Sleep Hygiene

Nurses Stress 101

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Specializes in Alzheimer's, Geriatrics, Chem. Dep..

Many of us have trouble sleeping, especially given the odd hours some of us work, the stress, our multiple roles, etc. Obviously some of these suggestions will be hard to follow but - even a few changes may make a difference.

Here are some suggestions from the Sleep Disorders Center - FMI go to http://www.umm.edu/sleep/sleep_hyg.htm

Please add your own tips and tricks!

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Sleep Hygiene: Helpful Hints to Help You Sleep

Poor sleep habits (referred to as hygiene) are among the most common problems encountered in our society. We stay up too late and get up too early. We interrupt our sleep with drugs, chemicals and work, and we overstimulate ourselves with late-night activities such as television.

Below are some essentials of good sleep habits. Many of these points will seem like common sense. But it is surprising how many of these important points are ignored by many of us. Click on any of the links below for more information:

Your Personal Habits

Fix a bedtime and an awakening time.

Avoid napping during the day.

Avoid alcohol 4-6 hours before bedtime.

Avoid caffeine 4-6 hours before bedtime.

Avoid heavy, spicy, or sugary foods 4-6 hours before bedtime. These can affect your ability to stay asleep.

Exercise regularly, but not right before bed.

Your Sleeping Environment

Use comfortable bedding.

Find a comfortable temperature setting for sleeping and keep the room well ventilated.

Block out all distracting noise, and eliminate as much light as possible.

Reserve the bed for sleep and sex. Don't use the bed as an office, workroom or recreation room. Let your body "know" that the bed is associated with sleeping.

Getting Ready For Bed

Try a light snack before bed. Warm milk and foods high in the amino acid tryptophan, such as bananas, may help you to sleep.

Practice relaxation techniques before bed.

Don't take your worries to bed. Leave your worries about job, school, daily life, etc., behind when you go to bed. [i don't know about you guys but worries, thoughts, planning, etc., all hit me at once the minute my head hits the pillow. I am finding that a quick prayer, "Not now, God, please?" and then turning to thoughts of how comfortable the bed is, how well I am going to sleep, etc., can help a great deal.

Establish a pre-sleep ritual. Pre-sleep rituals, such as a warm bath or a few minutes of reading, can help you sleep.

Get into your favorite sleeping position. If you don't fall asleep within 15-30 minutes, get up, go into another room, and read until sleepy.

Getting Up in the Middle of the Night

If you find that you get up in the middle of night and cannot get back to sleep within 15–20 minutes, then do not remain in the bed "trying hard" to sleep.

A Word About Television

Many people fall asleep with the television on in their room. Watching television before bedtime is often a bad idea. Television is a very engaging medium that tends to keep people up. We generally recommend that the television not be in the bedroom.

Other Factors

Several physical factors are known to upset sleep. These include arthritis, acid reflux with heartburn, menstruation, headaches and hot flashes.

Psychological and mental health problems like depression, anxiety and stress are often associated with sleeping difficulty. In many cases, difficulty staying asleep may be the only presenting sign of depression. A physician should be consulted ...

Many medications can cause sleeplessness as a side effect.

Your doctor may prescribe sleep medications for short-term relief of a sleep problem. The decision to take sleeping aids is a medical one to be made in the context of your overall health picture. [i use non-prescription benadryl - however it can make me drowsy the next day.]

Always follow the advice of your physician and other healthcare professionals. The goal is to rediscover how to sleep naturally.

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Good thread. Thanks for starting it, Zoe. I find that Benadryl or Dramamine can hang you over in the AM. My doctor gave me a script for prn Xanax but that usually works for only 4 hours. And I don't want to get stuck on it so I use it sparingly. I do keep the TV on, quietly, almost like white noise.

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Specializes in Alzheimer's, Geriatrics, Chem. Dep..
Good thread. Thanks for starting it, Zoe. I find that Benadryl or Dramamine can hang you over in the AM. My doctor gave me a script for prn Xanax but that usually works for only 4 hours. And I don't want to get stuck on it so I use it sparingly. I do keep the TV on, quietly, almost like white noise.

I have a fan on when I am sleeping. Same principle :) My son got to depend on it and now I do, too.

{{{{{{{{{Marilyn}}}}}}}

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I have a fan on when I am sleeping. Same principle :) My son got to depend on it and now I do, too.

{{{{{{{{{Marilyn}}}}}}}

Amen to that. We sleep with the ceiling fan on, too. My guy is a human furnace -- it could be -20 in the room and under the covers is always HOT... and I have to be cool to rest well.

Temperature control and light control is important (for me, anyway) as well. I actually have dark curtains between the window and the mini-blinds hanging on a tension rod hemmed to just fit the window frame, then mini-blinds, and then dark curtains covering the blinds. I keep it very cool, almost like a cave, in our room... have actually been like that since I was little, and I remember reading somewhere recently that sleep best happens after one's body temp drops... so, makes sense!

Sweet dreams, all! Time for my nap!

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me too, the fan noise is soothing to me, i work 11-7

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Find a comfortable temperature setting for sleeping and keep the room well ventilated.

Block out all distracting noise, and eliminate as much light as possible.

Working 7P to 7A, I find a dark, cool room with white noise to be key. But lately I havent been sleeping well. As I was laying in bed it came to me! I drew a gas and it confirmed my suspicion, my bedroom was hypoventilating!! HAHA! A little pulm-o-humor never hurts!:lol2:

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Specializes in Alzheimer's, Geriatrics, Chem. Dep..
Working 7P to 7A, I find a dark, cool room with white noise to be key. But lately I havent been sleeping well. As I was laying in bed it came to me! I drew a gas and it confirmed my suspicion, my bedroom was hypoventilating!! HAHA! A little pulm-o-humor never hurts!:lol2:

Was it from an A-line or a fe-line?

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I've learned something from the human body... it's resiliant but sometimes... most of the time it has a mind of its own that we actualy have very little control over... just like a pet...

You have to train it with repetative routines for it "get the point". If you continually work in bed, your body will get used to the idea of having to be awake in bed. Watching TV in bed will make your body think that it has to pay attention or the the bed is for entertainment purposes only... (well that one is half true). You can trick your mind into doing pretty much anything you can plausible set it to do.

For instance, if I want to wake up at 7 in the morning, I don't even have to set my alarm. My body just "knows" that when that time comes around that it should wake its lazy butt up.

... I want to invest in one of those fancy smanshy matresses though... the ones that are all foamy and stuff.

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Specializes in NICU.

I'll confess: I've taken benadryl pretty much every night for the past eight years. No one in my family sleeps very well, but I refuse to go along with the genetics, darn it!

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I'll confess: I've taken benadryl pretty much every night for the past eight years. No one in my family sleeps very well, but I refuse to go along with the genetics, darn it!

For 8 years? Wow... you would think it would be psychosomatic after that long due to tolerance... and all that, but I think that since you're really only supposed to use that type of anti-histamine for insomnia for a few weeks, I doubt any long-term studies have been done.

I'm no angel though, benadryl (Diphenhydramine) is my friend after too much coffee and a 16 hour shift (I have trouble sleeping after doing doubles for some reason... I think once my body goes into overdrive, it doesn't go back that easily).

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Specializes in L&D, High Risk OB, OR, Med-Surg, PHN.

]:uhoh3: Sad to say I sleep c a ceiling fan, fan, and sound machine. I don't think I could sleep s them. But I still can hear other things in the house like family if they are still up and the animals if they need to go out for a minute so I don't get a full night sleep.

Lisa ;)

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Specializes in neuro, med/surg/, cardiac care.

Great thread Zoe, I must be the odd man out. I sleep great, night time, daytime. Have never had to use gravol, benadryl or anything. I can drink coffee all day long and does not bother me to go to sleep. Tea on the other hand makes me travel to bathroom way too many times after dozing off so now avoid it. I have been doing 12 hour nights only for almost 20 years and have no trouble switching back to day mode for my days off . To boot I can sleep after nights , get up at 3ish and go back to bed at 10pm and sleep right through the night! As for background noise does the kids yelling and the dog barking count?? Perhaps it is because I am high energy person while awake that I fall asleep so easily when I do crash, who knows. I sympathize with those of you that do not sleep well, have worked a night or two with those who have only slept an hour or two before coming in for their second nightshift, not pleasant!!

Tammy

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