By Sheila Yonemoto, PT
The daylight savings time switch often makes it difficult for some people to re-establish a normal routine, especially getting a good night’s sleep.
Here are some tips for getting better sleep.
1) Establish a normal time and routine to get you ready for bed, which should be the same weekdays and weekends. I have heard of a study that found getting to bed by 10 p.m. produces better sleep. My qigong teacher used to say the same thing and encouraged getting 7-9 hours of sleep.
2) Deep breathing by inhaling through the nose and exhaling longer through the mouth for 1-2 minutes is a good way to switch the brain from “fight or flight” to “rest and digest.” It calms the nervous system down and enhances immune function. I encourage my patients to do this type of breathing every hour.
3) Use red/orange table light in the evening versus overhead light, especially between 10 p.m.-4 a.m. The campfire-color lights stimulate melatonin production, which triggers sleep while the overhead (usually blue light) stimulates cortisol production, which wakes you up.
4) When I worked at the UCLA Pain Management Center years ago, they advised patients to use an amino acid (building block for proteins), L-tryptophan, to decrease pain and help with sleep. It turns out that L-tryptophan is used in the body to create many other useful proteins, like the feel-good neurotransmitter, serotonin. In my own survey of patients, those who took melatonin said they think it helped with sleep. Those who took L-tryptophan emphatically said it helped.
5) Don’t think about problems before you go to sleep. Set up a time mid-day to do so and limit it to 1 hour.
6) A patient of mine recently told me of a technique she tried called cognitive shuffling. Basically, you take an emotionally neutral word like “cake” and then visualize it in your mind. Then you take the first letter, “c,” and come up with as many words as you can and visualize each item. Then proceed to the next letter, “a,” and do the same. She couldn’t get past the first two letters and was fast asleep.
7) No electronic devices 2 hours before bedtime because of the blue light.
8) Try using essential oils to help you sleep. One pediatrician suggests using lavender or sandalwood over the acupuncture point Heart 7, found on the palmar surface of the wrist below the little finger. If you get up often to go to the bathroom at night, try cypress (one drop twice a day) over the lower abdomen. If you have sensitive skin, put the oil in a carrier oil or body lotion.
9) Be sure to get regular exercise, eat a healthy diet, and drink good water.
Hope this helps!
Sheila Yonemoto, P.T., has been a physical therapist for more than 40 years, specializing in integrative manual therapy, utilizing a holistic approach. She can be reached at Yonemoto Physical Therapy, 55 S. Raymond Ave., Suite 100, Alhambra, CA 91801. She also offers a qigong “Chinese energy” exercise class. Your first class is free. Call (626) 576-0591 for more information or visit www.yonemoto.com. Opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of The Rafu Shimpo.