Written By Barbara Hoefener, FNP 7/2021
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Sleep
70% of Adults report they obtain insufficient sleep at least monthly. 11% report insufficient sleep nightly per SleepHealth.org. The CDC reports 1 in 3 adults don’t get enough sleep.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society recommend adults sleep 7-8 hours nightly to promote optimal health and well-being.
Risks associated with poor sleep include: obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and frequent mental distress.
Sleep Hygiene
Get rid of the blue light 1 hour before bed – your computer, phone or TV. Read a book instead at night. The light will tell your body you are not ready for sleep. If you can fall asleep, you will likely wake up in the middle of the night.
Keep Routine- Wake up at the same time and expose yourself to sunlight in the morning. Go to bed at the same time in darkness to reset the biological clock.
Exercise in the morning. If you exercise at night, you are increasing your cortisol. Try to exercise in the morning. Cortisol should be close to 0 at night.
Take a bath with lavender.
Drink Chamomile tea.
Spend time outside daily.
Use your bedroom as a bedroom and bed as a bed. (ex. Not a living room and couch).
Alcohol may help you go to sleep, however it may wake you at 3am, or you don’t feel rested, since you will not get restful sleep.
Avoid big meals 3 hours before bed. Keep caffeine, soft drinks, and chocolate in the morning.
Temperature of room – Ideal temp is 60-68* per research.
Add a fan for air circulation and white noise.
The research says if you have not fallen asleep within 20 minutes, go to a different room to sleep.
Breath in and out, clear your brain. Acknowledge what you are struggling with (anxiety) and allow yourself to recover.
Use a Meditation app, (I suggest "insight timer")
Racing/ twirling thoughts of all your to-do list. Try meditation and making a list during the day. Medicine to try: Stress PM supplement, melatonin, or Benadryl. If you are a patient, we can prescribe you a medication. (Will likely start with prazosin or trazodone). I would not recommend Ambien or another controlled-addictive medication.
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