Archive for the ‘Sleep’ Category

WHAT IS SLEEP?

It is a state that is not at all easy to define. Without much ado, it could be described as follows: To feel sufficiently secure to allow our “awake selves” to move to another state: that of sleep. It is useful to regard the process of falling asleep as a personal, spiritual practice, which also has its psychological aspects.

Research indicates that approximately half of the world’s population experience sleeping problems. The most common practice flowing from this, is the use alcohol, sleeping tablets or reaching a state of total exhaustion to bring on sleep.

WHAT NATURE TEACHES US ABOUT SLEEP

When we look at nature, we see a whole lot of information that is logical and makes sense. The sun rises in the morning and shines all day. Then the sun goes down and dusk descends, until it is totally dark – night-time. The process is also necessary for our brain functions. We are meant to work during the day while the sun shines brightly. When dusk descends, the brain starts to produce Melatonin, the sleep hormone, and we are supposed to become calm and relaxed. As the darkness intensifies, the brain produces ever-increasing quantities of this hormone, we become sleepy and we want to go to bed.

THE REALITIES OF THE MODERN-DAY SOCIETY

But what has happened since? We have to return home via cars, busses, trains and planes, amidst the noise and pollution of the city – and often it is already dark when we get home.

In addition, men-made lights are switched on as soon as dusk descends: flashing neon advertisements, street lights, etc. On arriving home, we are met by lights from the garden, from the house, from computers, radios, television sets, videos, MXit, ipods, movies, the theatre – you name them. Eighty percent of the stimuli that reach the brain via the senses is visual – i.e. we absorb it via our eyes.  And 80 percent is rather high. Light stimulates the production of  Serotonin, which provides us with energy. Twilight time has disappeared – it is no longer part of our lives. The majority of people drag out their day for as long as possible, as though they are fleeing from the night. Have we become a hyperactive, essentially visually stimulated society?

Increasing evidence indicates that even the slightest exposure to light during the night disturbs our circadian rhythms – i.e. our sleep/awake pattern. The result is that we lose our awareness of life’s normal rhythms – our experience of being ‘intact people’. The link between sleep and mental health is of critical importance and highly complex. Approximately 80 percent of people with psychiatric disorders suffer from sleeping problems. Insomnia, especially the lack of ability to sleep right through the night, has been regarded as a classic symptom of depression for many years. Eventually we find ourselves in a situation where we are half-awake while asleep, and half-asleep during the day.

COMPENSATIONS

As energy addicts we require instant solutions, such as caffeine, food with a high sugar content, alcohol and all kinds of pills and opiates: tranquillisers, pain killers, sleeping tablets, dagga, maruana, etc. The effect of these substances manifests itself as nervousness and restlessness, which only serves to camouflage the underlying exhaustion. They help in the short term, but with long-term results that will cost you dearly.

During 2006, almost 50 million prescriptions were issued for sleeping tablets in the USA – 15 percent more than in the previous year.

THE EFFECT OF SLEEPING TABLETS

The long-term use of sleeping tablets can negatively affect our ability to fall asleep naturally.

• Both over-the-counter and prescription sleep medication leads to dependency.
• It affects the memory of some people.
• The “second life” of some sleeping tablets causes us to wake up in the morning, without really being wide awake.
• In the four phases of sleep, sleeping tablets only promote the first two. Therefore, the quality of the sleep that we do manage to achieve is not satisfactory.
• To top it all: The critically important role that every person has to play in taking responsibility for his/her own lifestyle is being disregarded.

New research into sleeping tablets indicates that only about 25 minutes of additional sleep is gained – sometimes even less – because the pills function in such a way that they cause amnesia about episodes of lying awake at night and they lead sleepers to believe that they sleep better than they in fact do. Some pills contain an ingredient that suppresses dreams, and others again contain an ingredient that causes liver damage.

However, the other side is not to throw out the baby with the bath water. In the event of medical and personal crises, the short-term use of sleeping tablets could have its advantages. However, the idea that we have no control over our sleeping patterns and need to be assisted by an external substance to fall asleep, should be seriously questioned.

A FEW MISPERCEPTIONS ABOUT SLEEP

• The idea that someone who falls asleep immediately or within five minutes is a good sleeper, does not necessarily hold water. On the contrary, it could indicate over-exhaustion or an accumulated debt of sleep – which is a symptom of a sleep disorder.

• The majority of people like to watch TV or read before going to bed. Even if their eyelids become heavy and they fall asleep, they actually resist falling asleep. Apparently this is to get even sleepier so that they can just fall over and go to sleep instantly. The idea of spending 15 or 20 minutes alone with only their own company could perhaps prove to be too much. And yet, that is precisely what is required to sleep well.

• It sometimes happens that a person who has lost a loved one escapes into activities and light by, for example, working very late and, in so doing, trying to avoid the process of mourning. In the long term, this is not the solution.

• It is actually impossible to “go to bed to sleep” as though we were purposefully underway to a destination. It works far better to let go of “being awake”.

WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?

A few tips:

Stimulated Twilight Time

Do you allow twilight time in your lifestyle? It is not a technique to sleep better – it is an attitude, a growing awareness of a neglected facet of humanity. It is to cut your self loose from your awareness of the day and to switch over to an awareness of the night. It is to change gears emotionally, let go of the day and welcome the night. Dusk and darkness are natural tranquillisers. They could be used to decrease visual stimulation and, in so doing, promote the production of Melatonin. The best sleeping tablets come in the form of darkness.

Rest and Rhythm

Even short periods of simply looking out of the window during the day, going for a brisk walk, or just sitting down and allowing yourself to be quiet, can be of great help. Due to the fact that we are overly busy, we function in fifth gear and do not grant ourselves a breather or even something to eat.

Habits before going to bed

Excessive exercising, watching videos (especially those that cause the adrenaline to pump), reading thrillers, socialising until late, working on your computer until it is time to go to bed, coffee and tea that contain caffeine, as well as alcohol after two-o’-clock in the afternoon, are some of the most effective methods to disturb a good night’s sleep. Television sets and computer monitors radiate a host of blue light waves, which hamper the production of Melatonin. It would be a good idea to turn down the lights a short while before it is time to go to bed, and if you want to read before going to bed, to use a very soft light.

Processing the day’s events

We need time to reflect on the day’s events and to process these. If we fail to do so, we suppress them and they turn into baggage which causes us wake up later during the night, or they can even cause nightmares. However, a very fine balance is required here. To lie in bed, endlessly brooding about an issue that you can do nothing about at that particular stage, is unproductive. That is the so-called racing mind which, in my opinion, is one of the major causes of sleep disturbances. It feels impossible to stop the drama playing out in your thoughts or the dialogue that you are creating to get back at the person who had made you angry in the first place.

This is where meta-cognition comes in very handy. This means asking yourself: “What am I busy thinking about?” Can you do something about it now and do you really want to lie awake because of it? Then you take a decision about what you will do about it tomorrow, or  decide to shelve it, or to let it go and become at peace with yourself. Then take your thoughts to, for example, a tranquil scene that you appreciate very much. Deliberate, deep and regular breathing is yet another resource at your disposal.

To fall asleep easily, actually requires only two things: that we relax and concentrate on something neutral or positive. Sleep emanates from a mind that is at peace – and from darkness. It works much better to let go of being awake, than to try and force yourself to fall asleep.

Source:

Rubin Naiman, Psychotherapy Networker September 2009

EK SLAAP SO SLEG!                                                                             Hannie Belsten

WAT IS SLAAP?

Dis ‘n toestand wat glad nie maklik is om te beskryf nie. Sonder omhaal van te veel woorde, kan dit beskryf word as:  om veilig genoeg te voel om ons “wakker self” toe te laat om na‘n ander toestand te gaan: die van slaap. Dis nuttig om aan die proses van aan die slaap raak te dink as ‘n persoonlike, spirituele praktyk wat ook sielkundige aspekte het.

Navorsing leer dat ongeveer die helfte van die wêreld se bevolking slaapprobleme ervaar.
Die algemene gebruik is dan om alkohol, slaappille of totale uitgeputheid te gebruik om te kan slaap.

WAT DIE NATUUR ONS LEER OOR SLAAP

As ons na die natuur kyk, is daar ‘n klomp inligting wat logies is en sin maak. Die son kom in die more op en skyn die hele dag. Dan gaan hy onder en dit begin skemer word, totdat dit heeltemal donker-nag is. Die proses is ook nodig vir die brein. Ons is bedoel
om bedags te werk terwyl die son helder skyn. As dit begin skemer word, begin die brein Melatonin, die slaaphormoon, afskei en ons is veronderstel om rustiger te raak. Soos dit donkerder word skei die brein al meer van die hormoon af, ons word vaak en wil gaan slaap.

DIE REALITEITE VAN DIE HUIDIGE SAMELEWING

Maar wat het intussen gebeur? Ons moet met behulp van motors, busse, treine, vliegtuie en die geraas en rokerigheid van die stad huiswaarts keer – en dikwels as dit reeds donker is, tuiskom.

Afgesien daarvan kom die mensgemaakte ligte aan sodra dit skemer word: Advertensies, straatligte; tuis gekom is dit tuinligte, huisligte, rekenaars, radio’s, TV, video’s, mixit, Ipods, flieks, teater, noem maar op. Van die prikkels wat via die sintuie na die brein gaan, is 80% visueel, dws deur ons oë. Nogal baie. Lig stimuleer die afskeiding van Serotonien wat vir ons energie gee. Skemertyd het verdwyn. Meeste mense rek hulle dag so lank as moontlik uit, asof hulle vir die nag vlug. Het ons ‘n hiperaktiewe, hoofsaaklik visueel gestimuleerde  gemeenskap geword?

Groeiende bewyse toon dat selfs geringe blootstelling aan lig gedurende die nag, ons “circadian “ ritmes versteur, dws ons slaap/wakker patroon. Die gevolg is dat ons ons bewus-wees van die lewe se natuurlike ritmes verloor – ons ervaring van ‘heel mense’ te wees. Die skakel tussen slaap en geestesgesondheid is krities en kompleks. Ongeveer 80% mense met psigiatriese steurings kry swaar om te slaap. Insomnia, veral die vermoë om snags deur te slaap, is vir baie jare al bekend as ‘n klassieke simptoom van depressie.
Uiteindelik bevind ons onself in ‘n situasie waar ons half-wakker is in ons slaap en bedags half aan die slaap is.

KOMPENSASIES

As energie-verslaafdes benodig ons kitsoplossings soos kafeïne, hoë suikerinhoud kosse, alkohol en allerhande pille en verdowingsmiddels: kalmeerpille, hoofpynpille, slaappille, dagga, marujana, ens. Die effek hiervan is senuweeagtigheid en rusteloosheid wat net die onderliggende moegheid verbloem. Dit help oor die korttermyn, maar met duur langtermyngevolge.

In die VSA is daar gedurende 2006 byna 50 miljoen voorskrifte vir slaappille uitgereik – 15% meer as in die vorige jaar.

DIE EFFEK VAN SLAAPPILLE

Die langtermyn gebruik van slaappille kan ons vermoë om natuurlik aan die slaap te raak,
ondermyn.
• Beide oor-die-toonbank en voorskrif-slaapmedikasie veroorsaak afhanklikheid daarvan
• Sommige mense se geheue word aangetas
• Die “tweede lewe” van sommige slaappille veroorsaak dat ons soggens wakker word, maar nie helder wakker is nie
• In die 4 fases van slaap bevorder slaappille net die eerste 2. Die kwaliteit van die slaap wat wel plaasvind, is dus nie goed nie
• Nog meer: die krities-belangrike rol wat elkeen moet speel om persoonlik verantwoordelikheid te neem vir sy/haar eie leefstyl, word verontagsaam.

Nuwe navorsing oor slaappille toon aan dat slegs ongeveer 25 minute addisionele slaap bewerkstellig word, soms minder, omdat die pille so funksioneer dat dit geheueverlies veroorsaak vir nagtelike wakkerlê en slapers laat  glo dat hulle beter slaap as wat hulle in werklikheid doen. Sommige pille bevat ‘n middel wat drome onderdruk en ander weer ‘n middel wat lewerskade veroorsaak.

Die baba moet nou ook nie weer met die badwater uitgegooi word nie. Vir mediese en persoonlike krisisse kan die korttermyn gebruik daarvan voordele inhou. Die idee dat ons geen beheer oor ons slaap het nie en deur ‘n substans van buite gehelp moet word om in te plons in slaap, moet egter ernstig bevraagteken word.

ENKELE WANOPVATTINGS OOR SLAAP

• Die idee dat iemand wat dadelik of binne 5 minute aan die slaap raak ‘n goeie slaper is, is nie noodwendig waar nie. Inteendeel, dit kan oormoegheid aandui of opgehoopte slaapskuld – ‘n simptoom van ‘n slaapsteuring.

• Meeste mense kyk graag TV of lees voor hulle slaap. Al word hulle ooglede swaar en raak hulle al aan die slaap, weerstaan hulle dit om te slaap. Blykbaar is dit om nog vaker te word en om vinnig net om te val en te slaap. Die idee om vir 15-20 minute alleen met hulleself in die donker te wees, is dalk net te erg. Tog is dit juis wat nodig is vir goeie slaap.

• Dit gebeur dat iemand wat ‘n geliefde verloor het, ontsnap na aktwiteite en lig, bv baie laat werk, en so die rouproses probeer vermy. Op die langduur is dit nie ‘n oplossing nie.

• Einlik is dit onmoontlik om te “gaan slaap” asof ons doelbewus oppad is na ‘n bestemming. Dit werk baie beter om “wakker wees” te laat gaan.

WAT NOU GEDAAN?
Net ‘n paar wenke:

1. Stimuleer Skemertyd

Laat jy skemertyd toe in jou leefstyl? Dis nie ‘n tegniek om beter te slaap nie – dis ‘n houding, ‘n bewusword van ‘n verwaarloosde faset van menswees. Dis om los te knoop van dagbewussyn en oor te skakel na nagbewussyn. Dis om emosioneel van rat te verwissel, die dag te laat gaan en die nag te verwelkom. Skemer en donkerte is natuurlike kalmeermiddels. Dit kan gebruik word om visuele stimulasie te verminder en sodoende die produksie van Melatonien te bevorder. Die beste slaapmedisyne is donkerte.

2. Rus en ritme

Selfs kort periodes gedurende die dag om net deur die venster te kyk, ‘n entjie te gaan stap of net ‘n bietjie te sit en stil te word, help al baie. As gevolg van oormatig besig wees, funksioneer ons in vyfde rat en gun onsself nie ‘n blaaskansie nie of om iets te eet nie.

3. Gewoontes voor slaaptyd

Oormatige oefening, videos kyk (veral die wat die adrenalien laat vloei), spannende leesstof, kuier tot laat, op die rekenaar sit en werk tot net voor slaaptyd, koffie en tee wat kafeïne bevat asook alkohol na 2 uur in die middag,  is van die mees effektiewe metodes om ‘n goeie nagrus te versteur. TV’s  en rekenaar monitors straal baie blou liggolwe uit en verhinder dat Melatonien afgeskei word. Dit sou ‘n goeie idee wees om ligte ‘n rukkie voor slaaptyd dowwer te maak en as jy wil lees voor slaaptyd,’n lig wat so sag as moontlik is, te gebruik.

4. Prosessering van die dag se gebeure

Ons het tyd nodig om na dink en te voel oor die dag se gebeure en dit te prosesseer. Anders onderdruk ons dit en word dit bagasie wat ons later in die nag laat wakker word of nagmerries gee. Hier is egter ‘n fyn balans nodig. Om te lê en tob en tob oor ‘n saak waaraan ek op daardie oomblik niks kans doen nie, is onproduktief. Dis die sogenaamde “racing mind” wat na my mening een van die die grootste redes is vir slaapprobleme. Dit voel onmoontlik om die drama in jou gedagtes stop te sit en die dialoog wat jy uitwerk om die ou wat jou kwaadgemaak het, op sy/haar plek te sit.

Dis waar meta-kognisie baie handig inkom. Dit beteken om vir jouself te vra: ”Waaroor is ek besig om nou te dink?” Kan jy nou iets daaraan doen en wil jy regtig daaroor wakker lê? Dan neem jy ‘n besluit oor wat jy more daaraan kan doen, of om dit op die ys te sit, dit te laat gaan en rustig te word. Neem dan jou gedagtes na bv. ‘n rustige natuurtoneel waarvan jy baie hou. Doelbewuste diep, reëlmatige asemhaling is nog ‘n hulpmiddel.

Maklik aan die slaap raak vra eitlik net 2 dinge: dat ons ontspan en die aandag op iets neutraal/positief vestig. Slaap kom uit ‘n rustige gemoed – en donkerte. Dit werk baie beter om wakker te laat gaan as om slaap te probeer forseer.

Bron:
Rubin Naiman, Psychotherapy Networker September 2009