Reader's Corner

Addressing those problems – and minimizing the need to urinate by not drinking any liquids for at least an hour before bed time and avoiding caffeinated beverages for at least six hours, or alcoholic beverages for at least three hours – often helps. Caffeine is a stimulant, and alcohol disrupts sleep, especially REM sleep –although it can help you fall asleep. And both substances promote urination. Also useful: Blocking out disturbances by closing the curtains. Wearing a sleep mask, maintaining a comfortable room temperature, turning off the radio and TV, and perhaps using a "White noise" device . Exercise and warm baths may help too.

Finally, many older people's internal clocks , which governs the sleep-wake cycle , tends to drift forward , causing them to feel sleepy in the early evening and to wake up in the early morning darkness. The most effective way to push that clock back is to get outdoors in the late afternoon and evening; once sleep cycle are back on track, people can strengthen them by getting outdoors at midday.

When Is Napping A Good – Or Bad – Idea ?

If you have a hard time sleeping at night, its best to avoid daytime napping. That's because you will fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer if you can consolidate your sleep in to one chunk, which is more restorative then fragmented sleep. Try going to bed 30 minutes earlier at night for a week or so to see whether that eases your daytime sleepiness. However if you simply cant sleep enough at night, a brief nap at the same time each day – preferably in the early afternoon, when your energy level tends to drop – can make for much of the sleep debt and improve your function the rest of the day.

Does Exercise Or A Hot Bath Improve Sleep?

Yes, but it depends on when you do them. Exercise promotes wakefulness by causing the release of nerve – stimulating the hormones and elevating the body's core temperature. So its hard to fall asleep soon after working out. But the more energy you spend during the day, the sleepier you will be at bed time and possibly the better you'll sleep . Moreover, since body temperature normalizes about three hours after exercising, the temperature decline will help you fall asleep.

A warm or hot bath doesn't elevate body temperature nearly as much as exercise does, so you cool down and get sleepy much faster – usually within an hour or so. Of course the relaxing effect of a warm bath can also help promote sleep. And some research suggest that people can sleep more deeply after a bath.

Which Is Better At Improving Sleep : Pills Or Changes In Routine ?

Sleeping pills can help treat insomnia. However their proper role is treating occasional bouts of sleeplessness lasting no more than two to three weeks. Taking the pills longer than that may cause significant problems, including daytime sleepiness, progressively poorer sleep (Known as "Rebound insomnia") and with prescription sleep aids, an escalating risk of physical dependence. Two relatively new drugs- zaleplon and zolipidem (Nitrest) – don't curtail deep sleep, a common problem with older drugs. They also appear to be safer, but even the new drugs pose some risk of rebound insomnia and dependence.

So this means that people with chronic insomnia should focus on their sleep habits. In addition to avoiding liquids before bedtime, exercising and bathing at appropriate times, and limiting naps, try these other helpful steps.

• Go to bed only when you are sleepy.
• Use your bed only for sleeping and sex.
• If you suffer from heartburn at night, eat nothing for several hours before going to bed.
• Relax when you get into bed by tensing and then slackening muscles in your body, taking deep regular breaths or visualizing a comfortable scene.
• If you don't drift off within about 30 minutes, or if you wake up and can't fall back asleep, get up and do something else, as long as its not too stimulating.

What About Melatonin, Valerian, And Other Dietary Supplements ?

Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone that helps regulate sleep. While a few small trials have found that taking melatonin pills soon before bedtime may hasten sleep, the effect is modest at best. And melatonin does not seem to lengthen total sleep time, apparently because users tends to wake up sooner; further; melatonin does not improve sleep quality or sharpen alertness the next day. The harmones doesn't seems to be better then placebos at treating sleep problems caused by jet lag, night work, or a forward shift in the sleep cycle. In addition melatonin could worsen the symptoms of sleep apnea ; it may also cause confusion, drowsiness, and headache the next morning.

Limited research suggest that valerian root and kava could act as mild sedatives. Though side effects of each herb are generally mild, kava can interact with several medications and can impair coordination and blur vision in some people. Moreover, the optimal dosage of these products is unclear. And since herbal remedies have no regulatory oversight, there is no guarantee of purity or potency.

Does My Sleeping Position Or My Mattress Affect How Well I Sleep?

The few valid studies of mattress have failed to show that the type or the firmness influences sleep. So just go with whatever feels good to you.

The same generally applies to sleep posture. Babies who sleep on their stomach are more susceptible to sudden infant death syndrome; but belly sleeping does not appear to harm holder children or adults. If you have heartburn at night, sleeping on your left side may help keep stomach acid from backing up into your esophagus. Elevating the head of your bed or the head end of your mattress can have the same effect.

I rarely have dreams. Why not, and how can I remember them?

Everyone dreams every nights, at least a little. If you rarely remember your dreams, it means you either rarely wake up right after REM sleep (when dreams occur), rarely enter REM sleep or both. Two steps may make you more likely to remember your dreams: Avoid using an alarm clock, so that you wake up naturally right after the night's final stage of REM sleep. And adopt the sleep-enhancing steps outline in this article, so you are more likely to enter REM sleep.

To remember more dreams, try keeping a note book or a tape recorder near your bed and recording your recollections as soon as you wake up, if possible without opening your eyes, turning on the light, or analyzing the dream – all of which tend to make your recollections disappear.