Here’s a start on my one-man, anecdotal report on all the devices, esoteric research, and alternative treatments I’ve explored over the last year or three.
I feel that technological, dietary, lifestyle, and mind/body
treatments for physical and mental health ailments and syndromes are the
preferred way to go -- whenever possible. They are underutilized, IMHO.
Why take a drug or risk an operation if you can treat an
existing problem treatable with a device? There will likely be fewer harmful or
irreversible side-effect/complications, or dangerous drug interactions, with
the added benefits of lower cost, and most likely, less pain.
It seems likely that many of our modern health problems are
really the result of our modern
lifestyle outstripping the adaptations of our biological evolution.
For instance -- it may be more common and natural for many
folks to sleep at several night/day periods during the natural rise and fall of
circadian rhythm/hormonal cycles rather than to force the entire sleep
experience into a solid, compressed eight-hour block. This modern-day, Western concept may be simply a cultural result of trying to squeeze more productivity out of post-Industrial Revolution workers. The same goes for the electric light, which artificially extended our wakeful hours. It’s been reported that Thomas Edison deplored sleep as “wasted time.”
Likewise, it seems our sympathetic nervous system has
remained at a stage of evolution adapted for quick bursts of “fight or flight”
responses to survive the short-term dangers of the Paleolithic Era, rather than
the chronic situational stresses common to our modern workplace -- never-ending
deadlines, societal pressures, anxiety-producing forcasts of impending crises –
as well as just plain old over-stimulation of our senses and minds.
So…away we go...
Sleep Devices:
I suffer with Obstructive
Sleep Apnea. This sleep disorder is best treated by the “gold standard” of medical
devices -- the Continuous Positive Airway
Pressure (CPAP) machine. Before I treated this pernicious condition eleven
years ago, I was at my wit’s end.
I'd advise my fellow sufferers to avoid painful throat operations
or oral jaw-jacking appliances, and to favor the CPAP instead. However, one way
or another, the condition should be treated and never ignored.
Not treating chronic OSA can lead to heart damage or even sudden
death from arrhythmia-induced cardiac arrest -- so it should be treated.
OSA is a very common problem for the
general public, and the real money-maker for sleep clinics, and thus easily
diagnosed and treated.
Chronic Insomnia
is a much, much more difficult condition to treat. I was nearly done-in by a
month-long bought of chronic insomnia, and finally had to be hospitalized due
to such complications as severe anxiety, depression, , and finally, ceaseless ruminations
of suicide. That’s how bad it got. I can fully empathize with the tragic consequences
of the sleep-deprived desperation exhibited such celebrities as Michael Jackson,
Whitney Houston, and Heath Ledger.
It took two weeks of nightly experiments with various
formulations/combinations of heavy-duty “drug cocktails” to stabilize my sleep
and mood. Although the intervention worked, these meds are troublesome, and
should only be used short-term if possible. I titrated myself off them as much
and as soon as possible.
If you have to take them -- you have to -- but there’s a long-term
price to pay. From personal experience, I’d strongly recommend avoiding two especially
troublesome meds -- Ambien and Zyprexa, if at all possible.
However, if you find yourself suffering from such extreme
symptoms as I did, hospitalization is a great idea – it sped up the healing process
and the intervention should be considered a necessary Emergency Room situation.
Don’t try to “tough it out” or go it alone. Reach out for help.
A Few Things I’ve Learned
Along the Way
Natural Supplements:
For mild cases of temporary insomnia -- melatonin, valerian root, and
l-theanine supplements may help.
Sleep hygiene: it
might help in bad-habit or “conditioned” cases. Among the key concepts to try are:
a quiet environment (use ear plugs or a “white noise” machine), room and body temperature,
and total darkness (use an eye mask).
Also, avoid caffeine, alcohol, exercise, and food too close
to bedtime. Avoid over-stimulation from such situations as emotional phone
calls, and excessive ruminations about the day’s events or tomorrow’s plans. Another good trick is to take a warm bath prior to getting into bed. As the body’s temperature cools down, it’s easier to fall asleep.
These CBT techniques work best for very minor, temporary
insomnia.
The Effects of Colored
Light on Circadian Rhythms, the Light-Dark Cycle, and Melatonin Release:
There’s a theory that “light pollution” profoundly disrupts
the natural circadian rhythms/body clock and thus the body’s release of melatonin.
I’m a believer that this theory is very, very valid.
Exposure to bright sunlight for 25 minutes in the morning
exposes the body to “blue part” of the light spectrum which inhibits the
release of melatonin, and also helps set the natural wake/sleep cycle.
On a side note, on cloudy days -- or for those suffering a
bout of Seasonal Affect Disorder (SAD) -- exposure to artificial light from a special
blue-light lamp can sometimes bring relief.
I’ve experimented with wearing blue-lensed glasses in the early morning to enhance my wakefulness.
These glasses also seem to have an added calming
effect on my mood. Although they may make you appear to be a hipster or
jazzman, they do seem to be very effective for me.
The biggest factor though, is that later in the evening and
night, we subject ourselves to artificial
“light pollution” from electric lights, TV screens, computer monitors, light-emitting
diodes, etc.
The thing to do here, in the early evening, is to don
“blue-blocker” sunglasses (orange or amber colored lenses) which simulate darkness to the body and signal the circadian rhythms to begin a release
of melatonin.
I put my “blue-blockers” on when I come home from work, and wear
them while using my computer, tablet, reading, and watching TV. They simulate a
perpetual sunset.
When I wake in the middle of the night, I also wear them
while I read. This very simple device prevents “over-stimulation” from “full-spectrum,
white electric light,” and makes it much, much easier to drift back to sleep. I
can’t recommend them highly enough for insomniacs.
What a simple
solution – so much better than hypnotic drugs.
An Endorsement of Naps:
I love to take an afternoon nap when
I can. The best time is naturally, from noon to 3:30 PM. This is the time of a natural lull in alertness in our
circadian cycle, but “power napping” is much discouraged by most modern Western
work schedules.
I’d nap every day if I could.More on my other experiments with devices and supplements, later.
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