Insomnia doesn’t hit me all that often.\u00a0 Especially lately with a trend of maybe ever so slightly burning the candle at both ends.\u00a0 Long term projects at night + early morning workouts = bald guy doesn’t often have trouble sleeping.\u00a0 Often.\u00a0 Sometimes it hits.<\/p>\n
When it does, insomnia for me can manifest in a variety of different ways.\u00a0 For me, most often it’s a clip of music that runs on repeat for hours on end like a record skipping in a jukebox.\u00a0 Can’t seem to snap out of that cycle.\u00a0 Other times, stress about work will rear its ugly head and the thought spiral won’t stop without significant mental intervention.\u00a0 But again, this doesn’t hit me often.<\/p>\n
I have some close friends who encounter the insomnia beast with varying frequency.\u00a0 Sometimes often, sometimes rarely.\u00a0 Sometimes for days on end, sometimes one and done for a while.\u00a0 When those moments hit, my instinct is to offer sympathy and repeat the few things I’ve read or tried for insomnia mitigation.\u00a0 Except it finally occurred to me: I don’t know nearly enough about the causes of insomnia or even a fraction of the methods that can be deployed to try and stop it in its tracks. My effete knowledge on the subject is troubling.<\/p>\n
So guess what?\u00a0 BLOG TOPIC!\u00a0 I’m gonna learn some stuff.\u00a0 Then I’m going to write about it, and then post it for reading and later referencing.\u00a0 I personally want to be able to offer effective suggestions when friends of mine get hit with a bout of this nasty thing.<\/p>\n
The goal?\u00a0 Complete and total effacement of insomnia and all its minions and all its hosts.\u00a0 Obviously this is not always possible but it’s good to have a goal, right?<\/p>\n
In we dive!<\/p>\n
The causes of insomnia come in a variety of wide and varying triggers.\u00a0 It would be easy if there was any one thing that could be pointed to but because the keto-compatible fatty computer made out of meat in our skulls is completely different from person to person, that makes diagnosis and treatment more difficult.\u00a0 Having said that, I’m going to repeat as much as I can of what I’m reading this morning because that’s what I do!<\/p>\n
Some or none of these may end up applying to you, my dear reader, so please feel free to disregard anything that does not apply.\u00a0 For most, this is probably just informational.\u00a0 Maybe one or two of these will resonate and give some thought.<\/p>\n
This is kind of a gimme in a way, but it can be a multitude of things.\u00a0 While most of the time we think of stress in the context of things that worry us like work, finances, school, kids, specific traumatic events, there are other types that can contribute.\u00a0 Excitement, anticipation, some of the GOOD things can cause for this level of hype.\u00a0 Those hypes, good and bad, can have an impact on whether or not we’re able to get to sleep and stay there.\u00a0 This happens to me sometimes if I’m working later into the evening on a really exciting music project and then I get into bed and expect to fall asleep and …….. can’t.\u00a0 My brain is already tuned to music as it is and shutting that part down is difficult enough as it is.<\/p>\n
Now that things are reopening, it’s a good idea to address this one.\u00a0 Travel for work is becoming a thing again and traveling for work – and even varying work schedules themselves without travel involved – can throw things wonky.\u00a0 Jet lag is a killer and can throw the entire schedule off.\u00a0 When the schedule is thrown off, the brain body connection can’t quite figure out what’s happening or why and it decides to just plain revolt.\u00a0 Jet lag can take quite a while to recover from and many of these trips end up being short term, so once you get home, it’s whiplash time and our innards can’t figure out what our outards are all about.\u00a0 Sometimes that means NO SLEEP IN BROOKLYN.<\/p>\n
This one can be challenging.\u00a0 New and existing parents know what I’m talking about.\u00a0 Exhausted from night after night of inconsistent sleep, you feel like you could just drop where you stand except suddenly you find that you can’t sleep. How is that possible?\u00a0 You haven’t slept much for months and now that you have a few minutes of respite you can’t get to sleep.\u00a0 The inconsistency messes around with the brain and the body and it can’t figure out exactly what to do so, again, revolution.<\/p>\n
But this one leans more into the idea that we are sometimes really bad about both the sleep environment and activities we participate in prior to getting to sleep.\u00a0 Some folks have a bedroom (or bed!) that doubles as workspace or work in bed (yay laptops) prior to trying to go to sleep.\u00a0 The bed might be wildly uncomfortable. Outside of the sleep environment, stimulating activities like eating and viewing various illuminated devices (smart phones, Nintendo Switch, tablets, laptops, television, neon sign out the back window) can be effecters of challenging sleep capability.\u00a0 Waking the brain up immediately prior to putting the brain to sleep doesn’t always work well.<\/p>\n
Now to be fair (to be faaaaaaaaaaaaair), some individuals find that they are able to drop off to sleep by putting something on a screen or headphones or something that would be considered a bit drab and off they drift.\u00a0 There was a time when I would start watching audio mixing tutorials in bed prior to going to sleep and I was generally out in 5 minutes.\u00a0 Not because it wasn’t exciting – because I LOVE that stuff – but because somehow it was super soothing and relaxing and I’d eventually just drop.\u00a0 Your mileage will vary.<\/p>\n
This is a difficult one to mention because evening snacks while watching stuff on TV before going to bed is kinda fun.\u00a0 Light snacks might not be too awful, but diving into something the size of a meal (and then of course binge-watching something on a streaming service (see above)) is a double whammy on a variety of levels.\u00a0 The stimulation to the brain is already there, but then we add the component of digestion and energy levels.\u00a0 Too much can cause for a gorging event where acid reflux decides to come and visit and cause really uncomfortable burning sensations in the back of the throat and esophagus.\u00a0 Pain can cause wakefulness in an environment that would otherwise be more conducive to sleep.<\/p>\n
One component to add to the food side of things: beverages.\u00a0 Caffeine and Alcohol can dramatically impact sleep in detrimental ways.\u00a0 Caffeine for obvious reasons: amps you up and gets the brain on fire and keeps you awake.\u00a0 Alcohol is often referred to as a means of getting to sleep and it -does- work that way, however it can cause prevention in getting to deeper states of sleep and can ultimately cause you to be more wakeful in the night.\u00a0 Which is what we’re trying to avoid in the first place.<\/p>\n
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Some of the above things are choice based, some are environmental, and some are temporary (hopefully).\u00a0 I’m going to add a few more here where it might not be as easy to find a solution as, say, “Don’t eat anything after 8pm,” “Stay away from alcoholic beverages if you’re waking up in the middle of the night,” “Avoid children.”<\/p>\n
Anxiety can be a significant driver in the inability to get to or stay in a state of sleep.\u00a0 I’m not necessarily speaking about situational anxiety – although that can contribute significantly – but more along the lines of the clinical diagnosis.\u00a0 Anxiety possibly without a specific rationale behind it is what I am more referring to.\u00a0 The type that would need to be medically treated in order to counterbalance the effects. Depression is another thing that can cause for insomnia.\u00a0 It may not seem like it on the surface, but clinical depression can cause for awakening too early, inability to get to sleep, and challenges in staying asleep similar to the ways anxiety can.\u00a0 All of the above are conditions that require medical intervention outside of “eat right and sleep more.”<\/p>\n
Over the counter medications can have an impact on the ability to sleep.\u00a0 Migraine headache medication generally contains caffeine; as a result, the headache might finally go away allowing you to get some sleep but the caffeine might counter that ability.\u00a0 Anti-depressants, anti-anxiety, blood pressure, and asthma medications have the potential for also impacting the ability to sleep.\u00a0 As a personal aside, a medication that I was taking several years ago actually -caused- elevated levels of anxiety and my sleep was as poor as it got as a result.\u00a0 It was eventually discontinued. But that is something to take into consideration.<\/p>\n
Untreated (and sometimes even treated) acid reflux is a significant impediment to sleep.\u00a0 Because pain.\u00a0 Conditions that cause tremors can interrupt the sleep cycle.\u00a0 Chronic pain of all kinds can destroy any chance of sleep for weeks on end – sciatica and low back pain are common examples – and sometimes treatments are unavailable or ineffective.<\/p>\n
Sleep apnea awareness has brought about technological wonders for folks who have difficulty breathing while sleeping for a variety of reasons.\u00a0 The Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device is a lifesaver for both individuals who suffer from this condition and also their partners and households.\u00a0 There is also a condition called Restless Leg Syndrome where you just can’t stop your leg from moving and it keeps you from falling asleep.<\/p>\n
Yesterday afternoon, after a weekend with three kids birthday parties, I was a teensy bit on the sleepy side so I wanted to just lay down for a little bit.\u00a0 Never actually got to sleep – didn’t intend to really – but the few times I was about to doze off, you’d have that moment where your brain is starting to display images that aren’t wakeful things and next thing you know, you’re borderline dreaming about avoiding something moving at you and your arm and leg suddenly JERK with it.\u00a0 That may not be restless leg syndrome, but it was definitely something that kept me from falling asleep, whether I wanted to or not!<\/p>\n
It seems like a no brainer: not getting enough sleep is BAD.\u00a0 But let’s talk about a few of the things that can rear up when sleep deprivation is in effect.<\/p>\n
Job and school performance can suffer mightily.\u00a0 The brain isn’t going to be performing at peak capacity and problem solving \/ task oriented functions will be impaired.<\/p>\n
Lack of sleep can slow down reaction times.\u00a0 Again, a job or school detriment but also a significant health and safety risk behind the wheel of a car.\u00a0 Driving under the influence of substances and driving while completely sleep deprived share poor reflex response times.\u00a0 Driving while sleep deprived can also result in “falling asleep at the wheel” can causing terrifying injury to the self and others.<\/p>\n
Long term lack of sleep can lead to significant health concerns like heart disease and high blood pressure.\u00a0 Or at the very least, contribute to those tendencies.<\/p>\n
So this is probably the most important part of the writing here and definitely the one I’ve been looking forward to the most: how to prevent and fix when happening those things.\u00a0 It doesn’t happen to me often but having these in my back pocket will be nice.\u00a0 Being able to offer suggestions in conjunction with sympathy for those who are close to me may hopefully provide some degree of relief outside of the usual and customary “I’m so sorry <insert sad emoji here>”<\/p>\n
Preventive Stuff:<\/p>\n