Sleep Advice
On this page I will keep you up
to date with information on sleep problems and solutions. I am going to update it as often as possible and will incorporate YOUR questions from the "CONTACT PAGE".
Every Night We have Different Stages of Sleep
Every night we go through different stages of sleep. These stages are quite different and are described by changes in brain activity. All of the stages occur in a 90 minute cycle which repeats from the time we fall asleep to the time we wake up.
Sleep is divided into 2 main types: REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep also known as “dreaming sleep” and NonREM sleep. Within NonREM sleep there are different amounts of depth of sleep. There are actually 4 different types of NonREM sleep – each type is deeper.
People often think that REM sleep is deep sleep. Actually, REM sleep involves a lot of brain activity and so we have long complicated dreams. We seem to be shut off from the world around us when we dream. One of the most important aspects of REM sleep however is our partial paralysis – we can’t move and our breathing is affected also. It is in REM sleep that some people have sleep apnea – the inability to breath properly. Because we can’t move – and if you could move you would start to act out your dreams(?!?!?!) we can’t regulate our temperate as well as in other stages. Because of this partial paralysis some people have difficulty breathing - this is known as sleep apnea.
Why do we need REM sleep? REM sleep occurs in many animals. Research has indicated that we seem to process a lot of information from the previous day in REM sleep. There are many stories of people going to bed with a problem on their mind and then waking up with the solution. This problem solving probably occurred in REM sleep.
NonREM sleep has 4 stages.
Stage One sleep is that stage when you are falling asleep, you feel a drifting, floating feeling.
Stage 2 sleep is the stage where we are properly asleep. Stage 2 sleep makes up most of our sleep in the night time. This is the stage where people sleep talk and sleep walk.
Stage 3 and Stage 4 are known as Deep Sleep. In Deep Sleep our body is deeply relaxed and there is evidence that there is very little thought process. In deep sleep our body is repairing itself. Unfortunately we get less deep sleep as we age after mid twenties. Deep sleep, not REM sleep is the most important sleep for our brain and body. After a period of sleep in which we achieved deep sleep we usually fell “refreshed” with renewed energy and vigour. If you have problem sleeping or can't sleep then you are not getting enough deep sleep.
What is Insomnia?
Insomnia is a common problem. Occasional insomnia is experienced by more than a third of adults, and persistent problem sleeping effects up to 10% of the population. Not getting enough sleep can cause you to feel sleepy or fatigued during the day, affect your mood, and result in trouble focusing on tasks. Research into psychological, lifestyle and physical factors behind sleep disorders is making it possible to better understand sleep problems.
Types of Insomnia
Sleep problems can occur in people of all ages. Many individuals just experience a night or two where they can't sleep, however sometimes the problem sleeping can last for weeks, months, or even years. Insomnia appears to be most common among women and older adults.
Transient Insomnia
Transient insomnia is the inability to sleep well over a short period of time, lasting fewer than four weeks. This type of insomnia is usually caused by excitement or stress. Some of us can't sleep before an important meeting or after an argument with a family member or friend. Physical illness can also cause this type of insomnia.
Short-term Insomnia
In this type of insomnia people can't sleep well for a period of four weeks to six months. Continued stress medical conditions, depression or other mood disorders can result in short-term insomnia. As the cause is dealt with the sleep will usually return to normal.
Chronic Insomnia or Long Term Insomnia is defined as problem sleeping every night or most nights for more than six months. In many cases of Chronic Insomnia the cause is physical but in just as many cases Poor Sleep Habits and Psychological Factors play a very important role.
Subtypes of Insomnia
Sleep Onset Insomnia is the type of insomnia where you go to bed but can't sleep for what seems like a long period of time. Often people simply lay awake for at least an hour or more waiting to fall asleep. This is what most people mean when they say "insomnia". After a week of difficulty falling asleep you may have lost 8 hours sleep - that is ONE FULL NIGHT'S SLEEP! No wonder you are sleepy!
Sleep Maintenance Insomnia occurs when you have no problem to get to sleep but then wake up for several hours during the night and then return to sleep. This is one of the most annoying types of sleep problem. Eating late at night or over or under heating may play some role here in maintaining your problem sleeping.
Sleep Offset Insomnia occurs when you persistently wake in the early hours of the morning long before your usual wake time and can't sleep after that time. Offset Insomnia can be due to depression or some other physical condition but it can also be due to body clock disruption (such as jet lag or shift work) but can also, like both of the above subtypes of insomnia, be due to poor sleep habits.
NO Magic Cures SORRY!
A lot of you have already written in asking about why so many advertised "solutions" do not work or stop working after a short time. So let me offer you an informed and educated opinion on some of the other insomnia remedies and products you may have tried that are being sold on the market today and WHY THEY DONT WORK!
Herbal remedies: A lot of substances in nature can make you feel a little sleepy. The effects can be effective in producing a relaxed state of mind. But usually you need to take large doses to achieve better sleep. People report some effects reduction in sleepless nights but then the results seem to wear off. Why? Mostly because there is an expectancy that because you have spent money on this potion that it will make you sleepy and improve your problem sleeping. Well, of course, why else would you buy it? You expect it to increase your sleepiness and for a short time it does. When your old habits begin to return you find that your expectancies also change. Will the mild sedating effects of the herbal medication really undo your coffee and tea intake? No, I don’t think so. Herbal remedies offer yet another EXTERNAL solution to your insomnia and problem sleeping. Herbal remedies once again tell you that the ability to get to sleep is not within your gasp, that you will need to take this magic potion every night! Surely you are tired of this way of thinking.
Sleep medication is addictive. It makes you sleepy and reduces your sleepiness for the first few nights then it wears off. You need more for the same effect until it has no effect. Ultimately medication creates a sleep disorder. Stop relying on external solutions to your problem sleeping and start changing WHAT YOU ARE DOING. If you are hooked on medication and can't sleep without it PLEASE see your doctor and ask for help on how to ween yourself off it.
Relaxation tapes: It is comforting to listen to peaceful music and a soothing voice when you can't sleep. Why not play it again or maybe just one more time for luck? HOW MANY OF THOSE TAPES DO YOU HAVE? Have you changed your sleep habits? Have you maintained your changes? Do you feel confident to keep going or will you just put up with problem sleeping? Being relaxed is nice but you also seem to be TIRED!? OK. Play the tape before bedtime but don’t play it in bed – that is covered in my program.
Biaural beats: These programs are pretty much the same as relaxation tapes. There seems to be some evidence, based on the claims of the producers, that certain sounds create changes in electroencephalograph readings from the brain itself. That sounds pretty good. It is nice to feel relaxed and that woozy, drifting feeling all floaty I guess. BUT will it last by the time you get back to bed? Will it last as you approach bed with the same dread of of not being able to fall asleep?
Habits + Attitude = Sleep
Right Attitude
Your attitude can help you to get to sleep and overcome your insomnia. Change your attitude and transform your sleepiness into quality sound sleep.
You seem to have forgotten that you used to be able to get to sleep, that there were times in your life when you were sleepy and could sleep long and deep. Sleep seems automatic until something goes wrong. By now you are wondering if things will ever change? If this is you then you have changed your attitude for the worse!
I have designed this program to change your attitude to your problem sleeping. Let me rebuild your confidence and relax you into a positive state of mind ready to change your ideas about your own ability to get to sleep and to overcome your insomnia and to sleep better.
Right Habits
Having studied sleep for most of my adult life I have come to understand the physiology and behaviours of sleep and insomnia.
A number of criteria need to be met in order for you to sleep better – good sleepers always maintain these habits. These behaviours and habits are outlined in the package.
The habits of good sleepers include attention to diet, alcohol and drug use, bedding, room temperature, light intensity, relaxation time etc.
Sounds too hard? Not at all. The programme presents a list of changes for you to start making. A change in any one of these habits will help you sleep better. A change in all will be a huge help.
Habits + Attitude = Sleep
“Our habits and attitudes combine to affect our ability to get to sleep and overcome insomnia.” Dr. David LUKE
What is Overcoming Insomnia?
Perfect sleep seems so easy for others but not for you. What went wrong? Why are you so sleepy, yet you can’t fall asleep?
The best way to think about your insomnia is that it is a combination of physical and psychological processes.
Overcoming Insomnia is an audio program I developed based on years of research and applied work with sleep disorder patients who were suffering from insomnia.
Overcoming Insomnia combines a professional understanding of 4 areas of research:
1. Physiology of Sleep
2. Behavioural Medicine
3. Learning Theory
4. Clinical Hypnosis
During my Masters and PhD in sleep research, I saw real life text book cases of perfect sound sleep and the fragmented, fitful and unrefreshing sleep of sleep disorder patients in clinics who were suffering from insomnia. I often asked myself “how did it get so bad?” and “what maintains these sleepless nights and insomnia? Is there really an insomnia cure?”.
Even though the body and mind were crying out for a good night’s sleep it was impossible to fall asleep. We are HARD WIRED to have recuperative sleep but these people just could not get it! They simply were unable to readjust their sleepless patterns away from their insomnia, regardless of how sleep they were.
Interviewing patients and comparing my ideas to established research it seemed clear that most of these very sleepy people could get quality sound sleep, - but never regularly. The good sleepers never even thought about their sleep. The bad sleepers thought of little else but the fact that they can't sleep well! Their insomnia and problem sleeping consumed everything in their life.
I wanted to condense my work in sleep disorders so that anyone could benefit. I needed to combine the 4 areas of research into one program that would be effective. Below are examples of the areas contained in my program:
Physiology of Sleep: in order to get to sleep and maintain sleep and so overcome any insomnia or sleepiness, a number of criteria need to be met:
. Correct temperature across the night
. Avoidance of alcohol at night
. Timing of eating – not too late
. Relaxed enough to get to sleep
. Correct timing of exposure to light in the morning
Behavioural Medicine: what do we habitually do that maintains or interferes with a healthy lifestyle and health problem management. How to change your attitude to sleep and thus change your behaviours:
· Drug and alcohol use
· Type and timing of exercise
· Sleeping pill reliance
· Diet
Learning Theory: A lot of the learning we have done about our sleepless habits and insomnia is accidental – we didn’t intend to learn it. Attitudes become created through repeated exposure to the same outcomes:
· Several nights of being unable to get to sleep makes you expect poor sleep.
· Expecting insomnia makes you see yourself as a “poor sleeper”
· Laying awake in bed feeling sleepy at night teaches you to stay awake
· Getting out of bed at night when you cannot get to sleep teaches you that sleep is only for bed
Clinical Hypnosis is the effortless pathway to change:
· The audio component of the program is based on Learning Theory, Clinical Hypnosis Research and uses precisely designed music to enhance the impact of the process of change.
· Everyone responds to hypnosis and people who are suffering from an inability to get to sleep often go into a deep trance quickly. They simply get better sleep!
· Hypnosis is an everyday phenomenon. You have experienced hypnosis when you are at work and “day dreaming” or when you are on a train and you are looking out the window at the horizon – your mind seems to be a million miles away. When your mind is occupied in this way, it becomes very open to positive suggestions to change and your body becomes very relaxed.
· Hypnosis is not a mysterious form of “mind control” you never do what you don’t want to do. The higher mind is always in control.
· The audio component gently guides you to fall asleep and at the same time changing your attitudes about yourself and your ability to get to sleep.
Habits
In order to get to sleep and stay asleep, certain physiological criteria need to be met and these criteria need to be maintained. As a simple but usually overlooked example, take bedding – bedding is important in regard to body temperature. You need to maintain the correct body temperature in order to get to sleep and to sleep better.
Believe it or not, most people who have insomnia maintain their problem sleeping with bad habits and the wrong attitude. Let me give you an example:
Bad habits:
· Napping during the day to “make up for lost sleep”.
· Sleeping in after a bad night’s sleep.
These are habits that actually disrupt the natural physiological daily cycles of sleep.
· Taking sleeping pills when “nothing else will work”.
· Drinking caffeine to “keep you going” during the day.
Pills and potions make us see that the solution to oursleep disorders are outside of our control AND they have a hangover effect both the next night and the next morning.
· Going to bed when not sleepy just to “try” to get to sleep.
· Reading in bed “to relax” prior to sleep.
The 10 Habits of Good Sleepers
These may seem like a lot of changes but you will find that just making one or two can start to make a real difference to quality of your sleep especially when used with the audio component of the program.
Alcohol
· Avoid alcohol at night.
· Although alcohol can act to make you sleepy it also affects breathing while asleep resulting in snoring and sleep apnoea so can disrupt your sleep. Alcohol creates sleep disorders.
· Hot milk can have benefits but it can also make you feel ill.
· Try herbal tea instead.
Get up at the same time each morning
· The morning sun keeps your body clock stable.
· In order to keep all of the biological cycles in your body synchronized and stable you need to be exposed to bright sunlight each morning at the same time.
· Sleeping in means that you disrupt your body’s clock and can make it harder to fall asleep in the next sleep period.
Late night snacks
· Don’t eat late at night as indigestion will disturb your your ability to get to sleep.
· Make sure you never go to bed on a full stomach.
· Leave at least 2 hours for digestion before you go to bed.
Exercise
· Take some exercise each day, you will quickly notice the benefits.
· Get off the bus a stop or two earlier from your usual stop and walk the distance.
· Try to get at least 20 minutes of exercise per day.
· Do not exercise too close to bedtime.
· Late afternoon or after work is a good time.
Take time to relax BEFORE bedtime
· Make it a routine to sit quietly prior to going to your bedroom.
· Turn off the TV and read for a short time to relax your mind.
· Don’t take the worries with you to bed.
· Make bed a place where only pleasant events occur.
Caffeine
· Avoid coffee, tea, chocolate and cola after midday.
· There is evidence that any caffeine will create problem sleeping.
Avoid naps
· Napping during the day can make it hard to get to sleep.
· Napping reduces your body’s need for sleep at night.
· Get into the habit of keeping regular sleep and wake times.
· Remember, whatever time you get to sleep at night ALWAYS get up at the same time.
Bed is for sleep only
· Don’t use your bed for watching T.V., reading, eating or having arguments.
· Relearn that bed is for sleep.
Go to bed only when sleepy
· Being in bed awake teaches you to stay awake in bed.
· Learn to understand the difference between feeling tired and feeling sleepy. Often people confuse feeling tired with feeling sleepy. Feeling tired can occur as a result of physical exertion and usually does not result in sleep. Usually if you sit for a while you will recover your energy. If you are feeling sleepy it means that you will fall asleep quickly. You will know you are feeling sleepy because there will be an irresistible need to fall asleep once you sit and relax.
· If you can’t get to sleep after 20 minutes, get up and wait until you are sleepy.
Bedding
· Avoid doonas in warm months as these give too much insulation at night and you can overheat and wake up.
· Men and women have different needs for insulation at night.
· Women usually need more insulation. Men need less.
· Try layering with a couple of woollen or cotton blankets.
Problem sleeping may soon be over.......read on.
CLICK to BUY NOW and get a GOOD NIGHT SLEEP |
In the most fundamental way, insomnia is learnt.
Dr. David LUKE
Our habits and attitudes combine to affect our ability to get to sleep and overcome insomnia.
Dr. David LUKE
Bad sleep habits actually reinforce the learning that you cannot sleep in bed.
Dr. David LUKE
Increasing your confidence in getting to sleep ensures relaxation when you get to bed.
Dr. David LUKE
I have designed this program to change your attitude to your sleepless nights.
Let me rebuild your confidence
and relax you into a positive state of mind ready to get to sleep and to
overcome your insomnia.
Dr. David LUKE
In the most fundamental way,insomnia is learnt.
Dr. David LUKE
Our habits and attitudes combine to affect our ability to get to sleep and overcome insomnia.
Dr. David LUKE
Bad sleep habits actually reinforce the learning that you cannot sleep in bed.
Dr. David LUKE
Increasing your confidence in getting to sleep ensures relaxation when you get to bed.
Dr. David LUKE
I have designed this program to change your attitude to your sleepless nights.
Let me rebuild your confidence and relax you into a positive state of mind ready to get to sleep and to
overcome your insomnia.
Dr. David LUKE
In the most fundamental way, insomnia is learnt.
Dr. David LUKE
Our habits and attitudes combine to affect our ability to get to sleep and overcome insomnia.
Dr. David LUKE
Bad sleep habits actually reinforce the learning that you cannot sleep in bed.
Dr. David LUKE
Increasing your confidence in getting to sleep ensures relaxation when you get to bed.
Dr. David LUKE
I have designed this program to change your attitude to your sleepless nights.
Let me rebuild your confidence and relax you into a positive state of mind ready to get to sleep andto overcome your insomnia.
Dr. David LUKE
In the most fundamental way,insomnia is learnt.
Dr. David LUKE
Our habits and attitudes combine to affect our ability to get to sleep and overcome insomnia.
Dr. David LUKE
Bad sleep habits actually reinforce the learning that you cannot sleep in bed.
Dr. David LUKE
Increasing your confidence in getting to sleep ensures relaxation when you get to bed.
Dr. David LUKE
I have designed this program to change your attitude to your sleepless nights.
Let me rebuild your confidence and relax you into a positive state of mind ready to get to sleep and to
overcome your insomnia.
Dr. David LUKE
In the most fundamental way,insomnia is learnt.
Dr. David LUKE
Our habits and attitudes combine to affect our ability to get to sleep and overcome insomnia.
Dr. David LUKE
Bad sleep habits actually reinforce the learning that you cannot sleep in bed.
Dr. David LUKE
Increasing your confidence in getting to sleep ensures relaxation when you get to bed.
Dr. David LUKE
I have designed this program to change your attitude to your sleepless nights.
Let me rebuild your confidence and relax you into a positive state of mind ready to get to sleep and to
overcome your insomnia.
Dr. David LUKE
In the most fundamental way,insomnia is learnt.
Dr. David LUKE
Our habits and attitudes combine to affect our ability to get to sleep and overcome insomnia.
Dr. David LUKE
Bad sleep habits actually reinforce the learning that you cannot sleep in bed.
Dr. David LUKE
Increasing your confidence in getting to sleep ensures relaxation when you get to bed.
Dr. David LUKE
I have designed this program to change your attitude to your sleepless nights.
Let me rebuild your confidence and relax you into a positive state of mind ready to get to sleep and to
overcome your insomnia.
Dr. David LUKE
In the most fundamental way,insomnia is learnt.
Dr. David LUKE
Our habits and attitudes combine to affect our ability to get to sleep and overcome insomnia.
Dr. David LUKE
Bad sleep habits actually reinforce the learning that you cannot sleep in bed.
Dr. David LUKE
Increasing your confidence in getting to sleep ensures relaxation when you get to bed.
Dr. David LUKE
I have designed this program to change your attitude to your sleepless nights.
Let me rebuild your confidence and relax you into a positive state of mind ready to get to sleep and to overcome your insomnia.
Dr. David LUKE
In the most fundamental way, insomnia is learnt.
Dr. David LUKE
Our habits and attitudes combine to affect our ability to get to sleep and overcome insomnia.
Dr. David LUKE
Bad sleep habits actually reinforce the learning that you cannot sleep in bed.
Dr. David LUKE
Increasing your confidence iIn getting to sleep ensures relaxation when you get to bed.
Dr. David LUKE
I have designed this program to change your attitude to your sleepless nights.
Let me rebuild your confidence and relax you into a positive state of mind ready to get to sleep and to overcome your insomnia.
Dr. David LUKE |
