Night, ‘Night, Sleep Tight

Do you ever feel like the night is interminable, and you wish the sun would hurry up and rise so you could quit pretending you were going to get any sleep? Not getting enough sleep is a common complaint these days. “Trouble sleeping” means you have a hard time falling asleep; that you fall asleep fine but wake in the night, unable to get back to sleep; or have disturbed, restless, or poor quality sleep.

For all the laborsaving devices at our disposal, we still work long hours. We also work hard, pushing ourselves to do more than we’re comfortable with, wearing ourselves out. Most of us need more rest and relaxation than we ever get; even a cat-nap can feel too indulgent.

Electric lights have created a tendency to prolong day into night. Most of us carry our daytime mental activity into the world of sleep – for example, I dream about teaching yoga, forgetting where I’ve parked my car, and even about doing my taxes!

Factors that make deep restful sleep a struggle include information overload, stress, anxiety, lack of exercise, dehydration, poor diet, and the rarity of finding darkness away from artificial light. Other causes can be depression, anger, resentment, fear of the dark, or the pain, discomfort, or emotional distress associated with illness.

Pete Egoscue, anatomical physiologist in San Diego and author of the Pain Free books, writes that “motion energizes all of our system, while lack of motion drains them. In place of motion, we use artificial stimulants – nicotine, caffeine, sugar, alcohol – to get up, to get mellow, to find motivation, to go to sleep.” He’s found that the worst chronic pain symptoms are accompanied by sleep deprivation – and that lack of sleep intensifies pain symptoms. Regular exercise has a positive effect on many parts of your life.

Inadequate sleep gives rise to irritability, impatience, difficulty concentrating, lowered immunity, headache, impaired ability to make sound decisions, lethargy, clumsiness, and a tendency to lose things (perspective, house keys, sense of humor).

Eating rich spicy foods, or going to bed with a full stomach, gears your digestive system up when you should be gearing down. Also problematic are alcohol, sugar, and caffeine products (coffee, chocolate, aspirin, soft drinks, diet pills). Avoid violent movies or loud music at night, as they speed up your heart rate.

If you suffer from mental hyperactivity, bring the energy down from your head at the end of the day. Soak your feet in warm water and a few drops of lavender oil, or rub your feet with lotion – very soothing, especially if someone else works on your feet!

A good night’s sleep renews us, and makes us feel fit to face the world. Our bodies need time to regenerate; our organs (including the brain!) and muscles need time doing virtually nothing, to balance all the time they are busy doing something.

Regular use of herbal teas such as chamomile, catnip, scullcap, hops, oatstraw, and valerian help calm, quiet, nourish, and strengthen the nervous system; the vitamin C in rosehips also soothes nerves.

When you go to bed, put on soothing music, and bring your attention to the rhythmic movement of the breath moving in and out. Release body tensions, and let your thoughts float past like clouds blowing through the sky.

Sometimes we need outside assistance to break out of lifestyle patterns that don’t serve us. If you’re stressed or depressed, in pain, ill, or use sleep aids or food to go to sleep, you might benefit by seeing a holistic health practitioner to help bring you back into restful balance.

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