Okay, so you have sleep problems. You're likely wondering why a vein specialist would be interested in ways to improve your sleep? The bottom line, it's such a common problem that I see it every day of the week. I have conversations with my patients on a regular basis about ways to overcome sleep problems. In fact, 75% of patients with vein reflux have poor quality sleep and they get significant improvement or resolution after treatment.
Think for a moment about all the factors that can interfere with a good night's sleep. There could be stress from work, relationships, responsibilities, and all kinds of unexpected life challenges, such as illnesses. After considering all these factors, it’s no wonder why quality sleep can sometimes be hard to find. And when it comes to illnesses that affect our sleep and cause restlessness, vein conditions are often a very common cause.
Here are some tips below to help you get started:
1. Avoid Long Naps
A short 10 to 15-minute power nap in the early afternoon can provide a surprisingly refreshing boost if you need it to feel more alert and have the time. But be careful not to nap too long, as this can make it difficult to fall asleep in the evening or sleep soundly through the night! The longer the nap, the more your body will postpone its need for sleep later. A long nap resets your mental clock and your body then thinks it can go another 12 or 16 hours before sleeping again.
2. Limit Alcohol, Caffeine, and Tobacco Consumption
A recent U.S. study on the evening use of alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine found that drinking and/or smoking within four hours of one’s bedtime increased sleep fragmentation. Research also has shown people who consistently drink large amounts of alcohol before going to bed generally need more time to fall asleep at night. Alcohol is a depressant and will help people calm down, as it has an anti-anxiety effect...however, it is followed by a surge of mental activity (even if you are asleep) and wakefulness later in the night after the depressant effect of alcohol wears off. Most people who drink prior to bed will fall asleep faster, but the overall quality of sleep is terrible.
Caffeine interferes with Stage 4 sleep and prevents deep sleep. The result is disrupted sleep quality. People may sleep through the night after caffeine, but don't sleep through the night. Upon waking, they have to get more coffee to function. Caffeine stays in your system, and the amount of caffeine that stays in your body is equal to 1/8th of what you drank 12 hours earlier. What that means is, if drink a full cup 12 hours before bed, it's the same as if you drank 1/8th of a cup right before bedtime. If you can tolerate 1/8 of a cup before bed, that's fine...but if not, it's a challenge to change your caffeine consumption habits throughout the day.
3. Set a Consistent Sleep Schedule
Make it a goal to go to bed and get up at the same time each day. This means limiting the difference in your sleep schedule, whether it be on weeknights or weekends, to no more than one hour. Being consistent helps establish your body's sleep-wake cycle.
Yes, this is easier said than done. It can be extremely difficult to get started trying to start a good sleep cycle! So, I recommend that if you simply aren’t falling asleep after 30 minutes in bed, get up and do something else relaxing that will help promote your sleep. Consider writing in your "worry journal" (see #8 below). You may also want to try and find a somewhat difficult-to-read book (NOT one that is exciting or overly enjoyable). Once you start feeling sleepy again, go back to bed. Continue to do this until you have established a routine.
4. Utilize Sleep Improvement Apps
In our day and age, there is a myriad of different apps that can help promote physical and mental wellness of all kinds. This is great, but it is hard to narrow them down to what you need specifically, or know which ones are worth your time and investment! There are several apps we’ll recommend below that are beneficial to those dealing with insomnia due to medical conditions or mental distress.
- Calm: Provides guided meditations, sleep stories, and more to help lower stress and promote more restful sleep.
- Sleep Cycle: Analyzes your sleep patterns, and wakes you up with its intelligent alarm clock, designed to go off while you’re in your lightest sleep phase.
- Reflectly: Helps with night-time anxiety by allowing you to vent your thoughts and feelings before bed to improve your mood and practice mindfulness.
- Noisli: Provides quality ambient sounds to help you relieve anxiety and relax before going to sleep.
5. Enhance The Quality of Your Surroundings
If you are only recently struggling with getting a good night's sleep, it can be easy to underestimate the power improving your environment can make on your sleep quality. Here are a couple of points to adopt to help improve your sleep environment:
- Generally, a cool room tends to be more conducive to good sleep than a hot room.
- A warm bath before bed may be a good way to relax and help you to fall asleep. Take your warm bath an hour ahead of when you want to go to bed. It's actually the cooling of your body after a warm bath that signals your body that it's time for sleep.
- Clean, good-smelling sheets and linens can help with the comfort of your environment. Linen spray that includes essential oils like lavender can be sprayed onto clean pillowcases and bedsheets to help with this.
- A fan, humidifier, or white noise machine can help create a noise barrier to help you with consistent sleep.
- A non-caffeinated beverage, like a glass of milk or warm herbal tea, can be soothing and relaxing before bedtime.
- Turn off all screens an hour before sleep. The light associated with screens has a direct stimulatory effect on the brain.
6. Take Care of Your Diet
Eating large amounts of food before bed is almost always a bad idea, especially meals that are heavy or high in protein. Protein raises your core body temperature, and when your body temperature rises, you wake up. By contrast, as your core body temperature lowers in the evenings, it helps you go to sleep. Also avoid foods with MSG such as soy sauce, condiments such as ketchup, and potato chips, as an example. MSG is a stimulant, called an excitotoxin, that can stick around in your system for hours. Instead, try evenly spacing nutritious meals and snacks throughout the day to fuel consistent energy. And eating too little during the day will make you want to overeat in the evening, leading to a night of tossing, turning, heartburn, gassiness, and indigestion. So, make sure you are properly spacing out your meals and avoiding too high of fat or calorie intake than your body needs.
7. Incorporate Physical Activity Into Your Routines
The release of energy via physical activity or exercise is a great way to excerpt not only physical energy but also can help release mental stress. Physical exercise even as light as a slow walk can greatly help with blood flow and oxygen circulation if you do happen to suffer from any kind of vein condition. Taking walks, swimming, biking, and stretching can greatly help your overall health as well as can help contribute to a great night's sleep, but be sure not to exercise at least 2 hours before you start your sleep routine, giving your body time to relax and unwind.
8. Start a "Worry Journal"
Stress and anxiety are reasons why people have trouble sleeping. They are unable to stop the anxious feelings and constant worry over situations in life. It launches a mental loop where you rehash worrisome situations over and over. One way we have found that stops the loop and helps people enter a state of calm when stressors threaten sleep is to start a "worry journal." A simple notebook by your bedside is a place to record the elements of your life that are causing stress and anxiety. Write them down, but don't stop there...the most important thing with this journal is to also record action items. What are steps you can take to alleviate those stressors? Even small steps are important. Even if you can't solve the problem, you can take small steps that begins the process of solving the problem. By writing them down, you can relax knowing you have better control and a course of action.
9. Practice Gratitude
The brain is unable to process two opposing thoughts simultaneously. When you notice yourself thinking negative thoughts, consciously make the choice to change those thoughts to be more positive. Find things to be grateful for, no matter how small. It's a mental exercise in being aware of your thoughts, of how you talk to yourself and practicing shifting your thoughts to a more positive state. You can write those positive thoughts in your journal as well if you like. But make the disciplined effort to think of all the aspects of your life you are grateful for, no matter how small they may seem. Be as kind to yourself as you would to other people.
10. Check on the Potential Presence of Vein Reflux.
It may surprise you to learn that chronic fatigue is a classic indicator of the presence of vein reflux. When this happens, individuals may sleep at night but constantly wake up feeling fatigued and exhausted. They feel as if they didn't get any sleep at all. After treatment, patients consistently tell us they have more energy than ever before. To them, it's life-changing.
Concerned That A Vein Condition May Be Causing Your Fatigue?
The tips provided above are all great ways to help promote a healthy night's sleep if you are struggling with restlessness for any reason. If you are experiencing trouble falling asleep at night, or are being kept up at night with tossing and turning, it could very well be due to symptoms caused by an underlying vein condition. Fatigue, insomnia, and poor sleep are all very common among the patients I see, but the good news is that these symptoms can be treated in a non-invasive way. Schedule a free vein screening at one of our clinics today to assess your vein health in order to determine your best next steps, or download our free eBook below for more helpful information.
