Sleeping Soundly
By: Mary Alston Kerllenevich, Ph.D.

Sleep can be so elusive – it sometimes seems like the more you need it, the harder it is to come by. There are so many things that keep us from sleeping more – yet those hours we spend doing nothing are some of the most valuable of our day. It’s amazing how much our bodies depend on sleep. Doctors have linked a lack of sleep to an increase in numerous health problems, from cancer to heart disease to diabetes. While it may not surprise you that you’re more likely to catch a cold when you’re underslept, it surprises many people that a lack of sleep makes it hard to maintain a healthy weight (and even harder to lose weight). Aside from the health risks of not getting your winks, there’s the increased psychological stress that comes from being tired. Everyone can tell when you’re exhausted – your reaction time is slower, you may be a little grouchier, you can’t concentrate and you make so many more mistakes.

Despite everything we know about the importance of sleep, it seems like it just keeps getting harder to get enough of it in our 24-7 world. Sometimes it seems like you’re simply always on duty – if you’re not at work, there’s family responsibilities (children are a major sleep disrupter!), emails to return, and countless chores to be done. If you’re not actually up doing all that work, chances are you may be laying in bed thinking about it. Of course, late night television and movies also do their part to make sure that your mind is still on – still tuned in to the outside world.

How do you know if you’re getting enough rest? Not everyone needs 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night, and many people can make up for a loss of sleep with just a short nap. The first sign, feeling tired, isn’t one we always notice right away. You may be so busy or stressed that you don’t notice how tired you are. Another sign may be increased edginess or agitation. Some people have a change in appetite (they’re either really hungry or just don’t feel like eating) or start having blurry vision or problems concentrating. You may just react more strongly to small annoyances or get sick often. All of these little signs mean that you’re developing a huge sleep debt and need to catch back up!

So how do we tune out and get some shut eye? Psychologists who work with insomnia stress the importance of good sleep hygiene. Just like eating your vegetables, flossing, and getting enough exercise, it’s really important to have solid sleep routines. This means that you should generally go to bed and wake up around the same times every day. It also means that where you sleep has to be a restful place – if you work, pay bills, have fights, or watch t.v. in your bedroom, that takes away from how relaxing the room will be for you and the extent to which you naturally associate it with sleep. You should also avoid some other common culprits in disrupting your zzz’s: consuming food, alcohol, nicotine or caffeine too close to bedtime. Try not to have caffeine in the last four hours of your workday, regardless of whether you work nights or days.

Once you’ve cleaned up your sleep routine, the next annoyance keeping many of us up at night is a nagging to-do list or worries. Believe it or not, the best way to get these thoughts out of your head is to turn the light back on, write them down, and then go back to bed. Once you’ve written those worries down, you can be sure you won’t forget to deal with them the next day. Another great habit is to write in a journal before bed so that you can release the stresses of the day rather than running them around your head all day.

If you still have trouble sleeping, or wake up often, you could have a sleep disorder or a medical issue (or share the bed with someone who does). Your physician can order a sleep study and determine if there’s any medical cause that’s waking you up at night.

Whatever your current sleep habits, occasionally cleaning them up a little bit can help you feel more satisfied with life and have the energy to face some of those other challenges in life.

 

Mary Alston Kerllenevich earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Clark University in 2006. She completed her pre-doctoral internship with Emory School of Medicine at Grady Hospital in Atlanta prior to joining Psychological Services of St. Augustine in 2006. She works with both adults and children, and specializes in treating a variety of child behavior problems, and problems with depression and anxiety. She particularly enjoys working with young children and families, and uses a solution-focused approach in her treatment of mental health problems.

Psychological Services of St. Augustine, Inc.

Main Office: 1100-1 South Ponce de Leon Boulevard, St. Augustine, Florida 32084
Phone (904) 824-7733 Fax (904) 829-9768

Southlake Office: 300 Kingsley Lake Dr, Suite 403 St Augustine, FL 32092

pssa@pssacare.com