Personalities Can Affect Sleep Woes
Millions of Americans have a hard time getting a good night's rest, some more than others.
It could come down to your personality type, in many respects, according to Women's Health magazine executive editor Beth Fenner.
The latest issue of Women's health looks at sleep struggles and how to overcome them.
On The Early Show Monday, Fenner told >b>co-anchor Harry Smith one thing you don't want to do is turn to sleeping pills for very long.
"You don't really need sleeping pills to get you to sleep," Fenner says. "In fact, they really should be used for the short-term. There are other, really effective things you can do to combat whatever insomnia problems you've got."
Those problems may depend on the type of person you are, Fenner says.
For instance, "the worrier" is the type of person whose mind is racing and is thinking, 'Should I pack my lunch tomorrow? What about the kids? Did I get my presentation ready for work tomorrow?' This kind of person starts to worry about not sleeping, and it becomes this vicious cycle. Pretty soon, he or she really can't get to sleep.
"It sounds counterintuitive. But sleep labs do sleep restriction. They say, 'Fine. Go to bed two hours later than you normally would.' So, for a short time, you're totally exhausted, because it squashes your sleep into a really small period of time.
"When you do go to bed, you're so tired that you fall asleep immediately, and then you realize, 'I can get to sleep on my own.' Then you gradually move your bedtime up, until you're sleeping normally."
The "over-doer" is the person with a job and kids and no time for anything. This person's problem isn't really a sleep problem — it's just that the person isn't making enough time to sleep.
"It's really a matter of priorities, and experts tell you that," Fenner say..
"Everyone can spare 15 minutes in their day. So go to bed 15 minutes earlier and then again, move it forward a little bit each time. Because the thing is, when people say, 'I don't have time to sleep,' they figure, 'I'm getting much more done.' But when you're sleep deprived, you're working more slowly, so it's kind of a wash."
The "night owl" isn't tired at night. It's hard to go to bed, and then they can't wake up in the morning.
"Melatonin can help. Your body produces this hormone. It tells you it's time to go to sleep. You can take it in pill form, and it helps you get ready to sleep.
"If you're a night owl person, it's an issue with lights. Your body doesn't know that it's time to go to bed. So keep the lights low when you get home, expose yourself to a lot of bright light in the morning and that'll help reset your clock."