Sweet dreams?
As hotels are seeing more and more nude sleepwalkers and an epidemic of insomnia grips the country, Victoria Lambert outlines some of the best ways to get a good night’s sleep
Monday November 12 2007
Somnambulists are on the move. Travelodge hotels have just revealed that staff dealt with more than 400 cases of sleepwalking last year, a seven-fold increase.
According to the UK chain's "director of sleep", Leigh McCarron, such guests mostly turned up at reception in the middle of the night, trying to check out or looking for a newspaper. Almost all were male. Many were naked.
Solving the problem of sleepwalking is not simple. What most somnambulists are crying out for is a restful night's sleep -- just like the many others who suffer from different types of disturbed sleep, including insomniacs and even snorers.
The frustration suffered by the sleep-deprived was summed up by the BBC's Jeremy Paxman recently, when it was reported that he had suffered from insomnia for more than 25 years.
"I wake up in the middle of the night tossing and turning," he said. "I have been to therapists, doctors, tried hypnotism. You name it, I tried it. Nothing works with me except pills."
Paxman is not alone. A new survey conducted by Dr Chris Idzikowski, from the Edinburgh Sleep Centre, has found that nearly 50pc of us get less than six hours' sleep a night, with 18pc getting less than five hours.
Dr Idzikowski blames modern lifestyles that keep us up late but require an early start the next day. So how do you counter this modern plague? Here are 15 ways to get a good night's sleep.
1 Eat little and often
Some insomniacs wake at around 3am, when blood sugar is low and the body releases adrenaline. "Stabilise your blood sugars during the day by eating every three hours and keep to foods with a low glycaemic index -- they take longer to digest," says nutritionist Dr Marilyn Glenville. "Before bed, have some hot camomile tea and an oatcake."
2 Change your mattress
Mattresses from Tempur support the body by distributing weight evenly. According to a Swedish study that monitored 23,000 sleepers over eight years, using the specialist mattress resulted in an 83pc reduction in tossing and turning (www.tempur.co.uk).
3 Turn off your mobile
Many people find chatting on mobile phones over-stimulating, so switch yours off at 6pm, or whenever you get home.
4 Change your breathing
Deep breathing helps your mind calm down and it produces relaxing endorphins, says clinical hypnotherapist Georgia Foster. Draw air into your lungs for five seconds, hold for five seconds, release completely, and then hold your lungs empty for a further five seconds. Repeat three times.
5 Eat a spud at bedtime
Starchy foods -- such as potatoes and bananas -- are full of chemicals called tryptophans that naturally boost levels of serotonin, which promotes sleep.
6 Listen to the voices in your head
The Inner Talk Sleep Soundly CD offers subliminal messages. Play at night to hear affirmations such as "Sleep is natural. Sleep is effortless. Sleep is easy." (www.innertalk.co.uk).
7 Drink cherry juice
Cherries contain significant quantities of the hormone melatonin, needed for restful sleep.
8 Get into a routine
Going to bed and waking up at around the same times helps regulate sleep-wake cycles. Reading a book for 20 minutes can be used as a cornerstone of a peaceful night. Avoid long lie-ins at weekends.
9 Take a cold shower
Long, hot soaks before bed raise your body temperature at a time when it is naturally programmed to fall. Take a cooler bath or shower instead.
10 Skip the gym
Exercise after work increases body temperature and changes your natural rhythm, making you too alert.
11 Paint it white
Colour therapists recommend bedrooms be decorated in "skin" colours; pale pink to rich brown; bright red walls, for example, are too stimulating.
12 Keep your feet warm
A new foot patch made from mandarin-wood vinegar emits heat into your soles, stimulating the reflexology points that are said to promote sleep. In a Harley Street trial, one in four Patch-It! users got a better night's sleep (£12.95 for six patches; www.patch-it.info).
13 Try a snore cure
Your partner's snoring -- or even your own -- could be the root of your sleep problem. Snoreeze oral strips, placed on the roof of the mouth, dissolve during the night, lubricating the tissues that vibrate to cause snoring (14 strips for £14.99).
14 Observe the 20-minute rule
If you have been awake in bed for more than 20 minutes, get up and rest elsewhere. Do not return to bed until sleepy.
15 Onion sandwiches, anyone?
The Romans ate onions to cure vision problems, treat lumbago -- and induce sleep.'I woke up outside wearing nothing but jeans'
'I woke up outside wearing nothing but jeans'
"My memories of sleepwalking begin around the age of 11. I recall staying at a friend's house and being found in the kitchen, confused and embarrassed.
"By the time I went to boarding school, my sleepwalking was becoming more common. I would find the floor littered with books, then remember a dream in which I smelled the pages instead of reading them.
"Once, staying with my brother, I found myself outside his house, wearing nothing but jeans -- no keys, no money, and no way to get his attention. I had to break into my car and sleep there.
I don't think there is a trigger. My brother suffers, although in a different way: he wakes up and sees things 'moving', like piles of clothes resembling a lion. Sometimes I wake up shattered, not sure if I have walked or not."
Luke Muir is a 27-year-old sleepwalker
- Victoria Lambert
