Insomnia treatments

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NOW Alt.Health, March 31 - April 6, 2005

http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2005-03-31/goods_health.php

 

Long journey into night

Nip insomnia in the bed with jade and gentle thumb-squeezing

BY Elizabeth Bromstein

 

You can't sleep. So you lie awake, toss and turn, close your eyes, trying

to force yourself into unconsciousness. Force yourself to admit it's not

working. Sigh. Turn on your side. Sit up. Punch the pillow. Lie back down.

Close your eyes again. Insomnia is maddening, debilitating and very, very

common, affecting 30 to 40 per cent of adults. Left unchecked, sleep

deficit can cause irritability, depression and a weakened immune system.

Malfunctioning motor skills can also have serious consequences – a quarter

of a million car accidents a year in North America are attributed to sleepy

drivers

 

In 2000, a study by British academics Jim Horne and Yvonne Harrison blamed

sleeplessness and long shifts for the " human errors " that caused nuclear

disasters at Chernobyl and Three Mile Island, as well as the explosion of

the space shuttle Challenger.

 

Still wondering if you really need all that shut-eye? We've all heard it

said that eight hours makes us healthy, fully functioning members of

society. But before Thomas Edison's invention of the light bulb, people

caught an average of 10 hours a night of zee's. Still, we've all got one

freaky friend who seems to work just fine on five. Let's just say

everyone's got their own optimum sleep quotient.

 

If you can't crash, it's terribly important to rule out any serious medical

conditions, including apnea, a blocking of the airways during sleep that

can kill you. Many sufferers aren't even aware they have it, because they

don't remember waking up time and time again in the night. Illness ruled

out, you still need to get to sleep. You can pop all kinds of pills, but

even people who have no trouble with, say, taking an aspirin get creeped

out by soporific drugs.

 

Camomile , catnip , passion flower , skullcap , Siberian ginseng and lemon

balm are gentle and useful for short-term problems. Valerian can be

habit-forming, though not the way pharma products are, and some swear by

lavender-scented pillows .

 

Other natural, non-medicinal solutions involve calming the mind, breath and

body , a more challenging, but in the long term more lasting solution.

 

What the experts say

" Use physical movements and breathing to change your state of

consciousness. I use tiny movements alternated with periods of quiet rest.

These movements evoke synchronized brain waves that mimic early stages of

sleep. Insomnia is not just a bedtime problem and requires a 24-hour-a-day

solution. Sit somewhere quietly. Make no effort to breathe deeply - just

natural, easy breathing. Place your hands in your lap, palms down, bring

your hands together and hold one thumb, sort of like holding the handlebar

of a bicycle. Then inhale and gently and gradually squeeze your thumb.

Exhale and gently and gradually relax the grip on your thumb. Repeat that

maybe six or eight times. Do this for five minutes two or three times a day. "

 

MICHAEL KRUGMAN , guild-certified Feldenkrais practitioner, founder of the

Sounder Sleep System, author of The Insomnia Solution, Albuquerque, New Mexico

 

" I always advise people to deal with the issues of the day early in the

evening. Often when a person goes to sleep, it's the first time they've had

to think about what's gone on, and they start to worry or obsess. Have a

shower and imagine that you're under a waterfall and all the cares of the

day are leaving your body and going down the drain. If you've gone through

not sleeping over and over, you've built up an expectation that you're not

going to sleep. So it's really important to say to yourself, " I expect to

sleep. Sleeping is easy. " Don't watch the news just before going to bed,

because the mind gets agitated. Listen to soothing music. As you close your

eyes, imagine a peaceful place, maybe a beach or a forest. It trains the

mind to wind down. It's good to think of a place you've been to where

you've felt relaxed, because it can bring back those feelings. "

 

BARB KESHEN , certified hypnotherapist, Toronto

 

" People start worrying about why they haven't been able to sleep, and the

more they think about it, the more it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

There are some things that improve what we call 'sleep hygiene.' Because

sleep is controlled by an internal clock in the brain, have a regular and

appropriate bedtime and wake-up time . Many people spend a lot of time

tossing and turning in bed. Try going to bed later and getting up earlier

so that more of the available time might be spent sleeping. The worst that

happens is that you will get progressively more tired, and then you can

channel this. Exercise close to bedtime may be helpful, but don't make it

too vigorous. During the night, instead of staying in bed and getting

uptight, you may need to get up and find something to pass the time. Train

yourself to go to bed when you're sleepy and when sleep is imminent. "

 

JEFFREY LIPSITZ , MD, medical director, Sleep Disorders Centre of Metro Toronto

 

" The underlying issues are those related to trust and control. The mind is

in a chronic state of vigilance, and restlessness may result from feeling

that some activity is incomplete, some unspoken words still need to be

uttered or some emotion still needs to be expressed. There is doubt that

the next day will bring relief from the tension. The body can become stiff

and defensive and doesn't respond to ordinary triggers to disengage from

the day's battlefield. Garnet brings order to chaos and helps to regenerate

energy. It can be held in the hand or placed on the belly button or on top

of the pubic bone. Jade is physically and mentally relaxing. Lepidolite is

the anti-stress crystal. It helps to dissolve accumulated tension and to

further acceptance of change. Kunzite has a high lithium content and helps

a whirling, neurotic, obsessive mind to calm down. Wearing the crystal at

the heart chakra throughout the day provides the most help. "

 

KAREN RYAN , crystal energy healer, Toronto

 

" Number one, there should be no beam above the bed. In terms of physics,

energies congregate around sharp [edges] and can reflect back, which can

cause insomnia. Number two, there should be no mirrors at the head or foot

of the bed. Mirrors absorb microwave energies and create shadows that can

seem ghostly. Number three, no sharp corners pointing at the bed. Number

four, the head of the bed should have solid support, a solid headboard.

Last but not least, the bed should not be in a huge empty room, which can

create a lot of negative energy. "

 

PAUL NG , feng shui consultant, Richmond Hill