Collective Wisdom for a Good Night’s Sleep

published by Jason Buberel on Wed, 07/28/2010 - 08:01
English

[caption id="attachment_959" align="alignleft" width="73" caption="Image courtesy of @accarmichael"][/caption]

This guest post is by Alexandra Carmichael of CureTogether, a web community devoted to the idea that people can help each other live better by sharing data and experiences.

Last night I couldn’t sleep.

I lay awake, trying to relax my muscles, feeling my heart beat echo through my body.

It feels like a car that won’t start, and it happens quite often. Maybe that’s not surprising, since I’m homeschooling two kids and running two startups at the same time.

Still, sleep deprivation is not fun. I’m always looking for new ideas to help me get a better night’s sleep. I drink chamomile tea and avoid caffeine. I try to get lots of fresh air and daily walks. I read fiction before bed. I study the science of sleep. I’ve even tried Seth Roberts’ theory that standing on one leg to exhaustion can help you sleep better (I think it works).

But sometimes I still can’t sleep. And I know I’m not alone. According to the National Sleep Foundation, 40 million Americans suffer from insomnia.

It’s also the 5th largest condition community at CureTogether, where over 1100 people are sharing their experiences with different treatments. Below is an infographic we put together showing the most popular and effective insomnia treatments as reported by CureTogether members; an interactive version of this, with up-to-the-minute data, is here.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="612" caption="Results as of July 23, 2010"][/caption]

The most popular and most effective treatments are shown in the top right part of the graph. Treatments in the top left part are reported as more effective than average, but not many people have tried them, so presumably if more people tried these, they could be helped. Treatments in the bottom right part are very popular, but reported as less effective than average, so they may not be as helpful as you might think. And treatments in the bottom left are neither effective nor popular.

The numbers are constantly changing as more people add their ratings, but the point of charts like this is to give us new ideas.

For example, I’m not personally a fan of taking drugs, but I hadn’t considered white noise as an effective way to block out the basketball court outside my window or the neighbor’s TV. And if quitting caffeine is more effective than taking Tylenol PM, then eliminating these two drugs in favor of a restful sleep may be a lifestyle change worth considering.

So whether you settle down with your favorite book, curl up with your Zeo, or snuggle with a loved one, sharing ideas can help us all sleep better. I hope I can quiet myself enough to sleep well tonight, and I hope you can too.

Alexandra Carmichael is co-founder of CureTogether, Director of The Quantified Self, a Research Affiliate at Institute for the Future, and advisor to a number of startups. She tweets on topics of health and chronic conditions @accarmichael. Alexandra lives with a chronic condition herself, and tries to make the world a better place by helping 10 people every day.

scorpiodbk

Sat, 02/26/2011 - 12:18

  Narcolepsy is a chronic disease
of the central nervous system. Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is the
main symptom and is present in 100% of patients with narcolepsy. Other
primary symptoms of narcolepsy include:

•    loss of muscle tone (cataplexy),

•    distorted perceptions (hypnagogic hallucinations), and

•    inability to move or talk (sleep paralysis).

Additional symptoms include disturbed nocturnal sleep and automatic
behavior (patients carry out certain actions without conscious
awareness). All of the symptoms of narcolepsy may be present in various
combinations and degrees of severity.

Narcolepsy usually begins in teenagers or young adults and affects both
sexes equally. The first symptom to appear is excessive daytime
sleepiness, attacks sleepiness which may remain unrecognized for a long
time in that it develops gradually over time. The other symptoms can
follow excessive daytime sleepiness by months or years. Drugs used to
treat the narcolepsy: Modafinil, Modalert, Modapro or Provigil - these drugs has a much lower risk for high blood pressure and mental side effects.

Vicki (not verified)

Fri, 08/27/2010 - 05:52

The best way to beat insomnia is to get into a decent sleep pattern by going to bed at the same time each night. The body soon adapts to its new habits.

Alexandra Carmichael (not verified)

Tue, 09/07/2010 - 09:08

Thanks Vicki! Good advice - easier said than done though, in my case. :)

erichards

Fri, 11/16/2012 - 10:03

THIS plus making your bed COMPLETELY comfortable.  clean sheets, clean duvet, good mattress, good pillows (and not too many pillows!)  i make sure that i was my sheets at least once a week, everything is one color so as not to be distracting (no crazy patterns), i use lavender scent as suggest by someone on the forum, only 2 pillows, and i have a memory foam mattress that helps me stay in place for the night (i have problems with tossing and turning).  keep this scenario and your bed will become your sanctuary.  also no alarm lights! blinking lights can be distracting. no phone lights or checking the laptop before bed either

RaZZZ

Thu, 03/24/2011 - 21:10

 I see you mentioned chamomile tea.  Have you tried:

  • Valerian Root - which contains the active ingredient found in most sleep medications
  • Hops - brewing a tea with hops flowers
  • Lavender - putting lavender oil on your pillow
  • Melaton, the 'dark hormone' - taking melatonin supplements to induce sleep

I've suffered from sleep apnea my whole life.  It used to cause me night after night of sleeplessness.  Over the past decade, I've come to find my own perfect sleep recipe.  A combination of a warm bath coupled with relaxation techniques, white noise, some herbal remedies and progressive muscle relaxation while in bed. 

 

I hope you find your sleep recipe.