Sleep pattern disturbances:
- Shift work will result in poor quality sleep for almost everyone
- Chronic sleep debt
- Disruptions in sleep patterns are very common and a very unpleasant side effect of aging
Effects of sleep loss/disturbance:
- Research indicates that chronic sleep deprivation can hasted the onset of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, memory loss, immune dysfunction, and can worsen all of these conditions.
- Decreased insulin sensitivity, disruption in blood sugar handling, disruption in thyroid rhythm and function, and nighttime surges in cortisol.
- Aging
- Increased need for daytime napping, early morning awakening, restless sleep, frequent nighttime waking, poor quality sleep, waking without feeling refreshed, and an inability to rigidly follow a controlled 24-hour sleep cycle.
Improved sleep techniques:
- Morning exposure to 45 minutes of daylight quality light (light therapy lamps)
- Eating at regular times and no skipping meals
- No alcohol before bed (sedation is not the same as sleep)
- Taking a warm bath for 30 minutes starting about 90 minutes before you would like to fall asleep
- Set a specific time each night to go to bed and to get up in the morning
- Consistent day time exercise
- Cold extremities and especially cold feet can prevent sleep
- Have a nightly routine to wind down before you go to bed.
- No stimulation activities such as TV, computers or suspenseful books.
- Sitting quietly with a cup of chamomile tea before bed to help unwind from the day. As well as meditative exercises.
- A dark room with no light. No electronic light sources or night-lights. Use heavy curtains and eye masks if necessary to keep out unwanted light.
- Keep noise down to minimum. Removing clocks that may tick to loud or other noise generator. Use earplugs if necessary or white noise machines.