Insomnia Relief: Get Out of Bed for Better Sleep?

Outside of giving its name to this blog, insomnia can be exceptionally difficult to live with. Insomnia is often referred to as "vague" because it is so difficult to determine what exactly is causing the sleeplessness: underlying medical conditions, chronic pain, depression, or even another sleep disorder like restless leg syndrome. For some, the cause could be as simple as stress.

Regardless of the cause, all insomniacs know that it can be nearly impossible to fall asleep or fall back to sleep. If you have insomnia, you may spend hours lying in bed, tossing and turning, trying desperately to fall asleep. You may even feel that doing so makes you feel even more stressed about not being asleep. A new study suggests that not only is that stress keeping you awake, but being in the bed itself might be contributing to your sleeplessness.

In fact, the researchers found that one of the best things to do is get out of bed. That will help you decrease the amount of stress you feel about not being asleep, and it may help you become more ready to fall asleep. If you are stressed or worried about other things, finding ways to "turn your brain off" before you get into bed may be helpful. The medical staff involved in the study suggested that a consistent sleep routine is more likely than simply lying in bed to help you fall asleep and stay asleep.

Here are my top five tips to help you create and maintain a successful sleep routine:

1. Set aside a "power down" hour before bedtime. Stop work. No chores. Do something relaxing like taking a warm bath, engaging in light reading, or watching TV if that's relaxing for you (avoid the news channels).
2. Go to bed and get up at the same time seven days a week -- no matter what!
3. Schedule in at least 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week. You can break up these minutes into pockets of 10 minutes if you have to. Here's an idea: Expose yourself to bright, morning natural light (a good thing for calibrating the body's natural clock) with a brisk walk before breakfast, then again at lunch, and after dinner.
4. Avoid caffeine after two in the afternoon. Don't forget hidden sources like soda, and some headache medicines.
5. Adopt some mind-, body- and sleep-friendly practices like meditation, massage or yoga.

It's best to associate being in bed with being asleep, not with being awake and stressing about not being asleep. A healthy sleep routine can help you do so, and though it seems a little contradictory, so can getting out of bed if you're really struggling to fall asleep.

Sweet dreams,

Michael J. Breus, Ph.D.
The Sleep Doctor™
Everything you do, you do better with a good night's sleep™

www.thesleepdoctor.com
Twitter: @thesleepdoctor
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thesleepdoctor

 

 

 

Follow Dr. Michael J. Breus on Twitter: www.twitter.com/thesleepdoctor

Comments

[hismuse]

01:55 PM on 03/15/2011

I've been dealing with a lot of insomnia over the past year or so, it's so incredibly frustrating. I have found that often, no always, going to the sofa to try to sleep helps. I'm not sure why but sometimes that is all I need to do. I'm pretty sure my insomnia is from hypothyroidism so I'm not sure there is a ton I can do to stop it.

[katiek2o]

12:10 PM on 02/28/2011

just hard to do, distract by getting up around the house. often when my dad's home i cant do what i normally do, try to do chores, organize, get physical to help get to sleep. this is tough to do when you're jeapardizing someones else sleep ha

[ILoveTheUSofA]

08:37 AM on 02/28/2011

The Doctor omitted the best advice of all:

Don't just limit your TV - Get RID of your TV! You won't be in danger of watching it if you don't have one anymore.

[alafonse]

07:43 AM on 02/28/2011

I think women are particularly prone to sleep deprivation. After years of getting up early in order to have some "me" time before getting the kids up and off to school, I find that if I can get 6 hours of sleep a night, I'm good. Seven is better, but increase it to eight and I feel like I'm coming out of a coma when I get up and it takes forever to "get my eyes open."
One thing I did several years ago was invest in a memory foam mattress. And then, because I have these sore aching joints, I put a memory foam topper on top of that. Ah...heaven!
But no matter what kind of mattress you have, for G's sake, turn it! My mattress sleeps better after I turn it head to foot when I change the sheets. Some mattresses require flipping and head/foot turning both. But whatever, it's important to turn-turn-turn that mattress periodically. (well, I guess if you have one of those sleep number mattresses maybe not)

[Pedigrees]

07:26 AM on 02/28/2011

Well, duh! We insomniacs have long known that it's better to just get out of bed. As for #2 - yeah, right. That might work if I didn't have a life.Avoiding the news is good advice - who could sleep after seeing what's going on the country these days?

[Imzadi]

06:25 AM on 02/28/2011

I frequently wake in the middle of the night. At first, I tried watching TV - mistake. Now, I listen to audiobooks on my iPod. Works like a charm - instread of losing many hours of sleep, I generally just lose one. It beats the alternative.

[thebearschick]

11:40 PM on 02/27/2011

I love sleep. I can sleep anywhere, and I never have a problem falling asleep.

[Contact1972]

02:41 AM on 02/28/2011

Seriously-I hate you lol!

Ive been dealing with insomnia since I was 12. It SUCKS.

[Dosadi]

09:05 PM on 03/02/2011

Pot works.

[katiek2o]

12:12 PM on 02/28/2011

i find when i eat more i sleep better, but my mind feels like an intoxicated mess.. just no clarity, spark for new ideas

[Jansue]

11:31 PM on 02/27/2011

I find something interesting about a pillow top mattress. I find that when I cannot fall asleep, I change the side of the bed where I sleep. I fall asleep soon afterwards' I might be sleeping at the head of the bed and cannot fall asleep one night after sleeping in that position for several days. I switch to the foot of the bed and fall
asleep soon afterwards.

[Imzadi]

06:26 AM on 02/28/2011

Fascinating - I will try that.

[nothingchanges]

10:51 PM on 02/27/2011

Watching or reading the news, and being politically aware, would keep any sane person up all night.

Ignorance truly is bliss....................

[anthonyve]

01:04 AM on 02/28/2011

Ain't that the truth.
Nothing more useless than going to bed grumpy, and the current state of politics does tend to make me grumpy.

[Mobu]

09:34 PM on 02/27/2011

New study? seems every other month theirs new studies.

[french queen13]

08:33 PM on 02/27/2011

New study? That's odd, because I read the get-out-of-bed advice years ago. The study may be new, but the recommendations certainly aren't.

[BlueZoo]

06:16 PM on 02/27/2011

Lying in bed but knowing you cannot fall back asleep is wasted energy! Get up! I read (a certain sleeping potion for me!) or some other activity. A girlfriend of mine cleans closets. There's always something to do and why waste the time? I'm not talking about doing this every night. If you're not sleeping night after night, then you need some help from a doctor; however, if it only occurs occasionally, there's no harm in making it work for you rather than against you!

[mrs adler]

04:14 PM on 02/27/2011

I'm at my happiest when I get up early but have had, at least, 8 or 9 hours of sleep. However, at the weekends, I usually need 12 hours to recharge... I'm a sleepy person.