Doctor Oz discussed the secrets reasons we suffer from insomnia with Dr. Michael Breus, brilliant author of Good Night: The Sleep Doctor’s 4-Week Program to Better Sleep and Better Health
Three Type of Insomnia:
1. Trouble Falling Asleep
2. Trouble Staying Asleep
3. Waking-Up Too Early
Your body needs sleep to rebuild your mind, your muscles and to replenish your energy. 1 in 10 of us have sleep problems that effect how we function the next day. Women are one and half times more likely to get insomnia than men. Last year, 55 million sleep prescriptions were given. Clearly, we need some help with insomnia issues!
Dr. Michael Breus, author of Good Night: The Sleep Doctor’s 4-Week Program to Better Sleep and Better Health, said that we have to distinguish sleep disorders from disorders of sleep. Sleep disorders include sleep apnea, narcolepsy and even insomnia. Disorders of sleep mean that you are getting the quantity of sleep you need, but you wake-up feeling tired and not well rested. Only 15% of people need a prescription for sleep, the rest of us can make changes at home.
Dr. Breus is often told that people can’t “turn their brain off” when they get into bed. Center for Disease Control and Prevention did a study which showed that people get the best sleep on the West coast of America, and people in the South East have the worst sleep. This geographical observation seems to have something to do with the increase in the level of obesity and sedentary lifestyle in the southeast compare to that of the West coast. You must exercise and be physically active for the best sleep. We have all heard about caffeine, diet and exercise effecting your sleep… but here are Dr. Oz’s secret reasons for insomnia!
Dr. Oz’s Secrets Behind Insomnia:
Insomnia Reason #1: Medications
People can’t sleep sometimes due to prescription or over-the-counter medications. For example, analgesics may have caffeine. You may want to discuss with your doctor alternative medications or if you can take your medication in the morning.
Insomnia Reason #2: Anxiety
The National Sleep Foundation says that this is the major reason people cannot sleep. Their study showed that we have anxiety over health care costs, health care concerns, finances, economy, job, relationships, etc. In addition to trying meditation and relaxation, Dr. Breus gave a great tip which is to count backwards from 300 by 3’s, like this: 300, 297, 294 etc. The reason this helps is because you can’t think about anything else while you do it since the math is fairly complex, and it is so boring you will fall asleep.
Insomnia Reason #3: Snoring
Maria, who went to the NY Sleep Institute for a sleep study to see why she couldn’t get a good night’s sleep, discovered that she snores and that is causing her poor sleep.
Dr. Breus said that very few people will need long term sleep medications, but you should try other options first.
Vivian Smithey says
I have a horrible sleep problem and have been prescribed clonazepam for sleep.. I am finally falling asleep but cannot go back to sleep once I get up to go to the bathroom. I don’t know what to do. I have had trouble falling asleep for ten years. I am 59 years old, female, and a professional. I have no problems financially and am happily married. I can fall asleep on the couch but once I get in bed, I am wide eyed. Help.
deb1ie says
I had years of troubled sleep, not being able to stay asleep and trouble going back to sleep once I woke up in the middle of the night. I had no problem falling asleep. My problem was staying asleep. The cause of all my symptoms/problem turned out to be gluten of all things. As I got older I was developing an allergy to gluten which is found in wheat flour, barley, rye, and malt and which is hidden in a whole slew of processed foods, even soy sauce! Once I gave up gluten (i.e., no more pizza, bread, rolls, toast, cake, and anything else containing wheat, barley, and rye flour and anything malted) and was diligent about keeping it out of my diet, the insomnia miraculously went away, along with my week-long migraines and a whole slew of other problems that my doctor had attributed to irritable bowel, Crohn’s disease, etc. and was making a fortune treating me for, not to mention all those prescriptions! It turned out that I don’t have IBS or Crohn’s or a sensitive stomach or prone to ulcers, etc., etc., etc. I just needed to get gluten out of my diet. As to how and why gluten was causing the insomnia, I can only guess. I’m just glad that my grab-bag of maladies that I suffered with for years have finally disappeared. It’s now been six months since I started eliminating gluten from my diet and I feel like a new woman. Also, an added benefit to eliminating the gluten is that for the first time in 50 years, my weight has stablized and I no longer have that extra 20-30 pounds to lose. The extra weight simply melted off me when I eliminated the gluten.
sasha says
LOVED LOVED LOVED the segment with Dr. Breus! He was engaging, interesting, humorous and informative! One time Dr. Oz had another sleep expert on but he did just that…put me to sleep!! Dr. Breus keep me on me toes but gave me good pointers on how to get a good nights sleep and keep my health my #1 priority. Thank you, Dr. Oz and Dr. Breus!
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