Best web sites
From the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, this site includes everything from useful tools like a sleep diary and a sleep apnea questionnaire to expert Q&As.
This site from the National Sleep Foundation is a rich resource on sleep-related topics, problems and polls.
Best books
Good Night by Peter Breus
I found this book very practical. It provides a good overview but also drills down into basics, such as redesigning the bedroom and understanding sleep apnea.
No More Sleepless Nights by Peter Hauri and Shirley Linde
This book has around for a while but stands up to the test of time. It comes with a separate workbook, which I recommend as it forces you to actually complete cognitive and behavioural exercises, rather than just contemplate them.
Insomniac by Gayle Greene
I like this book because it is from the patient perspective. It is very exhaustive. Cognitive behavioural therapy doesn’t really work for this English professor, so she describes the many other solutions she tries.
Best PDF
www.heretohelp.bc.ca/skills/managing-well-being
You'll find a list of excellent wellness modules - a collection of tools, fact sheets and other resources - here, one of which is on sleep but range from addiction to unhealthy thinking to stress and anger management
various tools, fact sheets, a journal, and social media
Best Video
http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/articles/110.html
From the American Academy of Family Physicians, this is an excellent overview of insomnia.
www.nhs.uk/conditions/cognitive-behavioural-therapy
This is a very good overview of cognitive behavioural therapy and a great starting point if you want to know more about CBT.
Best blog and social networking sites
www.sleepeducation.blogspot.com
This blog from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine is a good analysis of new advances in sleep therapy.
This is pillow talk – an online community hosted by the National Sleep Foundation. A blog for sleeplessness seems slightly counter-intuitive to me but there are a lot of interesting resources here.
More resources
The majority of sleep problems can be handled by your family doctor, but for those who want specialized help, here's a list of sleep clinics across Canada.
A check up for any brain issues (such as depression or anxiety) that are common causes of insomnia.
The keys to a good night's sleep
Define your core problem and deal with it Common causes of insomnia include worry, shift work, being sedentary, depression, pain or an issue that you ruminate about. Once you have identified the problem, especially if it is depression or pain, talk to your doctor. For many, the problem is worry. Worry usually gets worse at night. You don’t think clearly when you're half asleep, so you “catastrophize." I get people to pre-answer their anxiety, often by writing down their answer on a card, in order to break the cycle of worry before it escalates. An example of this would be: “I do have a presentation later this week, but I’ve set some time aside, and staying up won’t help.”
Think “cup half full” after a bad night All of us have insomnia once in a while. These nights are inevitable and if you assume the day after will be horrible then, sure enough, it will be. Instead of saying to yourself “I only had five hours of sleep last night — I will be a wreck today,” say “I only had five hours. But that’s ok because it happens now and then. I’ll sleep better tonight.” Besides, you may have slept better than you think. The data shows people usually do.
Practice good sleep hygiene Some of it this advice is obvious (no caffeine after lunch, alcohol may help initially but breaks up your sleep at night, have a relaxing routine, don’t argue before bed) but it’s easy to let sleep hygiene slide.
Should I use sleeping pills? This is individual and should be discussed with your doctor or pharmacist, but the research shows that sleeping pills might add 25 minutes to your sleep on average. The downside is that one in six people have a problem such as significant daytime fatigue, confusion and memory problems. The elderly have more of these side effects and people prone to addiction may want to steer clear. Most will have a few bad nights when they stop taking sleeping pills.
The bedroom is just for sleep and sex Many of my patients have a full-on media centre in their bedrooms. Associate your bedroom with sleeping — not worrying or watching TV or working on the computer. Think cool, dark and quiet.
Don’t nap Some cultures have a siesta — and that’s fine — but if this is not something you’ve done for years, napping will make it harder to get a normal sleep pattern going.
Don’t clock-watch If you are tossing and turning, don't let it go on for longer than 15 minutes. Get up and do something relaxing and then come back. The bed needs to be associated with sleep, not sleeplessness. Counter-intuitively, people who get up sleep more.
Be active A Brazilian study published in 2008 found that elderly women who were physically active slept for almost an hour longer each night than those who were sedentary. And a recent U.S. study found that 50 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise increased total sleep time by 21 per cent.
What works best? Cognitive behavioural therapy has been shown to be the single most effective cure for insomnia. A 2009 trial in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that CBT put insomnia into remission for seven out of 10 people with persistent insomnia. Combining CBT with good sleep hygiene and the tips mentioned above should put you where you want to be: asleep.
