Consider environmental factors: light, temperature and clocks
Written by clive on 1:21 AMIf you are disturbed or awakened by too much light in your bedroom, experiment with different types of eye shades, window shades, and light-blocking curtains. If the blackness of the night makes you uneasy, buy a nightlight and plug it in where you can see it easily. But notice if you wake up throughout the night to check out the nightlight. These micro-awakenings can be enough to disturb your sleep.
If you are feeling unsafe in your location, consider some devices that might make you feel safer and this more inclined to sleep fully. Make sure there is a cell phone or regular phone within reach of your bed. Take the time to secure your doors and windows. Check to see if the smoke detector works. If you sense your sleep will continue to be eroded by an underlying safety fear, consider investing in a burglar alarm system connected to the local police.
Room temperature
Another researcher, Dr. Peter Hauri, found that when room temperature rises above seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit, people wake up more often, experience more restless sleep and less dreaming sleep, and sleep less deeply. The opposite extreme also presents problems: if the room is too cold, you’re probably unable to fall asleep. Optimum temperatures range somewhere between sixty-five and seventy degrees Fahrenheit.
Clocks
Get rid of preset hourly watch beepers or chimers if they disturb your sleep even in the slightest amount. While some people can tune out external noise such as a chiming clock, others may find that the hourly gong only reinforces their obsessional characteristics by reminding them of each passing hour. If you find yourself counting each hour that passes and anticipating the next chime, indicating another sleepless hour, then turn it off.
OUTWITTING INSOMNIA, ELLEN MOHR CATALANO
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