I’m not one of those people who falls asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow. In fact, as my myotonic dystrophy has progressed, I’ve had more sleepless nights than I care to admit. After mentioning this to my doctor, he suggested I attend a month-long sleep education course offered by Kaiser Permanente to members. Intrigued by the concept, I eagerly signed up.

The first session was crowded, but over the month six of us remained, and we bonded like a support group. The facilitator, a licensed therapist who admitted to having her own sleep challenges, guided us through our workbooks and homework assignments.

The goal was to wean us off sleep medication and teach us good sleep hygiene as well as cognitive-behavioral techniques that counter insomnia. Although I haven’t had to take sleeping pills, I keep a prescription handy just in case. I also wanted to find out what else I could do to have fewer restless nights.

Over the years, I’ve modified my night-time routine. I no longer eat or drink within three hours of bedtime. I’ve moved all phones and computers out of my bedroom, and I turn down light and sound an hour or more before retiring. I also indulge in a hot bath with soothing essential oils just before slipping under the covers.

Of course, what works for me may not work for everyone. I admit to watching television in bed for 30 minutes before I drift off, and using my last ounce of energy to flick off the remote.

Tracking Sleep and Changing Thoughts

Throughout the course, we kept a daily sleep log, recording what time we got into bed, what time we fell asleep, how often we woke up, how long we were awake each time, and finally, how many hours we slept.

During the second class we learned how to turn negative sleep thoughts—my constants are I’m never going to be able to function at tomorrow’s meeting or I can’t believe what a loser I am not being able to sleep—into positive ones, such as Since I’ve survived nights of insomnia before, I can do it again or My sleep will improve as I learn these behavioral techniques.

Our positive thoughts were based on what we learned and experienced. I noted that my sleepless nights generally occur away from home. Recently I spent an anguished night worrying about a seminar I had the next morning. Surprisingly, my roughly five hours of sleep sufficed, and I was able to pay attention and even interact with strangers.

My own experience of managing on five hours of sleep was corroborated by the instructor saying that needing eight hours of sleep a night may be an exaggeration; in general, healthy adults between the ages of 26 and 64 sleep between six and 10 hours. Our sleep logs revealed to each of us that we were sleeping longer than we imagined.

Limiting the Bedroom to Sleeping

We learned to reserve our beds for sleeping, not ruminating. If we couldn’t fall asleep within 15 minutes, we were instructed to get out of bed and do something calming until we felt drowsy. We were encouraged to go to bed only when drowsy, so as not to associate our beds with trying to fall asleep.

Rather than lying in bed relaxing and waiting to get drowsy, we learned to intersperse our day with relaxation time. By practicing a mind-body relaxation response during the day we relieved some of our mental and emotional stress and fine-tuned our bodies to respond to breathwork or meditation.

It was a terrific bonding experience to meet others with sleep difficulties. Our instructor reassured us that changing sleep patterns takes time, but most people eventually improve their sleep.

My Top Sleep Tips

Other important things I learned include:

1. Limit alcohol. Alcohol may seem to help with sleep, but it disrupts deeper sleep cycles. I keep my occasional microbrewery visits to afternoon time.
2. Skip stimulants. Caffeine and nicotine are stimulants with effects that can last up to 8 hours. I’ve never been a smoker, but caffeine is something of a ritual for me. Now I limit myself to black tea or coffee in the morning and a cup of green tea in the early afternoon.
3. Move more. Exercise and physical activity are good for combatting fatigue, improving mood, and facilitating normal body temperature change and are best completed three-plus hours before bedtime. Not only does some type of daily movement invigorate my day, it improves my ability to sleep, too.
4. Nap strategically. Napping should happen before 3 p.m. and last no longer than 20 or 30 minutes. I’ve never been much of a napper, but I do take breaks to rest, usually in a horizontal position on a yoga mat.
5. Be consistent. Waking up at the same time each day—even on the weekends—is recommended as the best way to maintain a sleep rhythm. This has been challenging for me, but I aim to wake up between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. each day. Awake, but not astute!
   
   

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   Leslie Krongold, EdD, lives in Alameda, CA, where she leads support group meetings for the Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation. She also writes a blog and produces a podcast series called Glass Half Full.