At Robinson MD, our priority is to help you create a strong foundation of health and wellness. Inadequate sleep has been associated with chronic pain, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, asthma, gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD), thyroid disorders, and Alzheimer’s disease. Without restful sleep, your health will be as unbalanced as a house of cards. Unfortunately, many people suffer from insomnia and poor sleep quality. We are here to help!

In order to improve rest, it is important to assess your current sleep habits. Keeping a sleep log gives a starting place for improvement. Documenting your sleep habits for a period of time can often uncover a pattern with naps, exercise, or evening beverages affecting sleep. Sometimes simple changes in lifestyle habits can significantly improve your sleep quality.

After assessing your current habits, we move into sleep preparation. It may sound a little silly but setting the stage for a good night’s sleep is very important. Creating a cool, dark, comfortable and clutter-free place of rest can help considerably. Tools such as a cooling mattress pad (Ooler), sound machine, or a weighted blanket can be helpful. Controlling disruptions is a part of this step. We recommend setting your phone to silent/do not disturb or even better keeping it out of the bedroom. One emotionally difficult task is retraining our pets to sleep in a crate or animal bed rather than in your bed. Often, both you and your pet will sleep better and feel cozier. Also, syncing up bedtimes with your sleeping partner can decrease sleep interruption.

Now that we have prepared for a good night’s rest, we can dive into some additional behavior changes that can improve your sleep quality. Watching the news, reading suspenseful novels, alcohol, and exercise are arousing activities that should be avoided in the hours leading up to a defined “bedtime”. The goal is to allow the body to begin to relax physiologically. Instead, practice meditation or breathing exercises, listen to relaxing music, and take a hot bath before bed. Although alcohol can help you to fall asleep faster, it reduces your time in REM and deep sleep, the cycles of sleep that have the most health benefits. Computer, TV, and phone screens before bed interferes with sleep signals from the brain. Wearing blue-blocking glasses for 2 hours before bed can reduce this problem. Exposing your eyes to sunlight early in the morning can also help set your circadian rhythm. Other conditions that need to be addressed if present are anxiety disorders and sleep apnea. If anxiety is interfering with sleep, successful treatment can improve sleep. Sleep apnea can be easily ruled out with a home sleep study.

Finally, we need to understand that there is no “correct” amount of sleep and remember that sleep is a very complex and unique process for each individual. Each person’s situation is different and may need to be addressed in a different way, reassessed and tweaked often multiple times. It is important to work with your primary care doctor or sleep specialist if you struggle with sleep. We can’t underestimate the importance of a good night’s sleep as one of the primary foundations of your health and wellness!