Denton County Living Well Magazine Summer 2015 | Page 28

A Good Night’s Sleep is
Closer than You Think
Courtesy The Cooper Institute®

A

djusting
to
time
changes—due
to
the twice-a-year time
change or traveling
to a different time
zone—can wreak havoc on our
sleep schedule. But for many of us,
getting a healthy amount of sleep on
a “normal” night can be a struggle.
Most adults experience insomnia or
sleeplessness at some point in their
lives—an estimated 30–50% of the
general U.S. population has suffered
from acute insomnia, and 10% have
chronic or long-term insomnia.
Insomnia is characterized by difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or waking up too early in the morning. The
cause is varied, from psychological issues to medical conditions to environment:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Anxiety
Stress
Depression
Dozens of medical conditions, especially
those which include chronic pain
Snoring spouses
Jet lag
Shift work
Poor bedroom environments
Frequent bathroom visits
And many more

The National Sleep Foundation recently released new sleep
duration recommendations based on an expert panel of
18 leading research scientists’ review of more than 300
current scientific publications to determine how much
sleep we really need. Adults age 18 and up should get
an average of seven to nine hours of sleep per night. It
is important to note that this number needs to be genuine sleep time and does not account for the time it takes
to fall asleep. See the sleep recommendations by visiting
http://tiny.cc/SleepHealth.
26

DENTON COUNTY Living Well Magazine | SUMMER 2015

Study after study has shown how
a shortage of sleep can negatively
affect one’s mood, decision-making
and quality of life. Yet it remains difficult for us to prioritize the appropriate amount of sleep into our routine.
Here are a few important practices
to help in your fight for sleep, and
each point corresponds with one of
Dr. Cooper’s Eight Healthy Steps
to Get Cooperized, which you can
view by visiting:
http://tiny.cc/GetCooperized.
Healthy Habits to Combat Insomnia
•
Exercise: According the National Sleep Foundation’s
2013 poll, more than three-fourths of self-described
exercisers say their sleep quality was very good or
fairly good as compared to slightly more than onehalf of non-exercisers. It is important to be mindful
of what time of day you choose to exercise. Exercising within two hours of bedtime may stimulate you
and cause trouble falling asleep. Also, consider what
type of exercise you choose. While cardiovascular
exercise early in the day helps sleep, activities such
as yoga, tai chi and mindful relaxation have shown
to improve sleep quality and decrease symptoms of
insomnia and fatigue when practiced later in the day
or evening.
•
Diet: Avoid large meals and excessive fluids before
bed. Also, avoid caffeine and alcohol approximately
six hours before bedtime. Using alcohol as a sedative
can be extremely misleading since the side effects of
alcohol consumption are usually more detrimental to
the natural sleep cycle.
•
Lifestyle: Maintain a regular sleep schedule and do
everything possible to stick to it. Keep a sleep log, so
you can see patterns over time. Shut down electronic
devices—email, texting, Facebook, as well as TV—
well before bedtime, and have a routine in place to
tell your body bedtime is coming. The routine might
include a warm bath, listening to calming music or a
relaxation tape or a bit of light reading. While there
isn’t a lot of research on chamomile tea, the oils in
chamomile tea are seen in Eastern medicine as supporting sleep, so you might also try a cup of warm