Published: November 03, 2009 11:57 am      

Local sleep expert gives slumber tips

Check your clocks. Did you “fall back” today?

If you remembered that Daylight Saving Time ended early this morning, an extra hour of sleep was your reward. But if you’re one of the many Americans who rarely gets a good night’s rest, today is a good time to re-evaluate your sleep habits, according to Dr. Adam Ashton.

Ashton is an Amherst-based psychiatrist and a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University at Buffalo. He’s been concentrating on sleep study for more than a decade. According to Ashton, the end of Daylight Saving Time brings a number of psychological effects that can affect sleep patterns.

“Just the fact that they’re changing the clocks has (people) thinking it’s going to be cold,” Ashton said. “As the days get shorter there are greater difficulties with energy level ... people don’t want winter to come.”

An estimated 30 million Americans suffer from chronic insomnia, according to Ashton, but there are a number of time-tested strategies that restless sleepers should try before resorting to any sort of extreme measures.

The first step is to get on a set sleeping schedule. People who go to bed and wake up at the same time every day often get good sleep, Ashton said.

A few other behavioral strategies suggested by Ashton:

• Don’t exercise or eat too soon before going to bed.

• Preserve the bedroom as a place for sleep and intimacy.

• Always associate being in bed with sleeping. “Unfortunately, with a lot of what we do, day to day, it isn’t so easy to do just that,” Ashton said.

• Create a sleep-conducive environment — keep the bedroom dark and keep the temperature just right.

Like many sleep experts, Ashton recommends getting somewhere near eight hours of sleep each day.

“I think many people, if not most Americans, are getting by with less than eight (hours),” he said. “Some people get by with less than six.”

The reasons why people skimp on sleep are many — anxiety disorders, multiple jobs, etc. — but it’s important to make time to sleep, Ashton said.

“Some people don’t make sleep a priority,” he said. “You can only burn the candle at so many ends. Eventually you’re going to have to pay the price for that ... if you continue to deprive yourself of sleep, you have sleep debt, and you have to pay that back.”

Ashton doesn’t recommend most artificial sleep aids, even if it’s something as seemingly innocuous as falling asleep with the TV or radio on. But another bad choice is America’s favorite sleep aid, alcohol. Though it puts you to sleep, it can also wake you up just as easily.

“The problem is, as you metabolize alcohol, the metabolizing makes you wake up in the middle of the night,” Ashton said.

For those who need some kind of help, there are now more FDA-approved medications for long-term use. Ashton included Ambien CR in that group, but noted that as with all medications, a doctor should be consulted first.

And even before that, one should look for other sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea. Loud snorers and those who sleep for a long time without feeling rested should get checked for sleep apnea. Restless leg syndrome and narcolepsy are other possible disorders that could disrupt sleep.

“We certainly know more about these sleep disorders than ever before,” he said.

Ashton doesn’t mind if people search the Internet for sleep advice, but he urges caution with online advice. He recommends shuteye.com as a good Web site to check out. If there are any questions about online information, it’s best to ask a doctor.

So, with the increased public knowledge about sleep disorders, are people taking sleep more seriously now?

“I think people are taking more charge of their medical health in general than they used to,” Ashton said. “People really understand that if they’re going to maintain a healthy life, they need to maintain their health. Sleep health is another thing they’re learning more about.”