We spend a third of our lives in the land of Nod, and yet we rarely think a thing about it. Nor do we value it; our measure of worth as humans is what we do while we’re awake. Indeed, some of us pride ourselves on our ability to function on very little sleep, rather than cherishing the shut-eye we do get. But sleep plays a crucial role in health, happiness and even longevity. So what’s going on when we’re sawing logs?

leep, we recharge our batteries, both mentally and physically. For athletes, the body responds to training and gets stronger during rest and sleep, not during workouts. For all of us, sleep
is when the body experiences growth and rejuvenation of the immune, muscular, and nervous systems. Neurons are regenerated, new synaptic connections are formed. During sleep, wounds heal fastest, even the internal traumas of strokes and brain injuries.

It’s not just the physical body that recovers at night; the mind is equally nurtured. There’s a reason why we’re told to “sleep on it” before making significant decisions. Not only does sleep aid mental processing, it is a form of mental processing, especially during the rapid eye movement (REM) phase.

And there’s a certain spiritual nourishment that occurs during sleep. Dreaming is one manifestation of this nourishment. At their finest, dreams can inspire creativity, provide solutions to troubling issues, or shed light on mental or psychological well-being. At the very least, basic dreams are an amusing way for the brain to assimilate stored images and
experiences.

In some cultures, sleep is considered essential to spirituality; the brain is not enslaved by the bonds of the ego, and we dip back into our spiritual home. Sleep is a universally shared state of altered consciousness. Indeed, one might wonder if some sleep disturbances occur because of a spiritual imbalance. Or perhaps deep spiritual processing occurs during slumber.

For most Aboriginal tribes, sleep is considered a deeply spiritual time. They find songs, ceremonies or sacred messages during dreaming, and dreams are considered messages that hold guidance, wisdom, and sacred images. Some Buddhist practices have similar high
regard for the act of sleeping.

Up all night.
We know only a little about what happens when we sleep. We know much more about what happens when we don’t. The body’s systems aren’t rejuvenated, the mind and spirit lack that
component of nourishment. Deprived of sleep for a long enough period, we die. (At least, that’s what happens to lab animals that are deprived of it.)

After a period of inadequate sleep, neurons malfunction. The brain is sluggish, the nerves raw. Response time is reduced, decision-making ability hampered. We’re irritable, tense, even emotionally overwrought. Physically, a lack of sleep affects the adrenals, and pays a role in fat storage. And chronic sleepless may lead to a higher risk of heart disease, some forms of cancer and other ill health.

Knowing all that, we still sleep less than ever before. In pre-industrial times, Americans averaged 10 hours of sleep per night. Today, thanks to electricity and all the gadgetry it enables, Americans sleep just 6.9 hours on weeknights and 7.5 on weekends. Some of us sleep less because we’re trying to accomplish more in our waking hours. Some of us are awake because we can’t sleep. And that’s the real torment.

No one knows exactly what causes insomnia. Sometimes it’s spurred by life events: a traumatic divorce, loss of a job, death of a loved on. Sometimes it’s related to physical changes, like excessive weight gain or the hormonal shifts of menopause. Sometimes, though, it comes seemingly out of nowhere. And all stages of life have their variations on insomnia, each as troubling as the other.

Rock-a-bye: babies
“How can I help Baby sleep?” It’s the number one question new parents have. Just as with adults, the need to sleep can vary greatly in infants. Though newborns seem to sleep all the time – as much as 16 hours out of 24 – by the time babies are six or eight months old, they may already be experiencing sleeplessness. They’re fussy, they cry more; sometimes they’re inconsolable.

Why do some babies have trouble sleeping? Theories range from digestive disturbances to excessive sensitivity to light, sound, and the external world in general. Teething in older babies can be an issue. Some folks suggest birth trauma – the memory of a frightening and painful birth experiences – is to blame.

It helps to realize that baby insomnia may simply be a roll of the genetic dice. In August, University of San Francisco researchers reported that a “sleep gene” that helps regulate circadian rhythms may give about 3 percent of people the ability to truly do well on six hours of sleep per night. Perhaps those adults were the not-so-sleepy babies.

Sound sleep solutions. Babies can’t talk, so it’s hard to know the reason for their sleeplessness; finding the right solution is a matter of knowing your baby, and a fair amount of trial and error. If you suspect digestive distress, try altering the baby’s diet (or the nursing mom’s diet), or using colic drops or homeopathic colic formulas. Disruptive household or traffic noises can be masked with a white noise machine, room-darkening curtains, or soft music (especially the same music night after night, to create a sleep “cue.”) Some parents swear by craniosacral massage to help babies who had a traumatic birth. And rocking or other gentle, rhythmic motion (that sometimes means a little ride in the car) is guaranteed to bring on slumber for most sleepless babies.

The rough and tumble years: children
You’d think kids are carefree enough to fall into an easy slumber at day’s end. That’s partly true, says Dr. Gustav Hallin, M.D., a practitioner with the Four Corners Sleep Disorders Center in Durango. “The best sleep of your life was probably when you were 10 years old,” he says. “Before puberty, sleep is deep and consistent. Every year after puberty, it gets a little harder. “

That said, even young children are affected by many of the same issues that worry adults: overburdened schedules, daily trials, relationship troubles. They’re at the stage where worries can set in – will they remember something they’ve promised to do the next day? Does their best friend still want to play at recess? Are their parents going to die? Small bodies and big worries can add up to little sleep.

Dietary issues can also have a huge impact on children. If your child is experiencing low-grade discomfort from undiagnosed gluten or dairy sensitivities, for instance, sleep may be affected.
Allergies can either make a child drowsy, or unable to snooze. And sleep apnea – characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep – is now being diagnosed and treated in children as well as adults.

And children are creatures of routine. If the family doesn’t have a calming routine at the end of the day, the child may go to bed with engines revving – and family conflict can easily result.

Sound sleep solutions. The first line of defense is to create soothing nighttime routines that start well before the lights go out – and that are consistently practiced. Then, eliminate caffeine altogether, and limit sugar. Make sure that little tummies are full, but not stuffed – a small cup of milk contains tryptophan, a sleep-inducing amino acid, and a spoonful of almond butter before brushing teeth helps balance blood sugar and prevent night waking. And a good session of pillow talk can dispel worries and fears.

If your child still has trouble sleeping, guided imagery can calm her mind: help her imagine being in a calm, happy and safe place – grandmother’s house, or under a tree in the spring – and hold that image in her mind until sleep starts to come. Deep, calm breathing can have
similar results. And gentle herbs and homeopathics can help the occasional bout of sleeplessness.

The trying times: teenagers Teens have worries of their own that may keep the Sandman away. Their schedules may include juggling school, jobs, family responsibilities, and extracurricular activities. They’re probably experiencing relationship woes, whether of the romantic or the friendship variety. As if that’s not enough, emerging hormones can magnify worries tenfold.

And then there’s the tech factor: between Facebook, texting, IMing, managing their online music libraries, gaming, and who-knows-what-else, it’s not uncommon for teens to be connected to something or someone well past midnight. The solution seems easy – just take the tech toys away – but parents know that’s easier said than done.

Teens will argue that science shows they “can’t” go to sleep yet. And they have a point: at puberty, teens’ natural biological clocks reset, with evening becoming an active period, and sleepiness not setting in until 11 p.m. or later. That poses a problem when the institution that governs their lives – school – often starts at 7:30 a.m. There just aren’t enough hours in between. When school start times have been adjusted to allow teens even one extra hour of sleep, attendance and performance both improve.

Sound sleep solutions: What to do, since parents can’t dictate sleep? First, the same “sleep hygiene” techniques that work for children and adults (see sidebar) can work for teens – if they’re willing to try. If not, then parents can offer information. Do the teens know that young adults still need around nine hours of sleep per night? Or that driving while tired is the equivalent of driving under the influence? Or that sleep deprivation and obesity are linked?

Hallin suggests to teens in his practice that they keep track of the number of hours they sleep when school’s out and the alarm clock isn’t buzzing. “That number, when they aren’t forced to get up early, starts to give them an inkling of what they need all year round,” he says.

Adults: sleepy days, sleepless nights
It’s no surprise that stress, poor diet, lack of exercise and other lifestyle issues are a leading cause of insomnia. Or that insomnia is at epidemic proportions, with 50 to 70 million Americans citingsleep problems at least three times a week. Shift work also wreaks havoc on sleep, and puts night workers at a higher risk for cancer, among other things. And sleep disruptions go hand in hand with mental illness, substance abuse, and some kinds of medical treatments.

But the most common form of sleep disorder is “psychophysiologic,” says Hallin. This may begin with a psychological event such as a death in the family, or a difficult period, such as the loss of a job, and then continue long after the stress is relieved; sleeplessness becomes the norm. Fortunately, this kind of sleeplessness is receptive to treatment in the form of creating a good regimen.

Adulthood is when another form of sleep disorder comes up: nighttime waking. Gary Cler, a mechanical engineer in Windsor, slept just fine until he reached his 40s. Then, he reports, “I started waking up at 2 or 3 a.m., wide awake, and the day had started.” This would go on for three or four days, at which point he’d experience one wasted, groggy day and finally get a good night’s sleep. But the pattern would repeat from a few days to a couple of weeks later.

Cler eventually fixed his problem; the correct prescription for him was establishing a routine. Besides a low-key bedtime ritual, he also increased his bicycling to over 100 miles every week, and all but gave up caffeine.

Sound sleep solutions. First, check what’s on your dinner plate, and especially your late-night snack plate. Just a few changes (see sidebar) can bring on sleep. Then consider meditation; why spending 20 to 30 minutes per day in meditation helps people sleep better is unclear, but it does. Aromatherapy, acupuncture, biofeedback and massage may
all lend a hand, too.

Many dietary supplements may offer relief – at least for some people, some of the time. Try the hormone, melatonin; the homeopathic formula, Calms Forté; the amino acids, 5-HTP and GABA ; and herbal combinations that include varying amounts of valerian, hops, magnolia and passionflower, or chamomile.

If none of that is enough, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), done under the care of a sleep specialist, is also helpful. Therapy may start with counter-intuitive restrictions on sleep, with naps and early bedtimes prohibited. In many cases, more satisfying sleep can be expected in just a few weeks.

Experiencing the change: menopause.
Many women report their first sleep disturbances come during perimenopause, when hormones begin to change. Women also become more prone to sleep apnea at this stage, and to hot flashes and night sweats – unaccountable changes in body temperature that can awaken women many times a night. (Partners of menopausal women may suffer sleep disorders, too, as they are awakened many times when the covers are flung off and later yanked back on.)

Estrogen and progesterone, which have coursed through a woman’s body for years, suddenly begin to fluctuate, and then drop off. How does the body respond? With lighter sleep, among many other symptoms. This, coupled with stress-related insomnia, can make the 50s a tough time in the sack.

Sound sleep solutions. Some women opt for hormone replacement therapy
(HRT), delivered via a pill, a patch, or a vaginal cream. Hot flashes, night sweats, and the related insomnia and daytime drowsiness can decrease. An alternative hormonal treatment comes from bioidentical hormones, which are derived from plants. Though they’re plant-based,
they’re somewhat controversial for safety and efficacy reasons; consult a skilled practitioner before using, and use them with caution.

Simply increasing soy consumption may help; the phytoestrogens in tofu, soybeans, and the like act as a weak estrogen. While this hasn’t been proven to reduce hot flashes, many women swear by it. In the herbal pharmacopeia, black cohosh is the treatment of choice. Check with Boulder’s Herb Research Foundation (herbs.org) for fact sheets on soy and
black cohosh. And keep the bedroom cool and your sleepwear loose – and avoid spicy, heat-producing foods.

The autumn of our lives: sleepy seniors
As people reach their 70’s, 80’s and beyond, sleep problems become even more common. Some medical conditions such as multiple sclerosis, diabetes, heart failure, and Parkinson’s Disease go hand-in-hand with sleeplessness. Many medications impact sleep. And gardenvariety aches and pains can make sleep more difficult.

Another factor: the visual system is less good at doing its job as we age. “As people age, the lenses don’t transmit the light as well, plus the pupil gets smaller,” says Rebecca Hutchins, O.D., of Niwot. “All of that makes a difference to the visual system. And that matters because a specific wave length that we perceive as ‘blue’ transmits to a part of the brain that controls melatonin production. And that matters because melatonin helps establish circadian rhythms. In older people, that system is simply less efficient.” She says researchers have shown that seniors who look at blue light – the kind that comes from televisions – at around 8 p.m. can consolidate their sleep into a long, satisfying night.

(Hutchins carefully notes that most adults – not seniors – who are having difficulty sleeping are better off not experiencing blue light near bedtime.)

Sound sleep solutions. Blue lights that help seniors postpone sleep until a reasonable bedtime can be found at LowBlueLights.com, along with ambercolored glasses that have the opposite effect, for those who have trouble falling asleep early enough. Tylenol or a similar pain reliever can improve sleep surprisingly well just by blocking the aches, says Hallin, and a mattress with enough softness to coddle achy bones can, too.

Capsaicin, the active ingredient in chile peppers, can relieve arthritis pain. Arnica, taken orally as a homeopathic remedy or used as a topical cream, is well-established as an anti-inflammatory. Anti-inflammatory herbs, such as ginger and turmeric, may help with the underlying cause of chronic pain.

Then there are sleep aids. Over-thecounter options are likely to be based on antihistamines. These lose their effectiveness if taken regularly, though, so they must be reserved for occasional use. Prescription medications have come a long way, but they, too, are intended for short term use only, and may bring with them side effects that can be worse than the cure.

For the record, alcohol is not a sleep aid, even though it may help a person fall asleep. The rest of the night will be worse, not better, after a few drinks.

For everyone
No matter how severe your insomnia, worrying about it won’t help. “With most problems in life, the more you focus on it and pay attention to it, the better it gets,” says Hallin. “Sleep is the reverse. Once you start thinking about it, the worse it gets. You can’t force yourself to have good sleep.” So relax, already, and get to bed.

Beyond counting sheep
To fall willingly and lengthily into the arms of Morpheus is a blessing. If chronic sleeplessness is disrupting your life, start by ruling out such physical problems as sleep apnea and narcolepsy, probably by seeing a physician who specializes in sleep medicine. This may involve an overnight work-up to pinpoint your conditions. After that, relief is all about lifestyle regulation. The following ideas have been gleaned from sleep experts, mattress experts, and, best of tall, people who have licked long-term insomnia.

¦ Darkness is your friend. Use blackout curtains if you must. People who sleep with
ambient light don’t get the full (and wonderful) effects of melatonin, a natural hormone
that regulates wakefulness.

¦ An hour before heading to bed, keep lights dim and sounds low. This allows the
brain to begin to downshift in preparation for sleep.

¦ Unplug all sources of electricity in the bedroom, such as electric blankets, televisions
and clock radios. All these appliances are associated with low frequency electromagnetic
fields that are thought to disturb sleep, and may cause long-term health damage as well.

¦ Quiet is crucial. Turn off the television, close the door, and consider wearing ear plugs.

¦ Sleep in a cool space. Down comforters may be too insulating unless you’re sleeping
in an unheated cabin. In summer, spray the sheets with a fine mist of water before bedding
down.

¦ Foods high in the amino acid, tryptophan (it’s plentiful in dairy products, turkey,
chicken, beans, nuts and seeds) can encourage slumber. Other good sleep-promoting
choices include complex carbohydrates and foods rich in B vitamins or magnesium. Keep
snacks small; a tablespoon of nuts, a couple of slices of turkey.

¦ Nicotine and caffeine are strong stimulants, and should be eliminated by all sleepdeprived
people. Even a morning cuppa can disrupt sleep in some people. Switch to a soothing herbal blend.

¦ Is your partner a help or a hinder? There’s probably a reason elegant homes of centuries
ago featured his and her bedrooms. If snoring, restless leg syndrome, or hot flashes
drive you to separate quarters, think of the move as an act of love, not alienation.

¦ Do pets and children belong in your bed? For some, the minor disruptions of extra
bodies nearby can become major irritations.

¦ Go au naturel. From sustainable wood in the box spring, to organic cotton, untreated
wool, and natural rubber for everything else, it’s possible to make your bed a naturally
healthy haven.

¦ Comfort counts. The curvier you are, the more likely you’ll prefer a softer mattress.
Search for a mattress that has “pressure point relief,” which means it gives a bit where your
body presses down. Natural latex does a great job.

¦ The bedroom is for two things, and one of them is sleep. Evict the TV, the computer,
the phone, the piles of junk, and all vestiges of your crazy life.

¦ Keep a sleep diary. Such a record can help pinpoint sleep patterns.

¦ Recognize that sleep is a great healer. If you’ve experienced physical or emotional
trauma sleep can be part of recovery, so allow yourself plenty of bed time.

¦ Don’t expect to get deep ZZZs if you move to a higher elevation. Days may be
sleepier and nights more restless, but after a few weeks, your body will adjust.

¦ Everything that’s good for weight control is also good for sleep: exercise, regular
hours, and satisfying relationships.