Originally published in the Men's Health MVP Network, 2015. Part of the Sleep campaign.
My buddy Greg was a notorious insomniac. Up all night watching reruns of Mr. Show, Kids In The Hall, Monty Python — everything you can think of that didn't involve sleeping you could find Greg up to from 8pm to 8am at which point it was time to hit the shower and head to work. Another night lost.
Then someone introduced him to Ambien and it worked like a charm and he slept a full eight hours and woke up feeling refreshed and not groggy. This continued for a while until he started to see inexplicable boosts on his car's odometer. Turns out he was driving from New York to Pennsylvania every night and getting McDonald's at one of the truck stops off route 80.
This was around the time that similar stories were making headlines across the country. This drug definitely put you to sleep, but, problematically, it caused you to wake up mid-way through in some kind of a lucid blacked out state where you would make irrational decisions such as booking travel, emptying your fridge, lots of binge eating and not cleaning up, have conversations with old friends, and go for long walks or occasional drives.
Ambien had to update the warnings on their label with this little gem: "Sleep-driving" and other complex behaviors while not fully awake. Risk increases with dose and use with other CNS depressants and alcohol. Immediately evaluate any new onset behavioral changes." SLEEP DRIVING.
That little anecdote is intended to show the dark side of the "prescription sleep aid" revolution. Even the cutest puppy has an asshole. And sleep is not something to be taken lightly or written off to a pill. The fact is most Americans are not getting enough sleep. And this problem multiplied has major implications such as billions of dollars in lost productivity, an increase in sleep-related car or work-related accidents, and bad stuff. I could get into the fact that the job market is so competitive and rewards those who sleep less and are at their desk more, but I'll save that for another time.
I am here to light candles, not curse darkness, or lack thereof.
To my friend who is an insomniac I say how many days a week do you exercise? How much coffee do you drink on average and at what time? How many nights are you out drinking and how much? When you go to bed, do you have your phone on or the TV on?
It is not rocket science. Do these things for the next two weeks: Exercise for at least 45 minutes a day doing whatever, as long as you break a sweat and get your heart rate up for a sustained period. Stop drinking. If you're a coffee addict, have your last cup by 5pm. When you go to bed, GO TO BED. Don't go to the bed and start texting or watching Walking Dead or finish up some work on your laptop. Shut the lights off, kiss your wife, and go to sleep. Stop taking the sleep-driving pills. If you're having trouble after a week, maybe add a little melatonin into the mix, or some chamomile tea, or both.
Obviously this recipe won't work for everyone — there are people with insomnia caused by things like PTSD or other forms of trauma or anxiety who should see a psychiatrist that might be able to help them with some good medications that treat the problem and not the symptoms.
But for the majority of people who are just victims of our competitive culture and our million screen lifestyle, insomnia is just a fact of life a lot of people have made peace with when they really shouldn't. Sleep is a gift and a treasure and what's more, without it for extended periods of time you'll actually DIE. And that will make it even harder to get ahead in your career.