Insomnia: Is It Keeping You up at Night?

The first rays of dawn can be the most depressing sight in the world for an insomniac, as it means any hope of a good night’s sleep is officially gone.

As someone who has often struggled with insomnia for the better part of a decade, I know only too well the frustration; the tossing and turning, the gaslighting attempts: “You are tired, you really are tired.” The bargaining: “Just lay here with your eyes gently closed for 30 more minutes and if you still haven’t fallen asleep you can go read in the other room,” and the many versions in-between. 

But why, I wondered at 3 am this morning, why do so many of us suffer from these torturous nights? I wanted to know. I needed to know. And, as it was 3 am, I had some free time on my hands to find out.

Let’s start at the beginning. What is insomnia? According to the Cleveland Clinic, “Insomnia is when you aren’t sleeping as you should.” Yeah, I think most of us got that part. But they go on to say, “That can mean you aren’t sleeping enough, you aren’t sleeping well or you’re having trouble falling or staying asleep.” So, insomnia isn’t just the wide awake in the middle of the night deal. 

I have visited various health practitioners in the past, and they all ask the same thing. “Do you have trouble falling asleep or do you have trouble staying asleep?” Half the time I am not even sure how to answer because I am too tired. 

According to the Santa Barbara Sleep Clinic, just waking up too early or waking up tired also counts as forms of insomnia. My biggest question, however, is why does it happen to so many of us during the second half of life? You don’t often hear 15, 25, or 34-year-old people talking about how they just don’t get as much sleep as they used to. But with those over 60, reports of insomnia are as high as 50% and not just in the United States. 1 in 3 adults worldwide experience sleep issues.

The American Journal of Medicine tells us that this isn’t necessarily something that has to happen as we get older. “Sleep problems are often mistakenly considered to be a normal part of aging…” Many adults never suffer from insomnia. And the reasons are many. Norwegians reportedly have the best sleep cycles worldwide, in terms of length and quality. They also are big believers in having their babies nap in strollers outside, being firm believers in sunshine and fresh air. Which now makes a lot of sense.

Light plays a huge factor in our sleep cycle and effects melatonin production. But most older adults don’t get enough time outside so the body’s signals are thrown off. Normally, if you are getting natural light exposure all day, when the sun goes down, it starts to send signals to your body that it is time to wind down. But if you never get that daylight in the first place, internal mayhem ensues. 

Without diving too deep into the science (remember, I only have about 900 words in this column), the other causes begin to appear as a bleary-eyed dog chasing its tail. As we get older our internal clocks start to change, and this clock controls our circadian rhythm (this is our daily cycle that controls when we get hungry, tired, feel sleepy or alert). This is one of the many reasons why sleep is so intrinsically connected to our health. Many of our body’s systems rely on sleep for its restorative powers. But here is the tricky bit. As we get older and start to become sleep deprived, our bodies are more prone to illness. As we get sicker, we sleep less. See where I am going here?

Another culprit behind insomnia in American older adults is side effects from medications. According to Georgetown’s Health Policy Institute, 75% of adults over 50 have an average of 12 prescription drugs filled each year (this could also include antibiotics, or medications used to treat acute illnesses). 

So what can we do? There is much advice out there about how to improve the quality of sleep. Here are some of the most frequently suggested.

1. Create a sleep ritual and stick to it. For example, get in bed by 10 and turn off the light by 11 even if you don’t feel ready to sleep. This will train your body to respond to sleep cues. 

2. Get fresh air and exercise each day.

3. Turn off all screens at least an hour before you get in bed. The blue lights from screens trick your body into believing it is daytime, which lowers or stops the production of melatonin. 

4. Only use your bed for sleep and sex. No tv, no work, no scrolling, no eating. This is another cue your body will begin to respond to. 

5. This seems like an obvious one but eliminate all triggering substances a few hours before bedtime (or sooner depending on your sensitivity – I can’t have any caffeine after noon or I will be regretting it around 2 am). Caffeine, chocolate, alcohol, and sugary or spicy foods are all potential triggers.

6. Be sure to keep your blood sugar steady all day. Sometimes sugar imbalances can cause you to wake up during the night. 

7. Check with your health practitioner to see if there might be an underlying issue causing your insomnia.

I hope this helps. For me, I know that if I want to regain my former sleep streak, I need to finish the last season of Suits so I can go back to my no TV watching evenings. See item #3 above.

Now put down those screens, cuddle up with a good book (you know, the paper kind with writing on them) and sweet dreams.