T I M E M A N A G E M E N T
As the name suggests, sleep onset insomnia involves difficulty
in falling asleep, while terminal insomnia (which sounds a lot
worse than it is) manifests in waking up too early and being unable
to get back to sleep.
Temporary insomnia often accompanies the presence of unusu-
ally high stress, and generally the insomnia eases when the source
of the stress ceases.
Doctors advise simply riding out temporary bouts of sleepless-
ness. If you can’t fall asleep or get back to sleep in a reasonable
amount of time (“reasonable,” of course, depending on the indi-
vidual), don’t fight it. Get up and do something else (but not some-
thing stimulating) until you feel drowsy. Then try again.
Force yourself to get up at your normal time, even if you’ve
been awake for long periods of time during the night. If you adjust
your wake-up time to try to compensate for the lost sleep, you’ll
prolong the insomnia. The condition will pass, and the short-term
loss of sleep won’t really hurt you.
If the insomnia is prolonged or even chronic, get to a sleep
disorder clinic (which are sprouting like bagel stores across the
country, a sign of our stressed-out times).
Recent research at these clinics suggests, by the way, that some
“chronic insomniacs” actually get a lot more sleep than they think
they’re getting. Some even sleep a “normal” seven or eight hours
but still report having been sleepless for most of the night.
2. During episodes of sleep apnea, the sleeper stops breath-
ing for a few seconds. Many people experience mild sleep
apnea every night with no apparent ill effects. However,
some sufferers have several prolonged sessions each night,
often waking themselves—and their partners—with a sud-
den gasp. Sufferers from severe bouts of sleep apnea will
feel fatigued and logy, even after a “full night’s sleep,” and
may find themselves nodding off at inappropriate times
during the day.