Food Cures (60 page)

ALCOHOL

It’s true that a drink (or two) can make you sleepy and may help you get to sleep. But after a few hours, alcohol can cause frequent awakenings and lighter, less restful sleep. I’m not saying you need to give up alcohol, but don’t use it like a sleeping pill; and if you have insomnia, I strongly recommend omitting alcohol for a few weeks to see if your sleep problem resolves.

LARGE MEALS

Eating a huge dinner, or even a large before-bedtime snack, may make you feel drowsy, but the sleep won’t necessarily take. When you lie down and try to sleep, there’s a good chance you’ll feel uncomfortably full, which can keep you awake. Even worse, you may develop heartburn or gas, which will only increase your discomfort. I recommend eating a dinner that has no more than 600 calories (and optimally at least three hours before bed). The good news: All the dinner meal plans in this book weigh in at 600 calories or less.

LIQUIDS

The single best piece of advice I can give to those of you who wake up in the middle of the night to visit the bathroom is to not drink water or fluids within 90 minutes of bedtime. It takes that long for your body to process liquid of any type. If you must have something to drink, for example to take a prescribed medication, take a small sip. If the medication requires a full glass of water, take it earlier in the evening if possible.

BONUS POINTS

• Make the room you sleep in comfortable and peaceful.
  If your bedroom is a place of distraction and chaos, it will be that much more difficult for you to fall asleep. Remove the alarm clock from sight—instead, put it under the bed or in a drawer. Adjust the room temperature for your comfort—for most people that’s between 65°F and 70°F—and make sure you have comfortable pillows and enough blankets. Hang blackout curtains or wear an eye mask if you are easily awakened by light.
  
• Add white noise.
  For many people, noise that is steady and not easily identifiable is easier to tune out than the sound of snoring, the rumble of traffic, or the musical stylings of the amateur trumpet player who lives next door. For others, total silence is disturbing. White noise machines emit a steady whirring or purring sound, similar to the sound of wind rustling through leaves, which provides a welcome distraction for both these problems.
  
• Practice good sleep habits.
  Sleeping well is often as much about establishing the right habits as anything else. Our bodies can become programmed to respond to various cues in our environment—think of how the smell of your favorite dinner can make your mouth water, or how Sunday night can throw some people into a panic at the thought of returning to work on Monday morning. It’s the same way with sleep. If your bed has become a place of tension from an extended bout of insomnia (or even just worrying about insomnia), then you have to work that much harder to associate
  bed
  with
  sleep
  again. First, get a different perspective and a fresh start on new habits by making the bedroom less familiar—move the furniture around…or buy a new set of bedding…or repaint the walls. Second, try to stick with a regular schedule of going to bed and waking up, even on the weekends. That way, your body will learn to associate certain times of day with a particular part of your sleep rhythm. Third, avoid using the bedroom for anything except sleeping and sex—no reading, no television, and definitely no eating. Finally, don’t let insomnia back into the bedroom. If you are unable to fall asleep within about 20 minutes of when your head hits the pillow, get up, go to another room, and do something relaxing. Return to bed only when you feel sleepy again.
  
• Eliminate naps.
  People with insomnia often resort to afternoon naps to catch up on their missed sleep, but that’s a mistake. Napping encourages insomnia because you’ll be less likely to be tired at bedtime if you sleep during the day. It can also become a counterproductive habit. Fight the urge; but if you must nap, don’t sleep for more than 20 minutes. After a day or two, your body will learn that the proper time for sleep is when you lie down in bed at the end of a day.
  
• Make a to-do list.
  People tend to lay awake in bed angst-ridden over the all the things they need to get done. Before you go to bed each night, draft a list of everything you need to do for the next day. Getting it down on paper helps get it out of your mind.
  
• Relax.
  You can’t run a crazy life and expect to just unplug your mind when you slip into bed. Sleep requires relaxation of mind and body. Try to take 30 minutes out at the end of each day to unwind: meditate, read, do yoga, take a hot shower or candlelight bath…anything that helps you put worries away for the next eight hours.
  
• Exercise regularly, early in the day.
  Some scientists believe that regular exercise may be the single best and safest method for improving sleep. Exercise has many wonderful effects on the body, all of which may contribute to better sleep. Exercise forces the body to work harder than usual, which means that we generally need more sleep to recuperate from the physical exertion. Exercise also increases the body’s production of endorphins and other hormones that lead to feelings of calm and well-being. However, time of day matters. In a 2003 study published in the journal
  Sleep
  , researchers looked at the effects of moderate-intensity exercise (such as brisk walking), low-intensity stretching, and time of day. They found that women who exercised
  in the morning
  for at least 225 minutes a week (three and three-quarter hours) had less trouble falling asleep than those who exercised less than 180 minutes per week (three hours). However, those who exercised
  at night
  had more trouble falling asleep. Women who stretched also had less trouble falling asleep, and they were less likely to need sleep medication, regardless of whether they stretched at night or in the morning. So for a good night’s sleep, exercise in the morning and stretch at any point during the day that works for your personal schedule.
  
• Don’t rely on sleeping pills.
  Only your doctor can determine if sleep medication is a good option for you. Sleep medication is designed to help with occasional bouts of insomnia—even if you have a prescription, it is never a good idea to take them for more than a week or two. Some medications are physically addictive, but all can cause psychological dependence, so that you may be unable to fall asleep without the pills simply because you believe you can’t. For occasional use, medications can be helpful, but they are not magic…it is better to fix the underlying problem.
  

SUPPLEMENTS

If you are plagued by insomnia and want to consider supplements, two have been studied scientifically and shown to have beneficial effects:

1. Valerian.
   This herb has been used as a sedative for hundreds of years. Like sleep medications known as benzodiazepines (which include Xanax, Valium, Librium, and Ativan), valerian seems to enhance the action of the neurotransmitter GABA (gamma amino butyric acid), which acts to calm us down and make us sleepy. If you want to try valerian, look for an extract standardized to contain 0.4 to 0.6 percent of valerenic acid. Take 400 to 900 milligrams per day, two hours before bedtime. Although valerian has been well researched for safety, it shouldn’t be taken for longer than 30 days. Common side effects include headache, itchiness, dizziness, and gastrointestinal distress. You should not take valerian if you are pregnant or nursing, or if you are also taking a prescription sedative. Although valerian has not been shown to have any significant interactions with medications, it is always best to talk with your doctor before beginning any herbal supplement.
   
2. Melatonin.
   This neurohormone has long been linked to sleep. Research shows that people with some forms of insomnia have lower-than-normal levels of melatonin. Reviews of the medical literature suggest that taking melatonin may help some people with insomnia—in particular, some older people and so-called night owls who naturally have a hard time falling asleep before 2:00 a.m. Other people may also benefit, but the research is less clear. Melatonin seems to be safe if taken for only a month or two, with no known cautions. The most common side effects are nausea, headache, and dizziness. If you want to try melatonin, the recommended dosage is 2 to 3 milligrams per day taken 30 to 60 minutes prior to bed time. (When buying supplements, remember that 1 mg = 1000 micrograms.) If you have trouble falling asleep, use immediate-release form; if you have trouble staying asleep, use sustained-release form. You may need to take it for several days before you see any results. If you don’t see results after two weeks, chances are it won’t work for you at all.