My daughter suffers from insomnia and has tried any number of remedies.
She loves when ignorant articles like this come out and tell her that the solution to not sleeping well is to sleep more.
The key is to fall asleep right away so you can get that "deep sleep" phase behind you.
I find that taking a long walk on a regular basis (any time during the day) helps. Also, no snacking after dinner. I also don't have a TV on. Maybe some music.
Welp, I’m screwed. If I get 4 hours it’s been a really good night.
Ambien, Sonata, nothing helps now. Tried everything that you can list for years, can’t shut my brain down.
I think I’d rather stay awake during my teens, twenties and thirties than gain a handful of years in my eighties or nineties.
Don’t take the experimental mRNA gene therapy treatment can help you live longer too.
Get a new mattress every 10 to 15 years, in my opinion.
Is it possible that the factors that cause insufficient sleep also cause early death? One’s illness interferes with sleep.
Is the study confusing causation with correlation?
I don’t have any problem. I’m usually out cold within a few minutes of getting into bed, sleep a solid 8, get up, go to the bathroom and lay down again for another 1-1.5 hours.
Of course, I’m retired with nothing to do and all day to get it done, so I get up when I want..
Hmmmm, I must have died years ago.
Having a large Maine Coon cat take up residence at the top of one’s pillow and slap their huge plumy tail across your face like a metronome is NOT beneficial to falling asleep. Having said Maine Coon cat engage a smaller rescue cat in a cat tornado across one’s bed in the early a.m. hours is NOT conducive to staying asleep. But somehow, I manage.
Consider getting tested for sleep apnea.
Sleep disordered breathing, especially sleep apnea is not only common, but commonly underdiagnosed.
It's not just for people of size, those of normal weight can have it as well (guess how I know this).
The list of symptoms, including secondary sequelae, is quite long, but here are just a few...
- waking up frequently during the night
- snoring or gasping noises (typically heard by spouse)
- waking up sweaty, out of breath, rapid heartbeat
- nightmares or turbulent dreams
- hypertension, often difficult to treat
- other cardio disease
- daytime sleepiness and fatigue
- memory issues
- frequent colds and flu, with increased severity
- depression, including bipolar...
And, the list goes on and on. No one gets all of the symptoms, maybe just a few.
Diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea is easy, and the treatment (CPAP) is effective, drug-free, and much easier than some portray it to be.
And as far as adding years to one's life? A fairly recent study concluded that over 11 years of observation, those sleep apnea patients who used the CPAP machine were 62% less likely to die.
Longer life and increased quality of life!
I find that I sleep better on days when I go to the gym. Tire yourself out during the day and you’ll fall asleep more easily at night.
Also, avoid screens and alcohol before bed and limit consumption of caffeine. Reading an actual book at bedtime helps.