For many years, I have suffered from medication-induced insomnia. Since discontinuing the medication that caused my poor sleep habits, I’ve had trouble getting back into the routine of normal sleep hours. If, like me, you are living with the issues of insomnia, and if you recently discontinued a medication that caused your insomnia to be worsened, I want to share the steps I took to alleviate the complication and to restore my normal sleep pattern.
Keep to a Schedule
It is important to keep normal sleep hours, especially as we get older, as our body needs the routine and restorative rest. But, finding a normal sleep schedule can be challenging with day-to-day requirements on our lives. With medications we often compound the complications, making it twice as hard to restore a normal sleep pattern. In the end, we must be even more diligent in our approach to return to a good night of rest.
Old Adage
While there is much research about the importance of diet and exercise, as it relates to our overall health, I have found that these are not going to be effective habits if I don’t enlist other healthy habits into my lifestyle. So, in addition to eating healthy foods, and getting regular exercise during the day, I am also making other healthy choices.
Avoid Oversleeping
Oversleeping is one area I need to work on. If you are suffering from insomnia as well, then look at the number of hours you are resting. Could it be that you are oversleeping? Once my body finally decides to rest, and my brain shuts down, I have a tendency to want to sleep 12 or more hours at one time. I’ve learned, through my research, that I should never sleep more than 8 hours no matter how I feel when I get up. So, if you are working to overcome medication-induced insomnia, be sure to follow all of the normal sleep recommendations, and that includes never sleeping more than 8 hours.
Keep a fixed time period so that sleep never exceeds the scheduled 8 hours and the best way to do it is to keep an alarm in your mobile phone that goes off at the allotted time so that you can wake up neither too early nor too late otherwise insomnia is bound to see a resurge.
Environment is Key
Another trick I incorporated into my sleep schedule is the use of very dark curtains. While I had been told to discontinue use of all electronic devices while in bed, I never did anything further about other light distractions in my room. So, to keep the outside street lights from shining in, I purchased blinds and very dark curtains, turning my room into a cave-like atmosphere. Doing this helped my body overcome the light cues, and stimulated the natural production of melatonin – the hormone that promotes relaxation and rest.
No matter what type of insomnia you may be suffering from, always consider the use of these tips in restoring a decent night of sleep for yourself. If you are suffering with the insomnia associated with medication usage, be sure to follow all of your doctor’s recommendations for a healthy diet and exercise, but also incorporate these simple steps. In doing so, you’ll teach your body how to rest when the time is right.