Wake Refreshed and Energised in the Morning

Lots of people complain about being tired.  If only they could have more sleep.  Generally this means not getting enough sleep and / or missing out on good quality sleep.

People are now sleeping less in the industrialised countries. In 1910, the average person slept nine hours a night, but by 1975 it had fallen to seven and a half hours.  Americans  – according to a 2002 poll commissioned by the National Sleep Foundation – sleep an average of 6.9 hours per night. The Foundation noted that 6.9 hours is not enough, and leads to fatigue, exhaustion and other health problems.

The thing that comes to me is …a few years ago , how many people had heard of sleep apnoea  or sleep clinics.  Now they are advertised everywhere.

Are you having trouble sleeping, and if so why? An estimated two million Australians pop sleeping pills at least one night a week. The issue of prescription sleeping tablets has been highlighted in early 2008 with the death of the Australian actor Heath Ledger in Manhattan who suffered chronic insomnia and was taking a cocktail of painkillers and medication for anxiety.

I think a lot of people are mentally tired.  Not physically tired. To be successful in the workplace often requires long hours, dealing with difficult people and demanding deadlines. And there are frequently extra challenges in juggling family and social life.

Few people tell me they have plenty of time to exercise, enjoy hobbies or otherwise unwind. On the other hand, lots of people tell me that they are increasing their intake of tea, coffee and alcohol to help them manage the day. The problem is that these tactics make sleep even harder to achieve. One person summed up his lack of time by saying that he cannot afford to waste 30 to 60 minutes unwinding to go to sleep. He needed “instant” sleep, hence his choice of a sleeping tablet.

So what do you do if you are dragging yourself out of bed for weeks, months or even years? Where do you start?  Can you supercharge the general advice?

A comprehensive holistic natural medicine appointment will:

• Assess the many conditions or situations that commonly lead to insomnia. They include stresses related to work or study ; difficulties with family or friends ; bereavement ; excess coffee and alcohol ;  hormonal changes  such as seen in menopause or an overactive thyroid gland; snoring and sleep apnoea syndrome. Depression is a common cause of sleep disturbance , although there is increasing evidence that insomnia itself may result in mood disorders.
• Offer you treatment that  addresses the underlying causes such as described above. Approximately 70% of people find that the quality of their sleep improves with behavioural interventions such as a sleep diary , counselling for any stresses , and relaxation and hypnotherapy techniques.

Three How To Sleep Case Histories (more can be found in my book)

A lady in her late twenties had not slept well for years. In addition, she felt cold at night and suffered chronic nasal congestion.

Her sleep patterns normalised one week after opening her bedroom window and changing from feathers and wool to low allergy bedding. Nasal congestion also improved significantly and she woke up feeling warm for the first time in years.

Extra Comment: Why no longer cold? My explanation is that  illness or allergy drains the body of energy and hence heat. You may well remember feeling cold as part of an infection.

A two year old boy was brought in by both his parents as he was scared to go to bed and woke up with nightmares and screaming. They wondered, and feared, it was “night terrors”, a condition that children generally grow out of within one to two years.

Three nights after removing about twenty stuffed toys and numerous books from his bedroom, the boy again slept normally. And yes, his window is now slightly open at night!

Extra Comment: The synthetic materials in stuffed toys give off fumes, especially in hot weather, adding to indoor air pollution. Limit the number to two or three favourites and make sure they are aired outside on a bright, sunny day. This action also minimises dust mite.

A man in his forties kept waking between 3 and 5 am. The solution was to remove his professional cleaning products from the adjacent shed.

Pete’s Point:  Chinese Medicine states the lung meridian is most active between 3 and 5 am.  I often find that there is a “lung connection” when people wake at this time. Recognised medical causes include asthma, chest infections and heart conditions. Fumes, spinal tension with nerve compression affecting the lung, or a rib not sitting correctly in its socket are other common causes. Asking about possible sources of fumes is essential for the first cause. The latter conditions can be helped by osteopathy, chiropractic or physiotherapy.