Are you getting enough sleep?

Did you know almost 48% of the general population suffer from some type of sleep disorder?

When I was very little I had night terrors. I would wake up screaming in the middle of the night and then task my half asleep father with killing all the imaginary spiders. I never remembered any of it. I lived through hearing about the stories about the funny things I did in the middle of the night, but never remembered that dream. That was until I moved into a new place with some of my friends when I was 25 years old. I woke up with one of my roommates shaking me awake in my bed from my blood curdling screams.

I also knew from the stories I was a sleep walker often mistaking the laundry chute for a toilet. I knew myself I often slept walked in places, waking up after tripping on the floor or hugging the boots in the boot tray.

My life long little sleep quirk was a much bigger deal than I thought...

When I was a teenager and a camp counsellor it was pointed out to me by my campers that I talked in my sleep always catching them after curfew but seemingly not to remember the conversations I had with them and others the following morning. It was my quirk, I thought. Never thinking it was a problem or issue.

A number of years back I started a meditation program and one day about 2 weeks into the program my husband winced. After lots of prodding and puling I found out that I was yelling at him during the night and he thought at any second we were getting a divorce. The quirk is back and although he originally made fun of me when I used to mumble, this was pretty serious and I stopped the meditation program and started doing research.

Night terrors, sleep talking (or yelling in my case), and sleep walking occurs during deep sleep, not during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep when typical dreams occur. The night terrors tend to have no story line. Mine were ginormous spiders landing with their feet around my head and bodies that were enormous. Dreams that occur during REM sleep have a story-line. What I didn't know is this type of sleep disturbance usually caused by anxiety in our waking life through childhood and adulthood but usually for it to just be stress it needs to be sporadic. I had it consistently which means my little quirk was a sign of PTSD or CPTSD as people are now calling it.

So here are the rules on trying to get the best sleep possible:

• 1.) Wake up at the same time every morning. It is easier to set an alarm to figure this out before you go to the next sleep rule. When you are waking up the same time every day - within the same half an hour - your body will naturally will start getting tired at the same time and you will be able to more easily do the next instruction. If you are off by half an hour on waking you push your body into 24 hours of Jet-lag. Jet-lag over a period of time turns into the low lying depression Seasonal Affectiveness Disorder.
• 2.) Go to sleep at the same time every day.
• 3.) Avoid using tranquilizers or other hypnotics. If you are already using this type of medication you need to gradually wean yourself off of this. Using Omega-3s in the morning will make this weaning process go easier.
• 4.) Avoid using your bed for activities that are not conducive to sleep (e.g., eating, watching tv, reading, working). Do not remain in bed unnecessarily if you are unable to sleep. Condition yourself to go to bed when you feel tired. If you don't fall asleep within 15-30 minutes of being in bed get up and come back to bed when you are tired.
• 5.) Avoid daytime naps. If you can't avoid daytime naps, make sure you don't nap longer than 55 minutes and stop napping at least 5 hours before your bedtime.
• 6.) Don't have alcoholic beverages before bedtime because they affect your deep sleep cycles. Same with Pot/Marijuana. Although these items may help you get to sleep initially they don't help you with staying asleep or having the depth of sleep required for a good sleep.
• 7.) Avoid caffeinated beverages (e.g., coffee, tea, cola, beverages, and/or excessive chocolate). Caffeinated beverages may produce effects beyond what is needed to keep you awake during the day.
• 8.) Makes sure the environment you sleep in is as quiet as possible.
• 9.) Establish a daily or regular exercise routine that is carried out in the afternoon or early evening and is appropriate for you. People are more prone to insomnia if the do not participate in vigorous exercise 3-4 times a week at least 3-5 hours before bed. Part of being able to fall asleep requires a before bed regiment including things like stretches, yoga or a bath as well as "quiet time."
• 10.) If you snack at bedtime you might want to stock up on a malt cereal-milk beverage, bar or snack. Late heavy meals can have a negative effect on sleep patterns but a small amount of food can be positive such as eggs, tofu, poultry and milk and sweet starchy foods high in natural carbohydrates such as bread, bananas and figs.
• 11.) You might find relaxation techniques useful (meditation or biofeedback training).
• 12.) Psychotherapy is recommended to assist in resolving emotional problems, reducing conflicts and stress.
• 13.) 1 to 5g of L-tryptophan taken orally at bedtime. Chamomile, Valerian root or Periwinkle tea can also help you relax before going to bed.Taking vitamins B, C, Calcium, Magnesium and Potassium during the day can aid in sleep.
• 14.) Having a distracting repetitive internal dialogue like counting sheep can help or listening to slow repetitive music or repetitive sound like a white noise machine. Johann Sebastian Bach composed Goldberg Variations to help Count Kaiserling's Insomnia.
• 15.) A nose bandage helps ease breathing when sleeping. Many times the tongue falls back in the mouth impairing breathing.
• 16.) Having a dark environment helps you sleep because your skin is photosensitive. If you don't sleep in a dark space you may not be able to turn of all parts of your body to sleep.
• 17.) When you wake up in the morning make sure you spend 5-10 minutes outside to reset your body clock. Exposure to outside radiation rain, shine or snow helps in this regard to have your body understand what it's waking hours are versus it's non waking hours.
• 18.) Make sure you eat your meals at the same time because disruptions in meals or snack times can also alter your circadian-circannual rhythms (your body clock) causing serious complications.
• 19.) Make the space that you sleep feel safe to you. If your sleep space is uncomfortable or scary it could cause undue anxiety discouraging proper deep sleep.
• 20.) Check the table below for the number of hours you are sleeping. Too many hours sleep could trigger depression in your brain and too few hours could trigger anxiety or even epilepsy.

*Based on the National Sleep Foundation 2017