Inzombia

“Another night with no sleep. What happened? I even got into bed early to try and fall asleep…”

Does this sound familiar? Can you personally connect with the statement above? I know I can relate on a personal level but at times it is hard to pinpoint exactly why I cannot sleep. One thing I looked at right away is what insomnia actually is and how it can manifest differently for some people. According to the National Sleep Foundation, insomnia is characterized as difficulty falling or staying asleep when there is ample opportunity to do so. It is broken down into two categories: acute and chronic insomnia. Acute insomnia is brief and occurs due to life circumstances, while chronic insomnia is far more pervasive in that it can occur at least three times a week and can last for at least three months.

Much like any other disorder, there are so many potential sources of insomnia, it can make your head spin. I can go down the list… changes in environment (check), unhealthy sleep habits (triple check), clinical disorders (check)… What’s imperative is finding the causes that you can most closely relate to and identifying them.

With my own insomnia, I have been able to identify what I think maybe the main cause: poor sleep hygiene. For those unfamiliar with the term “sleep hygiene”, it is really just a way to look at the choices you make as you are preparing for bed or in bed which will contribute to your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. Examples of good sleep hygiene would be not eating in bed, or putting your phone away before getting into bed.

For me, my poor sleep hygiene includes: eating in bed, participating in activities that are more activating than tiring, and getting lost in the trap that is scrolling through social media. The worst ones though are the social media trap or screen time before bed. I feel like it has become common knowledge not to be on screens right before bedtime, and while I know it’s not good for me, the allure of tidbits of information (even if they have no real significance) proves irresistible at times. As I’ve researched how to improve my sleep hygiene, I stumbled upon an interesting article on WebMD. Though the sample size of the study mentioned in the article was tiny (only 9 people), one of the significant findings was those who use electronic devices right before bed choose to go to bed significantly later regardless of how early they had to wake up. THIS [is exactly what happens to me]! If I am watching or reading something on a screen I will actively push back what time I am going to stop and actually try to go to sleep. Social media or internet browsing is quite the rabbit hole to fall into, especially if you should be sleeping!

After identifying some of the poor habits I tend to have in the evenings as I am trying to wind down, I made some active choices to try to change my patterns of behavior. One of the first things I did was work on putting my phone away earlier. I have an iPhone and if you put a bedtime on your clock app and turn it on, once it hits the set time it will automatically silence your phone from messages and calls. Samsung Health on Androids can do the same thing. This has been helpful to an extent as I’m not getting any alerts to disturb my sleep but has the drawback of making you a bit unreachable. Another thing I did was transition into listening to audiobooks (Game of Thrones books right now!) versus scrolling or watching something. I also did go to the doctor and was prescribed some generic Ambien to try and help me fall asleep because I’ve found falling asleep is my real problem. Surprisingly, the medication didn’t work as well as actually just laying down without a screen (at least for me). I also tried to establish a consistent time frame I go to bed and a routine to prepare for bed each night. This I have struggled with since it becomes a bit too rigid and I need to be flexible most of the time because of the things I am involved in.

Sleep is really important for me as I am a complete zombie the next day if I don’t get enough of it. I’m irritable, don’t think as critically or as clearly, and feel generally restless. Countless nights I have given up on sleeping and simply settled for no sleep. Because of these negative consequences, I really want to improve my habits which is why I keep looking for new ways and trying new things. I’m not saying what I have tried will necessarily work for you if you have insomnia, but trying new strategies could be worth a shot if it means more sleep!