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!