People.com, Stephen M. Silverman, takes a literary approach to resolving the insomniac dilemma. “I’ll read several pages of the latest New Yorker. The black-and-white text, the Caslon pro font, and the intricate topic and sentence structures force concentration and block out any distractions dancing in my head. That usually works. At all costs, I avoid the iPad that sits seductively next to my bed.”
Another friend, marketing executive, Natasha Kavanagh likes the Slumber app with sleep inducing bedtime stories. “And instead of Ambien, I prefer CBD. After trying different brands and strengths, a friend recommended Hi Point 1,000mg full spectrum CBD. It works very successfully on those nights I have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. I buy it directly from their website.”
Adding to practical solutions friends use to overcome their sleepless nights, the experts have a number of other “do’s and don’t” tips to offer. Most of their recommendations revolve around keeping your circadian rhythm in balance. This is your natural time-keeping clock which aligns itself with the sunrise and sunset. If affects your brain, your body, and its ability to produce hormones which tell your body when to stay awake and when to go to bed.
Here is a compilation culled from the Mayo Clinic and healthline.com:
1. Stick to a schedule: Even on the weekends, try not to vary the time when you go to bed. Eight hours of sleep is optimal. If possible, try to wake up naturally at a similar time each morning.
2. Include regular exercise in your daily routine: Exercise helps shorten the amount of time needed to fall asleep as well as increases total sleep time. However, avoid performing any exercise before bed as it increases hormone production—such as for adrenaline and epinephrine—which increases alertness, the opposite effect you want before heading to bed.
3. Pay attention to what you eat and drink before bed: Nicotine, alcohol, and caffeine consumption late in the day wreaks havoc with your sleep pattern. Also avoid heavy meals within several hours before bedtime as your discomfort with a full stomach will keep you awake.
4. Avoid long daytime naps: While short power naps—not longer than 30 minutes—can be rejuvenating, avoid taking them late in the day.
5. Get at least two hours of bright light exposure per day: If this is not possible, consider an artificial bright light.
6. Reduce blue light exposure in the evening: Television and electronic devices are the worst culprits and should be avoided. They trick your brain into thinking it is daytime and reduces your ability to naturally produce melatonin which helps with relaxation and deep sleep.
7. In lieu of sleeping pills, consider melatonin supplements: Take 1-5 mg around 30-60 minutes before going to bed. Melatonin is also helpful when traveling and you need to adjust to a different time zone. Its use speeds the return of your circadian rhythm to its normal position.
8. Enhance your bedroom environment: Minimize noise, light, and artificial lights such as from alarm clocks. Make your space as quiet, relaxing, and comfortable as possible. Be sure your room is cool, too. Around 70 ⁰ F is recommended.
9. Relax your brain: Read a book, listen to soft music, meditate, or take a hot shower or bath before bed. Even a warm footbath works. Another technique is do deep breathing exercises which slow down your heart rate and makes you feel calmer. Five inhale-exhale cycles will do the trick.
10. Make sure your bed is comfortable: This means getting high quality sheets, pillows which comply to your style of sleeping, and most importantly, a good mattress. Experts recommend getting a new mattress every 5-8 years.
Dr. Michael Grandner, director of the Sleep and Health Research Program at the University of Arizona (who also advises the Casper mattress company, don’t you know!) sums it up perfectly. “The most important thing for a good night’s sleep is to make sure that you set yourself up for success. That means removing barriers to sleep like caffeine, reducing distractions close to bedtime, giving yourself enough time to wind down and keeping your bedroom cool, quiet, dark and comfortable.”
Over the years, I’ve picked up a few other tricks which include wearing a silk face mask to block out all light. I also spritz my pillows with either a lavender essence or when I feel like treating myself, I pick up a bottle of Frederic Malle’s Dans mon lit linen spray. Described as smelling of ”a bed of rose petals and magnetic musks (not sure what that means), its use is promoted “for nights both peaceful and passionate.” But weren’t you not supposed to exercise right before bed?
Whatever remedy you use, it is critical is to check with your physician if you have any serious sleep disorders such as sleep apnea. Let the pros guide you as you may have a serious underlying health issue which needs expert medical care.
At the end of the day, we all crave a good night’s rest. While we may not be able to control the avalanche of factors which disrupt our sleep patterns, now we have a mini arsenal of tools to encourage Mr. Sandman to bring us a dream, maybe even one of a playful circus with jolly red-nosed clowns, rotund elephants and high-flying trapeze artists.