By Ana Yelen, Executive Director, Healing Warriors Program
A good night’s sleep is more elusive than we think. U. S. Department of Health and Human Services studies assert that sleep disorders affect between 50 – 70 million Americans, or about 20% of the population.
In the armed services, sleep issues are the de facto norm because of training, job schedules, and the need for a military force that is on-call and available at a moment’s notice. But the cost of long-term sleep deprivation is high and linked to depression, anxiety and worsening of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
“More so than even the amputations and traumatic brain injuries that have come to define the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, insomnia is the hidden wound that America’s warriors are bringing home. It’s largely unnoticed, under-prevented and untreated.”1
At Fort Hood, Texas, Dr. Vincent Mysliwiec, reported that between 2000 and 2009 they found a 19-fold increase in cases of insomnia; that is an 1800% increase in insomnia in less than a decade. “If this was anything else, it’d be labeled an epidemic,” the Army’s top sleep specialist said at a Seattle sleep conference, according to Peter Green of Van Winkle’s (http://vanwinkles.com/for-our-returning-troops-post-traumatic-sleep-disorders-are-nhe-new-ptsd).
“… Restoring sleep cycles is key to alleviating many post war ailments, including post traumatic stress. It’s also the single most important factor, say military sleep researchers, for treating the post traumatic stress disorders that plague America’s returning veterans, keeping them on meds and out of work and preventing them from enjoying a normal life.2
We see this regularly at the Healing Warriors Program (HWP) clinic. Exhaustion from lack of sleep leads to high blood pressure, depression and often accompanies a sense of hopelessness. We all know this. We have all probably lived this. When we are over tired, what might be standard stressors become overwhelming making us feel engulfed, unable to swim out from the whirlpool.
So what can we do about this? We have some suggestions.
CREATE A ROUTINE
Those who have been in the military train themselves to perform certain tasks with specific cues, a process that usually started in boot camp. Through repetition and drill, muscle memory eventually and automatically takes over. It’s a good thing too, as it may be life-saving. In the same way, though, we need to signal our minds and bodies to relax, rest, and sleep by establishing those cues and creating a routine. For example:- Take a hot bath using a scented bath salt or soap that you really like (this will also engage the sense of smell as a cue)
- Brush your teeth and create yourself a pattern
- Fluff your pillow with intent
- Brush down your sheets and blankets to smooth out
- Breathe - use conscious breathing techniques like resetting your breath to remind your body that it’s time to stop and cleanse
- Smell - spritz an essential oil on the pillow (lavender, chamomile, valerian, vanilla) that you will begin to associate with going to sleep and will become your cue
- Calm your mind - try using a short meditation or prayer to focus and calm the mind
- Use guided Imagery which uses verbal suggestions in order to relax