On insomnia and sleep solution...

I often how widespread insomnia is. I'm sure there are tons of studies out there, with all kinds of statistics.

I live near a number of big-name universities, and alot of hospitals (including teaching hospitals). There are always tons of researches recruiting subjects. I can gauge the flavor-of-the-month research topic(s), based on how many studies are out there recruiting subjects. For a while, the studies on various kinds of diets dominated the day. Right now, it's all kinds of sleep studies, which usually pay quite well, ranging from $3k to more than $5k, depending on how many nights subjects are required to spend sleeping in the lab. If I had not had kids, I'll probably do those and get extra pocket money.

Sleep studies and solutions interest me, because my mom suffers insomnia. For a long time now, she's been sleeping for less than two hours every night. She gets irritable during the day. She tried all kinds of things, including non-intrusive ways. Things like, small glass of red wine nightly, one spoonful of raw beans in vinegar (some trend from Japan, she heard?), etc. Invariably, all these solutions would work for a short period of time initially, giving her hope that she can have a good night sleep. But invariably, they would fail to work after a while. I suspect it has more to do with her psychological state of mind than anything else. Naturally, she tries sleeping pills as well, although it's good that she hasn't wanted to rely on pills, and would restrict herself to half a pill per night, max.

Interestingly, my dad has always slept like a baby. He goes to bed early, and he would have a night of sound sleep, sans his bladder problem common to most older aged men. You put him in any place, and he can sleep in any place. I guess mom always looks on to dad with envy and disgust, since she's always on high alert.

These days, since they're both in their 80s now, she's always reminiscing the younger days, the kids, grand-kids, their journey through life. She says those reminiscence always keeps her awake. We told her not to think too much, or worry about things. Of course, it's easier said than done.

I remember for a short period of time, I haven't been able to sleep well either. I know it has to do with my stress level. I used to have to sleep at least 9-10 hours every night, in order to function well during the day, and I like nap time in the afternoon. I can't do those anymore. Maybe I'm getting older (and naturally need less sleep). Maybe I'm more alert (I don't like napping during the day when the kids around - what if they go outside without letting me know, and I wouldn't know where they go?!). Maybe there're just more things to worry about (afterall, we have the whole family, finances, kids stuffs, etc, on our mind all the time).

In any case, on normal nights, I would do 5 hours of sleep. Some days (like the night before my menstrual period comes), I would get particularly tired and sleepy, and I'd need a full 9 hours sleep. My husband always urges me to sleep earlier, so I can wake up in time in the morning. But I told him I don't want to sleep too early, since I don't want to wake up in the middle of the night. I want to tire myself out so much so that I would be exhausted when I hit the sack, and I would have full 5-6 hours of deep sleep. No dreams, no stir. That's what I like.

Sometimes, I wonder if I would be like my mom, reminiscing the past when I get older. Come to think of it, I have no doubt that I'd almost certainly do that. Before that day comes, I'll keep to my 6-hour sleep ritual.

The other day, I read this article that talks about sleep solutions. Some of the suggestions are quite sensible. I'll probably try some of those, when I come to need it.