But can trusted habits make
for a better night’s sleep?
It appears so, at least when it comes to older adults. According to a new study just published in the journal Sleep, keeping a daily routine may be associated with a reduced rate of insomnia and improved quality of sleep.
The
study was performed on residents of an Israeli retirement community whose mean
age was 75. Mind you, this is an age when many people have trouble sleeping due
to the negative effects of health
conditions and/or medications that can disrupt sound, restful sleep. The
fact that these people could experience better sleep just by maintaining
regular routines throughout the day is significant: it’s relatively easy to
work on keeping a daily routine for the purposes of enhancing one’s quality of
sleep when compared to other options like drugs or therapy.
I’m not surprised by this
latest finding. Consider the following:
- The body loves routines. Each one of us maintains a circadian
rhythm that dictates our sleep-wake cycles. This rhythm clocks our
biological days and takes cues from light and darkness.
- Routines tend to be calming and expected. They help us hit cruise control so our bodies can
operate efficiently without much “thought” or input from us. As noted by the
researchers, routine lifestyle rhythms may serve as a protective factor
contributing to the maintenance of high-quality sleep.
We all know what it’s like
when our bodies fall out of synch with our normal routine. We can feel “off,”
and either overly alert when it’s time for bed or exhausted long before
bedtime. Look no further than the last time you traveled
across time zones and struggled with your sleep, and with feeling refreshed
during the daylight hours to understand this.
I don’t think this latest
study should be a lesson for those in retirement homes. It’s for all of us—at
any age. Ask yourself:
- Do you tend to engage in the same activities (eating,
working, exercising, etc.) at the same times on most days of the week?
- Do you get up at the same time and go to bed at the same time most days of
the week?
- Do you have an
established routine for preparing to
go to bed?
If you answered “no” to any
of the above, and you don’t consider yourself a sound sleeper, then you may
want to re-examine your overall daily routine—or lack thereof.
Routines aren’t ruts. They
can be gateways to great sleep.
Sweet Dreams,
Michael J. Breus, PhD
The Sleep Doctor™
www.thesleepdoctor.com
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