How to Fall Asleep Watching TV

Posted by admin in Prescription Sleep Medicine on March 31st, 2010

The kind of response you will get all depends on who you are asking. There are some people who have to be watching TV in order to fall asleep. Then there are others who believe that by watching TV, you are going to stay awake way longer than you should.

Just what is the answer to this question and who should we believe? The truth of the matter is that it definitely hinges on the particular person as well as certain other factors.

Now let’s examine the best way to drift off to sleep using the TV. If you do this the right way, it will surely and quite easily give you the help you might need at night.

Whenever people are trying to go to sleep with a television on, they make three big mistakes. Here we will discuss each of them and offer a solution.

There are those people who just simply forget to set the sleep timer on their TVs; now that is a very bad idea. Because by not remembering to do that, you are either going to have to get up and turn it off and still be awake, or it will still be turned on when you fall asleep.

Your body is going to be so confused by the change in atmosphere and, as a result, you just might be up for a longer time. Definitely make use of the sleep timer and set it for around one or two hours. That way, you will not feel as much pressure if you are still not asleep when the timer runs out.

Yet another mistake made by people is having the volume set incorrectly. Having it too low might have you straining yourself in order to hear it, which could make you think and be awake, and when it is too loud, you may get energized and be unable to go to sleep. You will not have this issue once you find the right volume to set it at.

And finally, be sure that the programming you choose is the right kind. It should be something you want to watch, but not too engaging.

When the program you are tuned to captures your attention and keeps your entire focus on it, then chances are you are going to stay awake the entire length of it. Be sure to choose something to watch that is good, but definitely not any better than that.

What is Insomnia Anyway?

Posted by admin in Prescription Sleep Medicine on September 04th, 2009

If you’ve ever had a long restless night where you couldn’t fall asleep or you repeatedly woke throughout the night, you’ve suffered from insomnia. This is a common occurrence that faces everyone at some point in their life. Usually insomnia is temporary and can be explained by things such as too much caffeine before bed, stress throughout the day, worry about the day ahead or certain medications.

Occasionally insomnia is to be expected from time to time but if you have chronic insomnia affecting you night after night, there could be a more serious cause of your problem. Sleep is very important to the body. It’s the time that we relax and recuperate from the day. Our bodies need sleep to heal and to fight off disease. Lack of sleep or too little sleep for long periods of time can start to cause serious problems.

This is why it is important to understand what insomnia is and how you can get treatment for it. Here are some signs of insomnia:

  • being unable to fall asleep
  • being unable to stay asleep
  • tossing and turning, waking frequently throughout the night
  • waking too early and being unable to fall back to sleep

As we mentioned, there are different things that may cause insomnia such as certain medications, stimulant or depressant use, stress, worry, anxiety, pain, poor sleeping habits, doing other things in bed such as reading or watching TV, and more.

If you are showing any of the signs of insomnia, it’s important that you try to pinpoint the cause so you can treat it. You should also see your doctor for help and to rule out any underlying medical conditions that could be causing the insomnia.