<p>I want to focus on Smithie’s final paragraph in Post #24 and PizzaGirl’s related point
While hard to accomplish in a college dorm room, especially with 2 other roommates, it is very important for sleep hygiene. </p>
<p>I’ve worked very hard with an M.D.(neurologist) in sleep medicine to help myself and family. Here’s a rundown of his strongest advice and the science behind it.</p>
<p>l. Do not stare at any “bright screens” (TV, computer, roommate’s computer screen if close to his bed…) for ideally 2 hours, or more realistically 1 hour, before sleep time. Since cave days, the human brain is long programmed to release “wake up” hormones upon seeing bright light. When we look at an electric screen at night, it tricks our brain into believing the sun is rising. Hormones are released to wake up, and they don’t fade for hours (hey, it’s time to hunt!). And as any post-teen knows, fighting hormones is a tough battle.</p>
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<li><p>Set an alarm and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends and regardless of class schedules. Again, this is very hard at college, but is key to training the body to fall asleep at night. And if it was rough falling asleep the night before, it’s important to force oneself up with that alarm, put feet on the ground, get out of bed and muddle through the day, in order to be tired again at night. That causes one bad day rather than an endless series of bad days.</p></li>
<li><p>We’re Pavolovian about sleep. The only thing (ahem) to do in bed is sleep so our brain comes to associate that place with sleep onset. Since he’s having some trouble falling asleep, he might consider not using his bed to read, study, or chat by phone; use a chair or sofa elsewhere instead. When he crawls into that bed, it should tell his brain, "ah, here’s where I sleep.</p></li>
<li><p>If he doesn’t fall asleep within 10-15 minutes of going to bed, don’t lie in bed staring at a ceiling “trying” to fall asleep. Instead, get OUT of bed, go to a chair somewhere dark and quiet, perhaps in the corner of a hardly-used lounge, with a reading light BEHIND his eyes and read for awhile. You might purchase a bed-clip travel light to clip it right to the book; just be sure it’s not pointing at his eyes. The reading matter should be very mindless, I was told “at the level of Reader’s Digest, or an easy crossword puzzle” Don’t study right then, or read a newspaper or anything analytical or possibly stressful and upsetting. As soon as he begins to yawn a few times or feel his eyelids get heavy, he should crawl into bed again. Rinse and repeat as needed.</p></li>
<li><p>Since one thing to avoid is stress and stimulation during his hour before bed, can he let his roommates know he’s working on this? If they will cooperate, he can put up a signal that indicates “I’m winding down, don’t converse with me anymore tonight.” That could be a baseball cap or anything he hangs up to signal them nightly. They don’t have to stop talking, but not talk with him! They might be exciting his brain with all their doings of the day. </p></li>
<li><p>Soft sound, others’ soft talking in the room, radio music can be helpful to falling asleep. After all, other people were still talking at night in those caves. It’s the light, specifically, that’s the problem to us biologically.</p></li>
<li><p>Sleep onset is also a matter of brain releasing hormones. A lot of the points here are to allow the brain to release those hormones, and “let sleep come to him.” Chasing and trying for sleep is not effective; reprogramming his habits into an evening ritual that fools the brain into releasing sleep hormones works. </p></li>
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<p>Only he knows if he can accomplish all this, but if he can work towards some of these points, it might help. He doesn’t have as much control of his environment as he did at home, but he can be resourceful if he knows the science and what he’s trying to accomplish. The sleep theory is pretty interesting and the dr’s advice has been most helpful in this household. Good luck to him.</p>