Sleep inertia, or Call Me Goldilocks

Last night I was discussing with a friend my life-long inability to jump right up in the morning and get going. I don't (can't) sleep in, but I take a long time to get up once I'm awake. He was saying he is a morning person, gets up early, conquers the day (today he was planning a 5:30 AM work-out at the gym... it was already 10 PM). I was recalling daily fights with my mother in high school because I would lie in bed for 30 minutes after the alarm went off. I've hit a snooze button for an hour before.

Turns out, there's a term for my sluggish waking up: sleep inertia. I just read about it on Oprah.com. There are several things that could be happening, and a few remedies to try if you suffer from this malady.

In my case, I think a big contributor is the fact that I don't always sleep all night. I have suffered from insomnia off and on all of my life.

• Pets can keep me up - if they sleep with me and I bump into them, or if they whine or snore.
• Worry can keep me up - I've been known to ruminate and stew over problems during the night.
• Drinking too much before bed - alcohol makes us sleepy at first, but did you know that as it is metabolized, it converts to a stimulant? Yep, having some wine to help you sleep, will likely result in restless sleep. AND, for me, if it's red wine, fuhgetaboutit. Heartburn!
• Being hot can keep me up - a too warm room makes me suffer. Or a cat sleeping against my back can make me hot!
• Being cold can keep me up - a too cold room keeps me awake, and sad. I never want to let go of sleep enough to get up and actually get another blanket, but then I can't sleep anyway because I'm cold. I'm miserable when I'm cold.
• Being hungry is bad. Being full is bad.

Other people wake me up - my partner, other people in the house, noise outside.

Hmmm...I'm starting to sound high maintenance!

But none of that would be so bad, really, if I were able to fall back asleep. As I am writing this a commercial for MidNite came on the screen...a message from the universe? Have never tried it. What it can't help with is when I wake up at 5:00 and I don't have to be up yet and I lose that last precious hour or two...that's so painful.

Part of my interest in the Attention and Interpretation Therapy course is calming my mind so that I do not ruminate so much. I have ADD, and insomnia is a common side effect - a busy mind keeps me awake. So now that I am learning to control my mind instead of it controlling me, I'm off to a better night's sleep. Also, judging being awake is a problem. If I wake up and start labeling it as "bad" or "annoying" or I start to worry about how I will be sluggish today because I didn't get enough sleep... instead, I'm trying just to breathe, quiet my mind, hunker into my pillow and drift back off gently.

Now, though, insomnia is only one reason for sleep inertia. Others identified in the article that I can relate to are

• the shock of an alarm clock. I actually have a Pavlovian response to an alarm clock - it makes me sleepier! (Maybe that's what I should try at 3:00 AM... nah!) Changing states from deep sleep to suddenly awake is not good for us. I mostly stopped using an alarm clock many years ago. I lived along a railroad track and could sleep all night through the trains until the one at 6:00, when I needed to get up anyway. Also, I trained myself to wake up whenever I needed to - I established an inner alarm clock. I've tested it many times, and it's worked. Having a firm bedtime is the best way, though. But my inner alarm has been off duty for a few years now that I have had a steady partner who uses an alarm clock. Ah, the sacrifices...
• a bad pillow
• waking up in the dark
• waking up in the wrong part of your sleep cycle.

What I really wanted to read about in the article was how to fix it. They had a few tips to get you going. I was happy to see that doing a little yoga was on the list - I have been working on that one anyway. Only trick is actually getting up to do it. Hmmm.

Also on the list was getting pets that need to go out or be fed -- but if you read earlier, sometimes they are the reason that I am sleepy!

For me, I think that my remedy for sleep inertia is the following combination:

• a routine sleep time and wake time, including allowing enough time to wake up naturally
• a comfortable bed in a not-hot and not-cold room
• eating about 2-3 hours before sleep; too early and I'm hungry, too late and I have reflux
• meeting my pets' needs before bed: dogs go out last thing, cat gets fed other last thing
• small amount of liquid at bedtime only; too much have to wake up, too little and I wake up thirsty
• maintain my meditation practice to control my thoughts
• take care of stressors so that there are not open files in my head while I am sleeping
• eschew caffeine, particularly any time after lunch
• be ready for the new day before I go to bed: gym bag packed, clothes picked out, food at the ready for a quick but nutritious breakfast.

And recently I've found that if I wake up too early and want to sleep in a little bit longer, a little lovin' helps a lot. ;-)

Resources:
http://www.oprah.com/health/How-to-Wake-Up-More-Refreshed/
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sleep/HQ01387