Getting A Good Night Sleep
Starting at midlife, sleep disturbance or insomnia is not uncommon in most
women. Let's discuss some things you can do now to improve your sleep and get a
good night's rest.
Getting a good night's sleep is essential to obtaining
good health for a woman. Maintaining your good health also determines your
quality of sleep. This means eating a healthy diet, regular exercise and good
daily multivitamin/mineral supplements can all affect how well you
sleep.
A woman's diet that is high in phytoestrogens such as fruits and
vegetables may help if the cause of your sleep disturbance happens to be related
to being perimenopausal. Apples, carrots, cherries, green beans, oats, peas,
potatoes, soybeans and sprouts - just to mention a few!
Take caution and
avoid stimulating agents such as nicotine and caffeine six to eight hours before
going to bed. This includes coffee, tea, soft drinks, and chocolate. One cup of
coffee in the morning can affect sleep quality hours later. We, as women, tend
to metabolize caffeine much slower than men. If you smoke cigarettes, this will
create insomnia among some women.
Your bedroom should be totally dark (No
night light).
You will sleep better if you develop a sleep routine. Go to
bed at the same time every night. Create nightly rituals such as having a cup of
relaxing tea and then washing up, and maybe read a little.
Don't take
naps during the day.
Create a comfortable sleeping space. Take notice of
the amount of light, noises, and temperature. Make sure you have a comfortable
mattress and fluffy pillow.
Don't eat heavy meals at night. This will
create restlessness. A light snack at bedtime may be helpful to help you sleep
better.
Try relaxation techniques before retiring at night. Meditate,
take a bath, listen to soft music, or read a gentle book.
Don't drink
alcohol late in the day. It can cause waking in the night and impairs sleep
quality.
Limit your bed activities to sleep and sex only. Never watch TV
in bed.
If your worries are keeping you awake at night, try journaling ?
it may provide a way for you to "release" the worry onto paper and thus relax
and sleep.
Natural supplements are available for women that suffer from
insomnia. If you are a milk drinker, consider having a glass of warm milk. Milk
when it is warm releases tryptophan, the same substance that is found in that
Thanksgiving turkey that had you feeling so sleepy. Beware though, warm milk
also has substances that can keep you awake. Let your own body be the judge and
tell you if warm milk relaxes you to sleep.
Other suggestions to help you
deal better with insomnia, include valerian root, melatonin, passion flower and
of course the chamomile, catnip, anise or fennel teas. Some companies package
teas in their own formulations for sleep, such as "Sleepy Time". Your local
herbalist or health food store may also be able to give you suggestions. As with
anything else, the key to try different things and see what helps you get a good
night's sleep.
If none of the above suggestions help you sleep better,
see your health care provider to ensure there is nothing physically wrong. Keep
a sleep diary for 3 months with the goal to see if there is some sort of pattern
in your sleep disturbances. Keep track of the time you go to bed, awaken, how
often you are awake at night. Are you tired when you awaken in the morning? What
time are you getting up? Is there something that is troubling you? Does any of
this correlate with your sleep cycles (if you still have them).
Use of
sleeping medication is something that can sometimes be used to get your body
back on track, but it's not for long term use as it can be addicting, in most
cases. Only use sleep medications when other remedies for sleepless nights have
failed.