MEDICAL SURFARI: ELIMINATE SLEEP DEBT BY FINDING PROBLEM

If you tried watching late night TV and commercials, counting sheep, pacing the floor and drinking more warm milk than what you can really stomach and nothing helps you to get to sleep, you may have insomnia -- or trouble sleeping.

Insomnia comes in many forms. Some people have difficulty falling asleep whereas others wake up during the night and are not able to fall back asleep, or they may wake up earlier in the morning than they wish to. Insomnia is not a disease but it may be a warning sign that something is awry. Stress at home or at work, too much caffeine, use of alcohol and/or tobacco, changes in work shifts, depression and pain or other medical problems may trigger insomnia. Occasionally it can also be a warning sign of serious health problems. Insomnia can leave you with a "sleep debt" that may leave you feeling tired, depressed, cranky or anxious and this may effectively reduce your productivity.

Individual sleep requirements vary considerable and these may change as each of us age. Our sleep patterns can be nearly as individual as fingerprints and while some people cannot function on less than 10 hours of sleep per night, others may do well with six hours or less.

Physically, adequate sleep seems to be important to maintain a healthy, functioning body and mind. Insufficient sleep may make you feel more stressful or cause you to be less productive. It also may impair your ability to perform tasks that involve memory, learning, logical reasoning and mathematical calculation. It reportedly is the blame for at least 100,000 people-reported crashes in the United States annually.

It is not just enough to hope that you will sleep better tonight ... take some active steps to encourage a restful sleep.

-- Avoid caffeine, decongestants, alcohol and tobacco as much as possible.

-- Exercise regularly.

-- Set aside time during the day to study your problems and possible solutions.

-- Don't nap during the day if you can't sleep at night.

-- Go to bed and wake up about the same time each day. Think of it as re-training your body in the habit of sleeping. By establishing a relaxing bedtime routine you will help yourself unwind and send a "signal" to your brain that it is time to sleep. It is very important to maintain this routine as regularly as possible, even on weekends. Consequently, follow the same routine each night in preparing for bed.

-- Use your bedroom only for sleep. Don't work, eat or talk on the phone in bed.

-- If you can't sleep after about 30 minutes, don't stay in bed tossing and turning. Get up and involve yourself in a relaxing activity such as listening to soothing music or reading until you feel sleepy. Then go back to bed and repeat the process as necessary.

Usually, insomnia will go away when the source of the problem is identified and treated. If not, it may be necessary to seek a professional counselor to deal with emotional stress or in cases where a solution to your problems can't be easily found, a local sleep disorder clinic may be able to identify your cause of insomnia.

Sweet dreams!

World wide web resources

American Sleep Disorders Association

http://www.asda.org/

The American Sleep Disorders Association's web site provides information to both medical professionals and the public relating to sleep disorders and their diagnosis and treatment.

The National Sleep Foudnation

http://www.sleepfoundation.org/about.html

The national Sleep Foundation is a nonprofit organization that promots public understanding of sleep and sleep disorders and sleep-related education and research.

Insomnia

http://housecall.orbisnews.com/sponsors/aafp/topics/sleep_disord/insomnia/page0.html

This web page is part of a series of informative topics provided by the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Dr. Scott Gibbs is a neurosurgeon and editor-in-chief of Mosby's Medical Surfari. You may e-mail questions to him at drgibbs@semissourian.com or write in care of the Southeast Missourian, P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63701.