Category: SleepWell® Program

Congratulations!

You have made it to Week 6 of the SleepWell® program. Hopefully you have learned more about sleep and how to create your own healthy sleep environment. Your changes should be starting to show effects on your sleep. Your improved sleep should also be helping you feel more alert and energetic during the day. This week will focus on maintaining habits and what to do going forward.

Expand Your Calming Environment

Did creating a calming, sleep-promoting bedroom environment help improve your sleep quality and length? You can clear the clutter in other areas of your life, too. Messy work and living spaces can cause undue stress.

*  Throw away or shred old papers.

*  Organize your desk or work area. Organize a messy closet or cupboard.

*  Store packaged foods and small appliances away to reduce clutter on kitchen countertops.

SleepWell® Program

QUICK LINKS: WEEK 6

As soon as you wake up, get exposure to bright light. This is especially important if you need to work or do activities in the night-time hours. Exposure to bright light helps reset your biological clock and tells your body to wake up.

Avoid lying in bed when you wake up or pressing snooze on your alarm. Remember, only associate your bed with sleep and sex. Get up. Don’t lie awake thinking about what you need to do or what you are going to wear.

Sample Waking Routine:

1. Turn off the alarm.

2. Get out of bed.

3. Stretch my arms above my head.

4. Make my bed so it is inviting for sleep later.

5. Brush and floss my teeth.

6. Wash my face.

7. Make and eat breakfast.

Your worries and concerns take up time in your day. Many issues cannot simply be ignored or brushed aside. To avoid carrying these thoughts with you to bed, address them earlier in the day.

Steps to Address Your Worries

1.  At least two hours before bedtime, write a worry at the top of a piece of paper.

2.  Divide the paper into three columns:

a. What I can’t do. Recognize what is out of your control.

b. What I can do. List possible actions that are within your control. Write things you know how to do and that are realistic actions for you to take.

c. What I will do. Decide which action you are ready to take first. This action may not solve every part of the problem, but is a small step you plan to take. Write when you will do this.

Mind Dump

Use a small notebook or index cards to “mind dump” thoughts that come to mind before bed or during sleep. Write down concerns, ideas, or things you need to remember the next day. If you wake up during the night with concerns, write these down, too. Put the notebook out of sight and go back to sleep. Avoid dwelling on these issues while you are in bed.

Stress is linked to more than 50 percent of all sleep-related problems. You face stressors daily. Common examples are work and family demands, traffic jams, and health problems. Some stress helps you to be more productive. Too much or chronic stress can cause damage to your body. High stress levels can cause, or worsen, many health issues. These include heart disease, diabetes, obesity, depression, gastrointestinal problems, muscle problems, headaches, and   back pain.

Your Body’s Response to Stress

*  Heart rate and breathing speed up.

*  Blood pressure rises.

*  Blood moves to major muscles.

*  Muscles tense.

*  Sweating occurs.

*  Blood sugar increases to supply the body with energy.

*  Brain waves increase. You feel more alert and may have racing thoughts.

*  Stress hormones (cortisol and adrenaline) increase. Adrenaline makes you feel “on edge” and amped up.

Cortisol is one of the hormones released when you are stressed. Cortisol increases your appetite, especially for sugar and starchy carbohydrates. Consuming these foods in large amounts promotes belly fat, high blood pressure, and diabetes. During sleep, your body attempts to repair the damage caused by stress. Sleep lowers cortisol (a stress hormone) and raises growth hormone (a repair hormone).

Without enough sleep, levels of cortisol in the body stay high. High cortisol levels keep the body alert, increase blood pressure, and continue to damage cells. This raises the risk for cardiovascular disease and stroke. You may feel like you are in a state of hyper-alertness. Even if you fall asleep, your brain does not enter deep sleep. When you wake, you do not feel rested.

When you do not get enough sleep, you are less able to cope with stress. Improving the length and quality of your sleep is one of the most effective stress management techniques.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, about 60 percent of Americans between the ages of 13 and 64 report having problems with sleep every night or almost every night. Studies find that the average person gets less than seven hours of sleep per night. In general, adults need at least seven to nine hours of sleep each night. A lack of sleep or getting poor quality sleep can lead to a wide range of short-term and long-term health problems.

Health Problems from a Lack of Sleep:

* Anxiety, depression, and alcohol abuse

* Obesity

* Heart disease

* High blood pressure

* Diabetes

* Stroke

* Gum disease

Sleep is also important to maintain proper mental function and stabilize mood. Poor sleep can also hurt immunity (see below), stress management, cell repair, and metabolism. Any time the body does not get enough sleep, it is not going to function optimally. It only takes one night of poor sleep to affect decision-making, learning, and reaction time.

Immunity

Immunity is about more than avoiding sniffles and the flu (though both of these can be serious for your health and disrupt your life!). The risk for cancer, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes increases with sleep deprivation.

During sleep, molecules in the blood that kill cancer cells rise sharply. Also, inflammation increases in the body after only a two-hour sleep deficit. Inflammation is linked to many chronic diseases. These include cardiovascular problems, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, and skin problems.

Use “If, then” plans to overcome roadblocks. “If, then” plans anticipate a challenge and prepare a response in advance. Create “If, then” statements for each challenge you expect to face. These challenges may be:

*  Your common sleep problem (e.g. alert at bedtime)

*  How you expect to feel (e.g. anxious)

*  Something you do not know how to do

*  Supplies you need (like a dark curtain)

*  A comment from a supporter or a non-supporter

Examples:

IFI have trouble falling asleep for more than 15 minutes,THENI will get out of bed and find something else to do.

IFI find myself staring at the clock,THENI will turn the face of the clock away from me.

IFmy spouse wants to watch TV in the bedroom,THENI will talk to him or her about how this hurts my sleep habits. I will suggest we don’t use the TV in the bedroom after 6 p.m.

Start by creating a comfortable place for sleep. Plan a physical space that is calming and designed to promote healthy sleep. This section also discusses how lifestyle habits affect sleep. These include exercise, diet, and the use of stimulants (e.g. caffeine, nicotine) and depressants (e.g. alcohol).

Together, your lifestyle habits and sleeping environment are known as “sleep hygiene.” You may have heard of these sleep hygiene tips before. You may already be using some, but if you are struggling with sleep, now is the time to make changes. Use this section to discover the factors that have the biggest impact on your sleep and wake-time energy.

Continue to make sleep a priority. Assess your energy and make adjustments to your lifestyle and sleep habits as needed. Practice relaxation and stress management techniques.

Return to each week’s activities and suggestions regularly. The more tools you use, the more you will understand what works for you. Improving your sleep takes self-discovery and patience. Going back and spending time on a previous week’s activities may help you.

Reflect on your experience.

Complete the following.

*  Ways my sleep improved since starting the SleepWell® program.

*  Changes I think are having the biggest impact on my sleep.

*  In what areas do I still need to make changes? These can be in my sleep environment, lifestyle behaviors, stress management, communication with others, or another factor that affects my sleep.