7 solutions to your sleep problems

Behavioral therapy
Here's the Catch-­22 of sleep psychology: worrying about not getting enough sleep can stop you from getting enough sleep. Sleep docs have even developed a protocol of behavioral modification that's been shown to work 70 to 80 per cent of the time for people who can't sleep because of excessive preoccupation with, or apprehension about, falling sleep.

Here's the drill:
• Go to bed only when sleepy.
• Get out of bed if you haven't fallen asleep in 20 minutes.
• Curtail all nonsleep activities in bed (no watching TV, eating, planning, or problem solving).
• Arise at the same time every morning.
• Avoid daytime napping.
• Don't get attached to unreal expectations about getting a perfect sleep every night.
• Do not blame insomnia for all daytime problems.
• Do not catastrophize (imagine all the bad things that will happen as a result) after a poor night's sleep.
• Finally, if this chapter is making you worry too much about sleep, put it down and go out for a walk in the sunshine!

Relaxation exercises
Throughout the night, your brainwaves are continually cycling between slow­wave activity of non-rapid eye movement, and fast­wave activity of rapid eye movement. Meditation and relaxation exercises can significantly help you get back into slow­wave activity if you are awakened in the middle of the night. For getting to sleep faster or for falling back to sleep in the middle of the night try meditation or relaxation exercises as a way of hopping onto the slow­wave sleep train that pulls you into the deepest stages of regenerative rest.

Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a helpful adjunct for treating insomnia. Thousands of research articles attest to the neurochemical effects of acupuncture, which significantly elevates endorphins to block pain pathways, promotes the production of chemicals that reduce inflammation, enhances circulation, and reduces the activity of neuromuscular spasm. In as much as acupuncture balances the nervous system and neurotransmitters, there's a logic for its use in promoting relaxation, which results in a better quality sleep. In China acupuncture has been used successfully for two thousand years to treat sleep problems, though this effect has yet to be studied in controlled trials that are considered the gold standard in Western medicine. In my own practice I use acupuncture as part of a comprehensive approach to insomnia in conjunction with other treatments based on the underlying causes of the sleep problem.

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Read more:
• Could sleep apnea be ruining your rest?
• The secrets of sleep-savvy moms
• The down-to-earth guide to getting more sleep

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Excerpted from The Source, copyright 2008 by Woodson Merrell. Used by permission of Random House Canada.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced except with permission in writing from the publisher.