Sleepless? Part 1

My patient said, "Doc, I'm having trouble sleeping."

I almost always begin with saying, "First of all, it is true, insomnia may improve if we adopt sleep hygiene strategies."  i.e., practices that help the mind be ready for sleep such as:

• Do the same things every night before bed. Develop a routine. 
• Don't exercise too late in the day.
• Keep the computer off in the late evening.  
• Less stimulation aids relaxation. 
• Keep the room completely dark. Things like that.
• For more see this link: http://bit.ly/1gcjxI3

I've found that people with insomnia are quite often aware of these ideas.  Maybe they are up at night surfing the web, looking for help.  

 

So I'm not surprised when my patients seem unimpressed by sleep hygiene.  I get the feeling that folks want more than tips and techniques when they feel exasperated, and discouraged about the fact that everybody else in the world is probably sleeping fine while they are lying there awake.  It's a lonely feeling. 

And patients don't always want medications for sleep because they feel they will be taking them forever once they start.  The conversation often goes toward how to revoke the power of worrying.  What if people could tap into some sort of Peace, some sort of being Okay, maybe even because of their faith that God is near.  

 

Working, Worrying, Wogging - and Remembering God

Working, Worrying, Wogging ... Remembering God

   
 For the Body:

Lately another sixty-ish grandmother came in and  expressed a concern that I'd heard many times the last ten years.  "My daughter-in-law is so busy she feeds her kids at McDonald's or Sonic so much.  Or they have frozen pizza, macaroni and cheese, or just cereal. I worry about the grandkids. 

They all weigh more than I remember my kids weighing."To some extent I was a mother like that. Working, overwhelmed, and willing to close my eyes and reach for compromising solutions. I cannot count the times I drove through fast food places to either feed the kids fast or cheaply or both.