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Failure to sleep falls into three categories - transient,
intermittent and chronic. Transient is the type we can
all get from lifestyle change, stress at work, jet lag,
noise and shift work. It can last from a few nights
to a few weeks. Intermittent insomnia recurs on and
off, possibly for years and is usually associated with
depression, anxiety, stress or alcoholism. Finally,
there's chronic insomnia, which occurs most nights.
The problem many insomnia sufferers face is it's not
taken very seriously in this country. According to Professor
Ian Hindmarsh at the Human Pharmapsycological Research
Unit, British GPs spend just five minutes studying sleep
disturbance during seven years of training. 'In the
US they have 88 different kinds of sleep disorder a
doctor can diagnose and treat,' he says. 'In Germany
they have 150 sleep clinics. In the UK, we have two
and a half.'
A bad night's sleep means the IQ drops and we do not
function properly. Hindmarsh says for shift workers,
this can mean the chances of having an accident increase
by 40 per cent. More than 20 per cent of car accidents
in the UK are caused by drivers falling asleep and it's
more likely a tired driver will kill than a drunk driver.
A lack of sleep is very bad for a nation's health which
explains why getting loads of sleep is the new thing
for US executives. Jeff Bezos, founder of online bookstore
amazon.com says he needs and gets eight hours sleep
a night. So if you want to get ahead get your head down.
Here's Lifebyte's guide to getting a better night's
sleep:
- Avoid sleeping in the day.
- Avoid caffeine, nicotine or alcohol near bedtime.
- Exercise regularly.
- Go to bed and get up at the same time every day.
- Wind down before bed with a book, a bath or music.
- If something is on your mind, write it down and
deal with it in the morning.
- Only use the bedroom for sleep. Don't watch telly,
work or eat in there.
- Establish a regular routine before sleep.
- Make sure the bedroom is dark, quiet and not to
hot or cold.
- Avoid rich or heavy meals late in the evening. Pasta
is ideal.
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