Sleeplessness
The other day as I was talking to my
sister, she mentioned about her difficulty in getting a good night’s
sleep. It did not surprise me,
considering that she is over 60 years of age.
That conversation prompted me to talk to my friends who also complained
of sleeplessness at night.
Many a senior citizens often complain about sleep
disorders. While some do have serious problems, few sleep well but are not
satisfied, as they do not feel well rested in the morning when they wake up.
There seems to be no scientific or proven guidelines as to how many hours of
sleep a human being really needs, as he grows older. The quantum depends on the
constitution of the individual. In general, the measure seems to be to the
extent that one feels well rested when one gets up after the sleep.
From the
interaction and enquiries from people around me, having collected data from
their experience, I thought why not summarize and present it for the benefit of
others. Though I personally do not have any consistent sleeping disorders, I do
have occasional bouts and I found many of the following tricks did give me
great result in inducing sleep.
In our younger days,
most of us fell asleep without effort as we all had our work to do for long
hours during the daytime and rarely had time even for a short daytime nap. It
was the waking up and leaving the bed that used to be the problem. Post
retirement with no long working hours
having plenty of time on hand with no specific time schedule to keep up,
we find that sleep allures us when we want to retire at night. For many retired
people social and physiological problem also aggravate to the insomniac
condition.
Sleeping pills may
not be the ideal long-term solution since over time, we could develop an
addition and just one dose may not be enough.
Therefore, how much sleep is enough for a person above the age of 60?
The Doctors say that 5 to 6 hours are sufficient for seniors. However, each person's metabolism is different.
Some require 8 hours while other makes do with just 5 hours.
Sleeplessness is due to some or other ailments. These
are –
1. Acute Insomnia, which could last for up to
month,
2. Chronic Insomnia that could, persists for over
a month to a few months,
3. Mild Insomnia, which is the alternating,
cycles of good nights sleep and restless nights.
What leads to
Sleeplessness?
· Over exertion or lack of physical activity
· Illness or mental stress
· Noise or light
· Temperature variations
· Limited or too much air circulation in the
room
· Eating heavy food late at night.
· Consuming imbalanced diet.
· Partner's snoring
· Watching disturbing programs on the
television
· Uncomfortable bed or pillow
· Consumption of caffeinated drinks or
canned/preserved food, smoking, or drinking large amounts of alcohol
· Aging and associated ailments.
Medical research recommends
to adoption of life-style changes to induce better sleep during nights.
Here are some tips
for the elders to fall asleep quickly and have a good night’s sleep -
· Adopt a routine - go to bed and wake up at
fixed time everyday. Early to bed and early to rise still holds good.
· Take a warm bath with some soothing agents
like Neem or basil leaves prior to sleeping.
· Wear loose clothes.
· Read a relaxing book, listen to soothing
music or watch a light movie.
· Consume plenty of fruits and salads to give
extra nutrients.
· Do not consume liquids for at least an hour
before sleep time since the body takes at least ninety minutes to process it.
· Eat a light dinner at least two hours
before sleep time.
· Keep the conditions in your room –
temperature, air circulation, bed, pillow, etc - comfortable as per your
liking.
· Use soft corner lamps in the living room
and avoid bright light in the evening, as eyes may not adjust to total darkness
immediately.
· Exercise regularly during the day. Yoga and
walks are better for seniors than exerting in the gym.
· Deep breathing while lying on your back
helps to relax and fall asleep.
· Saying a prayer and putting your head in
the lap of God banishes worries and helps in positive thinking.
· Keep items that could beep and radiate mild
light out of the bedroom – e.g. loud clocks, computers, fax machine, etc.
· Use a night lamp in the bathroom when
answering the call of nature and avoid switching on bright lights.
· Avoid excitement or arguments before
bedtime.
· Secure the doors and windows so you can
sleep without worry.
· Do not look at the timepiece to know time.
Instead, keep the alarm when you want to wake up.
In spite of all
these precautions, if sleep still eludes, then drink this hot cup of masala
milk:
1. Heat a cup of milk.
2. Grind 1-teaspoon poppy seeds, five almonds,
four strand of saffron, and a pinch of nutmeg.
3. Mix the powder with honey in the hot milk
and drink it hot.
Good Night!