Desperately Seeking Sleep

Two of the items I am trying to focus on this year losing weight and eating healthy, have both led me down the same path. In order to lose weight, I need to eat healthier. In order to lose weight, I also need to decrease stress and the inevitable sustained cortisol response and the negative effects it is having on my body. The more research I do about stress and ironically weight loss, I keep coming across one thing they both have in common, Sleep. Sleep and I have a long, troubled past. I have written about sleep before, here and here. Researches have long attributed sleep problems to depression, meaning if you are depressed, you might be more likely to have sleep problems. However, the tide is starting to change and now, studies are showing sleep problems may actually lead to depression. In fact, one study suggests those with sleep disturbances have a ten-fold chance of getting depression. Yet another viscous cycle, sleep problems may cause depression and depression may cause sleep problems. Another chicken or egg controversy.

Regardless of which came first, the sleep problems or the depression, it is becoming clear to me that fixing my sleep issues will be an important step to improving my health and losing weight. Not getting enough sleep has been linked with not only depression, but also weight gain and a decreased ability to manage stress, which has also been linked with weight gain and ironically sleep disorders.

If fixing sleep can help me reduce the negative effects of prolonged stress, lose weight and kick depression, I think it is a little important to start understanding sleep and get better at sleeping. So, I plan to focus more of my efforts on researching sleep and getting better at it.

One thing I read over and over is the importance of a sleep routine a controlled sleeping environment and the impact diet and exercise can have on sleep and sleep quality. So over the next few days, I will look at ways to improve my sleep and increase my sleep quality. Have you had sleep problems? The more I read, the more I realize it truly is one of the most chronic problems suffered by modern society. Everyone is trying to hack their sleep and come up with the next new supplement to get them there. I have even read about learning to function highly on fewer hours of sleep, but I am not interested in sleeping fewer hours, lets try getting some sleep before we worry about functioning on less sleep because clearly that is not working for me.

Engineering the Perfect Night's Sleep

I have read many articles on sleep hygiene in search for the illusive good night's rest. Note that I said, I have read them, not tried them all... But that is about to change. Now, in my mid- to-early forties, I have decided that my sleep is very important to me. Currently working as a health care data analyst, a bad night of tossing and turning can really take it's toll on my ability to perform my job. Staring at a computer all day is tough enough, but crunching numbers, writing computer code and staring at endless reports, debugging code and trouble shooting are all very difficult tasks to do when you are foggy from a restless night. I first told you about my sleeplessness here. Where I decided to start using an app to track my sleep and then try different things to see what impact they may or may not have on my sleep and sleep quality.

I am a reader, an endless seeker of knowledge and learning. Many times, I read something just so I know the answers I seek, because I don't like not knowing something. One of the many books I have read over the years was the Four Hour Body, by Tim Ferris.

Without going into a thorough analysis of his book, or his methods, for this post, I am primarily interested in what he has to say about sleep.

His recommendations include:


Taking 200 micrograms (mcg) of huperzine-A 30 minutes before bed: to :increase total REM sleep
Don’t drink more than two glasses of wine within four hours of sleep: Drinking more than two glasses of wine within four hours of sleep decreases your deep sleep. This is not news to me, we have known for some time that alcohol reduces the amount of quality sleep we get, even if it does make it easier to fall asleep. I am not a drinker in the first place, so this is an easy one for me.
Taking 15+ drops of California Poppy extract: to increase deep wave sleep up to 20%
Eat two tablespoons of organic almond butter on celery sticks before bed: to avoid nighttime low blood sugar. This one is something easy to live with and not so experimental, what could be bad about adding some almond butter and celery do my diet? However, I am looking for something a little bit more promising than a full belly at bedtime to help me sleep, I will save this one for later too.
One to two tablespoons of flaxseed oil (120-240 calories) also to avoid nighttime blood sugar dips. This one is going to add healthy Omega 3 to my diet and help keep my blood sugar steady throughout the night, but, again, I am looking for something just a little bit more drastic. Desperate times call for desperate measures and I want some sleep! This is another one I can save for later, when I am fine tuning my glorious new sleep habit when I find it.

• Do a single session of Tim’s Pre-Hab Testing from the “Pre-Hab” chapter in the Four Hour Body. Following is a quick breakdown of the four exercises and recommendations:

• Chop down to left knee x 6-12 reps

• lift up to the right knee 6-12 reps

• 5 TGU one side (16-kg kettlebell)

• 5 TGU one side (24-kg kettlebell)

• 5 reps single side

• 10 reps

Huperzine A is a moss. It is reproduces through spores. It has been used in Chinese folk medicine for many years to relax the muscles, improve blood circulation and for the treatment of rheumatism, bruises, swelling and even schizophrenia. Numerous clinical trials have been conducted for its efficacy in treatments of alzheimer's disease. There is no real evidence to support its use, however, its potential for alzheimers and other central nervous system disorders has been studied. While I AM searching for a decent night of sleep on a continual basis, I don't feel that I need to do anything so drastic just yet.... I think I will try some other less dramatic, or at least less questionable things to improve my sleep/sleep quality.


California poppy has been used for many years by native Americans for toothache and colic. It is supposed to reduce tension and give a sense of calm. It acts as a sedative and is considered less addictive than the opium poppy. Once again, there is insufficient evidence to support its use for anxiety,insomnia, aches, bedwetting, diseases of the bladder and liver, and other conditions.California poppy appears to be safe for most people when taken appropriately by mouth for three months or less. There isn't enough information to know if California poppy is safe for long-term use. While I feel a little more comfortable with this than the Huperzine A, I think I will still pass on it for now, there are still many things I can do before taking an experimental approach. 



What is next Tim Ferris? Give me something to help me sleep already!

Getting to Sleep: In addition to the sleep optimization ideas above, Tim also recommends the following sleep hygiene thoughts:

Sleep Temperature: Ah, this is one of my things. Tim Recommends starting at 65 degrees and moving your thermostat between 65 degrees as your low point and never going above 70. If you can’t control ambient temperature use socks of different thicknesses to tweak heat loss. Too bad, I already know about this one, nothing new for me, I like my room at a cool 65 degrees. Next!

Eat a large  Fat and Protein Dominated meal within 3 hours of bed time: Tim says that consumed within 3 hours of getting to sleep at least 800 milligrams of cholesterol (four or more large whole eggs) and 40 grams of protein.  Tim recommends eating two 3/4 of a pound rib eye steaks 3 hours before bed. This sounds a bit excessive to me! I am not trying to get fat, I am trying to sleep. While I do know that if I try to sleep when I am hungry, I am going to have a long night, and maybe some protein and fat before bed is a good thing to keep your belly quiet when you are trying to sleep, I am not ready to eat an entire cow and chicken before I go to bed. I think I would rather stick with the celery and almond butter...

Use of light cues: Tim recommends using light therapy in the morning.Used as a replacement for coffee first thing in the morning. 15 minutes pointing about 30 degrees off center angle, light therapy can make you more awake and aware. I have used a "happy lamp" before, but I am not convinced it will help me sleep, nor keep me awake after a sleepless night.

Incorporate Iso-Lateral resistance training (one arm or one leg):

1. Chop and Lift:

2. Turkish Get Up:

3. Cross-Body One Arm Single Leg Deadlift

4. Full Range Squat

Easy enough to accomplish for sure, and I am looking to lose 50 pounds this year, but once again, this is not the life altering or sleep altering thing I am looking for. Can't hurt to add it to my bedtime routine, if I had one. I will take a look at this in the future, to fine tune my sleep once I find it. 

Take a cold bath one hour prior to bed: Um...... NO, need I say I more? I like to take a nice hot bath before I go to bed, it relaxes me, it gets the knots out of my muscles from sitting at a desk all day, the lavender epsom salts seem to sooth my mind and my body, there is no way I am taking an ice bath instead!

Use an Ultrasonic Humidifier: This seems logical, cool air, decongesting mist, I don't really think this one is life altering either.

Use a Nightwave Pulse Light, (a slow-pulsing light the size of a cigarette pack), According to their website:NightWave silently guides you in a pre-sleep relaxation session in the privacy of your own bedroom. It’s like having your own personal sleep coach.

NightWave projects a soft light into your darkened bedroom. The “luminance” of the light slowly rises and falls. You lie with eyes open and synchronize your breathing with the wave of soft light as its movement becomes slower and slower. After a short time, NightWave shuts off and you roll over and fall asleep. And unlike sound machines, the soft light does not disturb others. 

Hmm, that sounds easy enough. I have seen an app in Google Play that reportedly does the same thing, maybe I will give this one a try. 

F.lux (http://stereopsis.com/flux) According to their website, Computer screens, tablets and mobile phones emit full spectrum light around the clock, it is well documented that blue light at the wrong time of day can keep you awake later and interfere with your quality of sleep. (Actually, now that I think about it, my sleep problems probably started around the same year I got the internet..)f.lux tries to help this by removing blue and green light to help you wind down in the evenings.

The Zeo Personal Sleep Coach (www.fourhourbody.com/zeo) Brad Feld’s favorite sleep device. The Zeo uses a headband that measures electrical patterns generated in the brain and can wake you at a point of elevated brain activity. It was the only recording device that offered usable data and that consistently reduced grogginess.

I think this is interesting, I am very interested in bio feedback, which is what this kind of reminds me of. A little on the expensive side as a first measure. I am going to wait it out on this one, there truly has to be something that I can do that is a little more accessible and will work.

So, there we have it, Tim Ferris's four hour body recommendations for sleep. 
As I sit here writing this, its already past 11pm, my best bedtime is at 10. My screen is kind of an orange color, the color the F.lux has made it, it certainly feels easier on my eyes, guess we will see how it does at helping me sleep, or at least at not making my sleep worse. 


To Read more about Tim Ferris' The Four Hour Body Plan

             

Sleep Hygiene

What is sleep hygiene?

Sleep hygiene is a variety of different practices that are necessary to have normal, quality nighttime sleep and full daytime alertness.

What are some examples of good sleep hygiene?

    Photo Credit

 

 

 

According to the Sleep Foundation:

The most important sleep hygiene measure is to maintain a regular wake and sleep pattern seven days a week. It is also important to spend an appropriate amount of time in bed, not too little, or too excessive. This may vary by individual; for example, if someone has a problem with daytime sleepiness, they should spend a minimum of eight hours in bed, if they have difficulty sleeping at night, they should limit themselves to 7 hours in bed in order to keep the sleep pattern consolidated. In addition, good sleep hygiene practices include:

If you saw my earlier post on sleep, You know that I do not keep a regular sleep schedule. I am a night owl, I am sleepy all day and as soon as I get home, I am wide awake and ready to pull an all nighter, On this note, I tend to stay up late on the weekend, since I only sleep at a decent hour during the week because I have to.

The sleep foundation also recommends the following sleep hygiene

 

 

• Avoid napping during the day. It can disturb the normal pattern of sleep and wakefulness.

           Sigh... When I have a night like last night I tend to sleep in my car at lunch time. My work 

           requires a ton of focus and attention and I cannot work when I am groggy. I am certain that    

           once I get my regular sleep more controlled, I will do a much better job at skipping the lunch

            time naps.

• Avoid stimulants such as caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol too close to bedtime. While alcohol is well known to speed the onset of sleep, it disrupts sleep in the second half as the body begins to metabolize the alcohol, causing arousal.

           This is easy for me, for the most part, I don't drink, but I chain smoke at home and I drink my

           mountain dew all the way up to bedtime. I have always said the Mountain Dew didn't effect

           my sleep, because I was able to fall asleep with a bottle in my hand, like a baby, but as I get

           older and come to terms with my sleep problems, I am perhaps a little more ready to admit this

           is a problem for me.

• Exercise can promote good sleep. Vigorous exercise should be taken in the morning or late afternoon. A relaxing exercise, like yoga, can be done before bed to help initiate a restful night's sleep.

          LOL, if you read my last post, you know that I am not exercising, so I highly doubt that too

          much exercise is causing my sleeping issues, quite likely the opposite problem.

• Food can be disruptive right before sleep.  Stay away from large meals close to bedtime. Also dietary changes can cause sleep problems, if someone is struggling with a sleep problem, it's not a good time to start experimenting with spicy dishes. And, remember, chocolate has caffeine.

          I am not ready to explore this one just yet, I eat late sometimes and this is another one that will

          be harder to break.

• Ensure adequate exposure to natural light. This is particularly important for older people who may not venture outside as frequently as children and adults. Light exposure helps maintain a healthy sleep-wake cycle.

• Establish a regular relaxing bedtime routine. Try to avoid emotionally upsetting conversations and activities before trying to go to sleep. Don't dwell on, or bring your problems to bed.

• Associate your bed with sleep. It's not a good idea to use your bed to watch TV, listen to the radio, or read.

         Oops, I read, blog, watch TV and almost anything else in my bed, apparently except sleep, so
         this one is one I am going to need to work for.


Well, my warm Epsom salt, lavender bath awaits me, as well as my pillow. Hope you can get some sleep tonight, Me and my sleep cycle analyzer will see you tomorrow with our updated results and some more plans for preparing for eating right.

I feel like this today

This is what I feel like today

 

My sleep graph accurately depicts my lack of sleep last night. I am kind of fond of this little app. As you can see, I only successfully dipped into the deep sleep around 0330 and again at 0530 and then my alarm started going off. So, when I woke up feeling out of it, groggy, cranky, sleepy this morning, I can see clearly why, I slept like shit... I had often suspected that I wasn't getting quality sleep, going through the days at times, feeling like I am half out of it. On the contrary, if you look at the night before, I slept quite well, albeit I stayed up late and slept in. I definitely can feel the difference in how I feel, between the two nights.



 

While, I cannot do anything to retroactively fix my lack of sleep, I have been tying to keep track of what goes on before I go to sleep and then make note of the different results. Now, Saturday for example, I was a little under the influence. I went to bed late, with a migraine approaching so I did take my migraine pill and added a Benadryl about an hour later as well as an anti-anxiety pill to reduce some tension I was feeling and aide in sleep setting in. I also took a warm bath before sleep, with Epsom salts and lavender essential oil. This may have also impacted my sleep quality, but I will not know for certain until after I have more data points to check. So, I will continue to monitor my sleep and the things that may be affecting it before I draw any serious correlation. (Geez, I am sounding like a statistician, I kind of am by the way). So, it is already after my target 10 PM bedtime, I am going to take my bath, without the extra meds tonight and see what my sleep gram looks like tomorrow.

Sleep cycle

My sleep graph for Saturday 20-21 Dec. Analysis by Sleep Cycle alarm clock for Android. http://sleepcycle.com/get/

Last night, I finally went with the sleep cycle app. It looks like I slept well, my graph indicates a normal pattern of sleep. I will not however that I did take my usual.sleeping pill last night in addition to some benadryl and ativan because I was fighting a migraine. So while this looks like a decent night of sleep, it was not unassisted. I would prefer my first night of tracking had been un assisted but, this app makes it easy to track things that have impacted your sleep.

Desperately Seeking Sleep

Photo Credit

Searching for the Illusive Night of Restful Sleep

Sleep is my nemesis. I don't know when it started for me, the restless nights but sleep and I have been incompatible for as long as I can remember.

Sometimes, I have insomnia, I just cannot sleep, no matter what I do.

Sometimes, I can sleep for hours, days even, and I never feel like I have gotten enough rest.

I rarely sleep well, I never feel rested, I am always tired.

I realize that always and never are such extreme words, but for me, there is no other way to describe the constant struggle for a good night sleep.

Insomnia, chronic fatigue, sleeping too much, I have it all.. Truly.  

There is much research to suggest that depression causes sleeping problems. Recently, however, it has become a chicken or egg discussion. Chronic sleep issues are now thought to CAUSE depression, rather than the other way around.

Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS)

The earliest sleep problem I can recall, is having a constant urge to move my legs. I used to call it shaky leg, until I found out there was actually a term for it, Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS). Yep, sounds like one of those crazy, made-up disorders, doesn't it? I remember in my early 20s, trying to sleep and my legs just wanted to move... I would get up in the middle of the night and do squats and calf raises, trying to wear out my muscles so they would stop. Later, I learned that scalding hot water helped, if I took a super super hot bath before I went to bed. I am talking, dip your toe in, and ease your body into the tub and it burns, boy does it burn. You will never find my hot water heater on a child safe setting, I wouldn't get any sleep! I have been known to scald my legs in hotel rooms, where for some reason, my RLS seems worse. Actually, it always seems worse when I am away from home, no matter the location. 

I take medication for it now, it helps most of the time, but not always, occasionally, I still have issues... I have found some OTC meds that help in a pinch, but there is no sure-fire way. Just a few preventative measures coupled with prescription medication, and that still isn't a sure fire way to stop it.

Light Sensitivity

My sensitivity to light is a more recent development. I don't remember having such sensitivities in my 20s, but certainly, for at least the past 10 years or so, I need my room pitch black to sleep. I swear, I threw a party when I first saw Black-out curtains! When I was a young girl, I thought it was funny how dark my dad kept his room, but he worked shift-work and slept during the day, so that makes a lot more sense. But, blinds and black out curtains are not enough for me! I put electrical tape on my cable box lights and any other red, green or blue thing that glares in the night. It never made sense to me how those little lights could bother me, my eyes are closed after all. Maybe it is all in my head, but my clock is turned away from me, and dimmed as low as it can go and I have electrical tape on all my bedroom appliances. 

Noise Sensitivity

This is another one I used to laugh at my dad for... he used to keep his bedroom TV parked on UHF, if you are old enough to know what that is. Again, I do not know when it started, but, now, I too require white noise too sleep. I have tried white noise machines, they feel too artificial, I have tried apps on my phone, but the best noise for me is and has always been a fan! When they started coming out with whisper quiet fans, I thought to myself, why would anyone want a quiet fan? My children have all inherited this need for white noise from me. We travel with fans or phone apps. I have been known to call the front desk of my hotel room to ask for a room fan. I used to think it drowned out the noise, and sometimes it does. (Like when I lived in a town house and my next door neighbors kept their bedroom TV on all night) But now, I think it is something mesmerizing. I think it helps me quiet my mind, as I concentrate on the steady, constant sound, it lulls me into slumber. If, I am going to sleep that night, that is...

Temperature Sensitivity

Another sensitivity of mine, is temperature. I absolutely NEED the room to be cold. I am talking, 65 degrees, snuggle up under the comforter cold. This particular sensitivity tends to be expensive in the hot summer months, but works well in the winter, I don't need heat. My kids complain they can't sleep if the temperature is above 68 degrees, so I guess their skinny wives will be freezing their butts off someday, or my boys better be good at snuggling, because we like it cold when we sleep.

Pillows

I am a pillow snob, I have yet to find the perfect pillow, I have tried them all! I have yet to find a pillow that is soft and yet firm enough to give me just the amount of support... Sometimes, I think I found a winner, only to be disappointed in a week or so. I also tend to sleep on my arm, much to my chiropractor's lament. Some think that having the right pillow, with just the right amount of firmness, will stop the desire to put your arm under your head. It does not seem to matter to me, I could have a rock under my head and I would still want to put my arm under there....So, I will continue to wake up with the trigger points in my shoulder blades flared and a stiff neck and shoulder, until I find that perfect pillow. Don't even get me started on my need for a leg pillow....

Position Sensitivity

Besides, the arm under my head, I have a quite a few positional requirements for a good night sleep. I like to lay on my side, arm under my head, toes of one foot, wrapped around the very bottom of the mattress, the other leg, up on a body pillow. My thumbs must be resting between my pointer and middle fingers, on each hand. Yep, sounds ridiculous, but it is true, this is how I must sleep. If you were laying in my bed with me, you would know I was ready to fall asleep when I start to scoot my body all the way to the bottom of the bed to find the bottom of the mattress with my toes... lol, I know.. I have issues!

So, if the moon and stars are aligned perfectly and my pillow is comfy, my room is dark, cold and filled with the sound of my loud, whirling fan... My body is in just the right position, I might actually fall asleep. Ah..... I do love to sleep, but I never feel rested! It does not matter if I get 6 hours, 8 hours, 12, hours, 15... it is never enough, which leads me to believe I am not getting quality sleep. 

I have been evaluated for sleep apnea, I take sleeping pills every night, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but the one thing I know for certain, without the sleeping pill and the restless leg pill, I will not be sleeping that night.

One could easily evaluate my lifestyle and come up with a few things that need to be corrected, so that I can sleep soundly, but where is the fun in that? While I am on this mission to get healthy, I want to lose weight, quit smoking, start working out, get healthy in general... Well, let's throw quality sleep in the mix.. I am going to start trying some different things and see what works for me and what doesn't.

In order to evaluate the quality of my sleep, I have chosen to use the sleep bot app. The Sleep Bot app for android tracks your sleep patterns and measures how well you sleep over the course of several nights. It also tracks your movement at night, records sounds in your sleep like talking or snoring and wakes you gently in your lightest sleep phase within 30 minutes of your scheduled wake time, so that you are not roused from your deepest sleep. I have tried another app in the past, and found it interesting to see how much deep sleep I was getting, or not getting, in my case. (which the apps measure based on your night time movement.)

So, for the first week I am just going to carry on about my day as usual and track my sleeping patterns without any adjustments. Next, I plan to make various adjustments based on sleep hygiene articles from various sources I will document the changes and see if it has any impact on the amount of or quality of my sleep. 

I am excited to see what I come up with! If something ends up keeping me awake... nothing new, if I get a good night sleep or wake up refreshed for the first time, EVER, then what a great success that will be!

So, follow me on my journey... DESPERATELY SEEKING SLEEP!