“Like a drunk, a person who is sleep-deprived has no idea how functionally impaired he or she truly is.”  Charles Czeisler… Sleep researcher Harvard Medical School

Are you tossing and turning all night? Or do you sleep like a baby?

In his book, “The Way We are Working Isn’t Working,” Tony Schwartz is rather dramatic with the title of the chapter on sleep — SLEEP OR DIE.  He makes the case with example after example of decreased performance or decreased health when we don’t regularly have 7-9 hours of sleep. He notes we can become like a drunk unaware of our inability to perform and, in the most extreme cases, can become psychotic.

Not sleeping can become a vicious cycle. The more a person doesn’t sleep the harder they try and the more upset they can make themselves over missing sleep, thus intensifying the cycle. Evidence is clear that the resulting decrease of energy diminishes ability to combat depression, anxiety and physical illness.

So what can we do to intervene? Below are some guidelines

1.  Under the supervision of a physician eliminate use of sleeping pills. Its effects are temporary, often losing effectiveness in 2-4 weeks. A person may develop a dependence on these medications. There may be a “rebound effect.”

2.  Reduce consumption of alcohol and caffeine. Both disrupt Delta (deep) sleep. No alcohol 2 hours prior to bed time. No caffeine (a stimulant) 6 hours prior. Nicotine is a stimulant. Non smokers fall asleep faster than smokers.

3.  Exercise in late afternoon or early evening. This raises body temperature and is conducive to Delta sleep. On the other hand exercising more intensely than you are used to, close to bed time can stimulate your body and interfere with sleep.  

4.  Plan tomorrow’s activities two hours prior to bed time. Use the two hours to wind down with relaxing activities. TV is designed to keep you stimulated; it can keep you awake. Eating a light carbohydrate snack will also help produce serotonin, a chemical that helps produce sleep.

5.  Be in bright lights much of the day. This helps the body better adjust to the cycle of sleep. Prior to bed begin to dim lights in the house. This encourages the body to produce serotonin and Melatonin another chemical the body naturally produces that helps with sleep.

6.  Take a warm shower or bath to help the body naturally begin to produce serotonin and Melatonin.

7.  Make your environment conducive to sleep. This would include a darkened environment with minimal sound. Cooler temperatures are more conducive to sleep as it helps reduce the core temperature of the body.

8.  Reduce fluid intake.

9.  Avoid a heavy meal before bedtime. Do not go to bed too full or too hungry

10. If your mind is racing consider Schwartz’s idea to “Park your anxieties.” There is evidence that writing down your worries before bed time gives the mind permission to set aside those concerns temporarily and go to sleep. The same can be used in the middle of the night if awakening to worries.

This list comprises “sleep hygiene.” If you struggle to sleep, try these ideas and expect gradual but consistent change. It will take about two weeks to make a noticeable difference.

Bill

If problems persist contact me at my office for more structured intervention. Sleep tight.

“Be good to yourself. If you don’t take care of your body, where will you live?”  Kobi Yamada

How are you doing with those 2011 fitness goals? Taking small steps or have they been set aside? As we begin the second month of 2011, some have already put aside goals of fitness/energy.

Last week’s blog discussed aspects of energy, provided information for an energy audit, and mentioned Tony Schwartz, author of Way We are Working Isn’t Working. Remember the importance of energy in combating depression or anxiety.

He writes of managing physical, emotional, mental and spiritual energy,  with physical energy as the starting point.   Often  the fitness resolutions are set in the form of a weight goal. Media has trained us to be concerned about weight.   It is easy to set a specific weight and a specific time line.

These goals though become easy to ignore.   We have set weight goals many times   and have often given up rapidly.  There is evidence that even when successful,  95% of the time we regain the weight. To make it worse, as pointed out by  Judith Lutz in the Jan-Feb Psychotherapy Networker, article Recipe for Life by Judith Lutz,   research is clear that  the yo-yoing of weight increases a person’s percentage of body fat. The article also notes the somewhat startling research that   being over weight is not the cause of poor health as we are lead to believe. A major study by the Cooper institute in Texas (10 years and 26,000 men and 8000 women ages 20 to 90) demonstrated that mildly obese men were half as likely to have heart attacks as lean unfit men.

Fitness then is the key. Fitness is not as convenient to measure. What is your blood sugar level, your blood pressure, your cholesterol level? What is your resting heart rate or how far can you walk, run or ride a bike comfortably?   

Swartz talks of our “Immunity to change”. This is reference to the fact there is always a competing commitment we allow to take precedence. It may be the TV show or sugar or another convenient bad habit. A friend asks me when I return from  a bike ride…”are you going to live longer or will it just seem that way?”  This question demonstrates immunity to exercise of non exercisers.  

We often know the basics yet don’t do them. We know to eat breakfast but do not. We understand what makes up a healthy diet yet will eat as  inclination comes on, being immune to change. Often we eat by reflex, not related to hunger. Then we eat what is convenient…not noticing what we are actually hungry for.  

Where to start? Start small and simple.  Consider a simple goal. Maybe it is to eat breakfast daily. Perhaps you can begin to eat one  more fruit and/or one more vegetable per day. Or maybe it is to walk 20 minutes 5 days a week.  

Get started today with a manageable positive change in your fitness. Grow the base of your physical energy.  Grow some new energy habits. Begin to get over your immunity to change. 

Next week:    More on physical energy…Improving sleep.  

Stay warm and safe,

Bill

 “In the end it is not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” Abraham Lincoln

When I see clients who are depressed, I often wonder which came first the depression or the lack of energy. Either way, energy is our most important resource. We need to maximize energy to stand up to depression or anxiety in daily life. Energy is the path for a life with meaningful activity. Without energy our lives are empty.

How do you supply energy to your body? Often we are careless with the quick fixes of sugar or caffeine. On the other hand do you take a daily walk, spend quiet time or routinely socialize with friends?

Energy is more than the physical type where we typically focus. Energy is created by four separate but related sources: 1) physical, 2) emotional, 3) mental and 4) spiritual.  

Physical energy can be understood as our physical fitness. Emotional energy is related to dealing with stressful situations and the need for security. Mental energy has to do with focus and self expression. Spiritual energy is related to the meaning we have for our lives.

We can train in each of these areas. Yes, you read that right; training is possible in each of the four areas. Training includes reasonable stress and followed by proper recovery.   

How can we properly stress the resource and yet make sure we have adequate recovery? Take patience as an example; by gradually dealing with situations that incrementally require more patience, you can train yourself to be a little more persistent, a little more tolerant. We instinctively know that if we over exercise, some part of our body may break down with injury.  It is similar to gradually adding pounds as we lift weights. How can we properly stress the resource and make sure we have adequate recovery?  Don’t lift on successive days or start the quest for patience with a traffic jam on the Dan Ryan in Chicago.

 Ask yourself — “In what area am I most fit? What area needs the most training?” Consider taking an Energy Audit at www.theenergyproject.com to determine your strengths and weaknesses.

Training in each aspect will be discussed in future blogs. (Source: Way We are Working Isn’t Working by Tony Schwartz and The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz)   

Bill