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BERWICK AREA HEART SUPPORT GROUP
NOVEMBER 2005 NEWSLETTER
Next meeting November 2nd at the Day Hospital, Berwick Infirmary from 7.00pm – 9.00pm Guest speaker Dr Higham.
Dr Higham will be doing a joint presentation with Sally Scott who is the community heart failure nurse for North Northumberland
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We had two guests at our meeting on 5th. October. The first was our scheduled speaker, Phil Lindsay, Health Improvement Officer for Northumberland Care Trust, and the second was Marjory Tharme.
Marjory called in to introduce herself; she is the new Walking for Health co-ordinator She replaces Bea Nicholson who has moved on, as they say. Marjory can still be contacted at the Borough Council Offices if required about current or future walking programmes.
Phil worked for many years as a Psychiatric Nurse developing a special interest in sleep management whilst working at a Treatment Centre dealing with post traumatic disorders.
I know I’ve got off fairly lightly with reports on meetings through the summer, mainly because our speakers have had practical demonstrations, well it’s all change, Phil’s talk will involve a lot more writing.
He did have a chart on the wall, I have tried to reproduce it and whilst I have tried to be as accurate as possible, this is only an indication of a typical nights sleep pattern, so if this does not happen for you, please excuse the pun, but don’t lose any sleep over it. I will try and explain what’s happening.
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mid night
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1am
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2am
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3am
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4am
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5am
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6am
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7am
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8am
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The figures on the left (1 to 4) are depth of sleep:-
1 = very light sleep
2 = light sleep
3 = deeper sleep, if you were disturbed and woke up from this sleep, you would feel groggy
4 = very deep sleep, you would be difficult to rouse
The letters and figures along the bottom (mid night to 8) represent an imaginary night for someone with out a sleep disturbance, mid night to 8am; your night is possibly different to this but is generally about seven and a half hours long.
As can be seen from the graph we go from being alert and awake, into a light sleep then through all stages until we are in stage 4. This takes about 20 mins. We stay there for about an hour, then come back up through the stages to 1. This is when we start dreaming, apparently we do all dream, some folk just forget. We stay there for about 10 mins before dropping back through the stages to 4. We don’t stay there so long this time before coming back to 1. This continues throughout the night, our periods at 4 get shorter or disappears altogether as the night goes on, and later in the night don’t go deeper than 3, but our periods of light sleep get longer, and we dream more as the night goes on.
Dreams are necessary; this is when the brain sorts out all the problems, and unfinalised business of the previous day. It matches them with similar incidents already in our subconscious, and stores them away.
Unfortunately it’s during this light sleep period that nightmares may also happen, and if the brain can’t sort a problem that sleep can be restless or broken. It helps if you accept that at the particular time you might not be able to do anything about this particular problem, but if you promise yourself that you will devote some time to it tomorrow, maybe even visualising at what time, sleep may come a little easier.
Deep sleep is also when the body repairs itself. It continually repairs itself throughout the day, but achieves most at night when most other parts of the body are shut down.
In an average life time we apparently have 200,000 hours sleep. Sounds good that. It works out to be about 8,333 days or over 22 years. Just thought I would put that in, and I could only do it because there is a calculator sitting on my desk.
Phil did give everyone present 4 pages of tips to help get a good sleep. He did give permission for us to reproduce it for everyone, and is attatched, but in conjunction with this he advocates developing a good pre sleep routine. This may even mean start preparing for bed up to 2 hours before actually going, but if we do things in the same order and keep to a routine our body soon accepts that it is bed time and with it comes sleep.
He did go through the list and made some clarifications:-
Under the headings, don’t use your bed for any other activities, and Avoid stimulants before going to bed. If you read or do crosswords or similar things, keep them light, don’t get into heavy reading or complicated crosswords, keep them for when you are not trying to go to sleep.
Aromatherapy:Apparently English lavender stimulates you, whilst French lavender relaxes you
Driver Fatigue: If you do sleep for more than 20 mins, and woke up after say 30 or 40 mins you can see from the chart above that you would be waking partway through stage 4, when you would have been in a very deep sleep. Waking up then would make you fit for nothing, certainly not driving.
I only hope I have been able to get the helpful tips for a good nights sleep across. Thank you Phil for the advice.
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Wally’s Yarn
I was speaking to my neighbour who told me that he and his wife had been at a loose end last Sunday and so decided to go for a drive. They went off across the moors to Gifford, and after stopping for coffee, decided to go on to East Fortune Market.
Neither was looking for anything in particular, and they had a good browse around the stalls. Whilst his wife spent a little time looking at a material stall, my neighbour was standing next to a shoe stall. A pair of shoes on the end of the stall caught his eye so he picked one up and had a good look. It was a smart, brown, slip on style shoe with leather upper and stout leather sole. The price was £20 which he thought was a bargain, and he quite fancied the slip on style, now that he suffered from a bit of arthritis and rheumatism. He decided to buy a pair and asked the trader if he had a size nine and a half. The trader produced the required size and my neighbour paid up. As his wife was ready to move on, and he had been nine and a half for all his adult life he decide not to try then on then and there, so the trader put them in a bag, and my neighbour and his wife continued around the market, he was quite happy with his little bargain
When they got home he did try his shoes on. As he opened the box and got them out he noticed that whilst they were the same in every way, one was a slip on and the other was lace up.
Thinking there had been a simple mix up with a wrong shoe being put in the wrong box, he decided to return to the market. On the way back he started to think his bargain was not as good as he had first thought, having to use extra fuel to sort out the mix up.
As he got back to the market mid afternoon the trader was beginning to pack up. My neighbour spoke to him, and showed him the shoes. He pointed out that as one was a slip on and the other was a lace up there had obviously been a mistake. The trader replied, “Sorry mate, I thought you had read it. You see, it says on the end of the box, and he pointed it out, and read it aloud, Gents shoe, brown leather, nine and a half, Taiwan”.
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This soup is easy to make. It is low in fat and delicious eaten with freshly-baked bread.
Ingredients
1 medium-sized potato or 4 new potatoes
2 leeks
2 carrots
1 onion
2 courgettes
50g frozen peas
1 small tin of chopped tomatoes
1 vegetable stock cube
salt and pepper to taste
750mls water
cooking time 20-30 minutes
Method
Peel and dice the potato or chop new potatoes.
Wash and thinly slice the leek.
Peel and thinly slice the carrots.
Wash and slice the courgettes.
Peel and finely chop the onion.
Place all the vegetables except the peas and chopped tomato in a pan with the water and stock cube.
Gently heat to boiling point. Reduce the heat and simmer (covered by a pan lid) for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add more water if needed.
Remove approximately one third of the vegetables and purée them in a blender with half of the tomatoes. Alternatively, use a sieve using a wooden or plastic spoon.
Return the purée to the pan with the remaining stock and vegetables. Add the frozen peas and remaining tomatoes.
Re-heat until piping hot. Taste and add seasoning if required.
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Tips For A Good Nights Sleep
Phil Lindsay, Health Development Officer.
Northumberland Care Trust
Sleep only when you are tired
Don’t just go to bed when bedtime comes, if you’re not sleepy you’ll just lie there awake. You should try to associate being in bed with being asleep, not with being awake.
Don’t use your bed for other activities
Don’t read, watch TV (if you have kids take the TV out of their rooms NOW), do paperwork, make phone calls or do anything else in bed that breaks the association with sleep. If you dont work in your bed you’ll be less likely to sleep at the office’
Avoid stimulating activities before going to bed.
Don’t do things like crosswords, or watch late night horror films, don’t smoke, eat large portions of hard to digest foods (e.g. fatty or highly spiced), or have drinks containing caffeine before going to bed.
Have a light snack if you need one
If you find you are waking because you’re hungry have a light snack before going to bed. Foods containing tryptophan (such as turkey, and dairy products) are beneficial as are foods containing carbohydrates like bread and pasta. Many people say that lettuce sandwiches help too. Don’t eat too much though; large meals and fatty foods will make you more prone to waking.
Know your routine
The pre-sleep routine helps prepare the mind and body for sleep. Missing out a step like checking that the door is locked, or brushing your teeth can unsettle us without our necessarily being aware of it.
Prepare the room
Make sure the conditions in your bedroom are right. Not too hot (if anything slightly cool, but with warm bedding), not brightly lit (if you ‘need a light on” experiment with how dim you can make the light), not noisy — earplugs can help. If you have to sleep during the day (e.g. shiftwork) make sure the room is “light tight”.
Dress for success
Find the right night attire for you (cotton is cooler and more comfortable than nylon). Ensure your bed and bedding are comfortable too — and when was the last time you replaced, or even rotated your mattress?
Don’t have a clock where you can see it
If you have an alarm clock by the bed turn it to face away from you. Clockwatching can create additional anxiety that makes it harder to sleep.
Read Less
If you do read in bed only have one book or magazine in the bedroom at a time, and keep it light and dull. Make sure that your reading is not keeping a partner awake.
Caffeine
More than six average cups of coffee (or three espressos) in one day will disturb your sleep (and remember some coffee is particularly strong). and try and avoid it altogether for at least the last four hours of the day. Consider drinking decaffeinated instead. Remember tea. cola and chocolate also contain caffeine.
Don’t drink too much
Too much alcohol will disturb your sleep. and you will probably have to get up to get rid of the excess liquid! If you drink to sleep you will become unconscious sooner, but after 4 hours alcohol promotes wakefulness, and alcohol induced sleep isn’t refreshing. Never drink if taking sleeping tablets.
Don’t smoke
Giving up is best. If you haven’t given up yet then cut down, especially in the evening. Don’t have a cigarette if you get up in the night — you may feel like it is relaxing you, it is actually doing the opposite, and never smoke in bed.
Have a hot bath or shower before going to bed
When we go to sleep the body naturally cools down. The same thing happens after a hot bath, kick-starting the process we go through when falling asleep. But bathing too close to bedtime can keep you awake because your body is still too hot.
Have some gentle music on hand
Listening to something soothing can help relax you before you go to bed, and it can help if you wake during the night too. Avoid music that has lyrics. White noise generators can help mask out intrusive sounds.
Have a relaxation programme
Learn how to relax both your body and your mind. A simple routine of tensing and relaxing the muscles in your body starting at your feet and working progressively up to your head, or even imaging this happening, is very effective. Picturing yourself lying on a beautiful beach or somewhere else you feel as ease can prepare the mind for sleep.
Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy oils can be beneficial for some people. Be careful with lavender however as one type is good for inducing sleep whilst another will help stimulate you. Oilstones with low voltage heaters can be used safely at night because there is no naked flame.
Have sex
Sex can help to relax your mind and body before going to sleep. and give you pleasant feelings to drift off to. Remember. it need not involve anybody else!
You can’t deal with life issues while you’re in bed
If something is worrying you in your personal life make an agreement ‘with it. Acknowledge that the problem exists and fix a time to address it, e.g. think to yourself “Okay, I am worried about my exam. Tomorrow evening I will telephone my tutor and get some tips on revising, but there’s nothing I can do at the moment.” Writing down what is on your mind can help too, or even imagining writing it down.
Only try to get to sleep for about 20 minutes
If you can’t get to sleep soon after going to bed, or if you wake up during the night, get up and do something that isn’t mentally stimulating until you do feel tired, then go back to bed. Mundane activities using hand/eye coordination are best, e.g. jigsaws. crochet, patience.
Keep the house dark
Try and have as little light in the house as possible. Light acts as a signal to our brains to wake up. Even a normal light bulb can be bright enough to convince our bodies that it is morning if we get close to it.
Get up at the same time each morning
Rising at the same time each morning helps synchronise your daily body clock. Do this even when you don’t have to. Our bodies run on a 25-hour cycle, which is reset daily by exposure to sunlight.
If you share a bed...
Remember your being awake may prevent your partner from getting to sleep, think about sleeping in a separate bed. It doesn’t mean you don’t love them, it’s a mark of respect for their well-being.
Make sure medical conditions are attended to
Many medical problems interfere with sleep, e.g. chronic pain, asthma If this is what is keeping you awake it should be treated professionally.
Know your medication
Some medicines can interfere with sleep. As always read the leaflet. If you have been prescribed something that disturbs your sleep talk to your doctor. It may be possible to take it at another time in the day, or there may be an alternative that doesn’t cause problems.
Don’t have nightmares
There are ways of gaining control over disturbing dreams, for instance you can use imagery techniques to change the ending of a bad dream. Don’t avoid sleep just because you are worried about nightmares, the lost sleep is far more of a health hazard. Often nightmares occur as an understandable reaction to a particular crisis, and will soon pass.
Sleeping tablets
These should only be used to relieve acute insomnia, or for a short time to break the pattern of chronic insomnia The will help you get to sleep. they will not help you sleep for longer.
Get some exercise
Even a little exercise can have dramatic improvements on sleeping. But do it before the evening. otherwise it may have the opposite effect.
On Napping
Napping in the day can be useful to make up lost sleep, especially when looking after a baby. Siestas are common in other countries and can be part of a regular sleep routine
On not Napping
But if you are looking to restore a disrupted sleep pattern napping will make it more difficult to get off to sleep that night. Shorter naps taken earlier in the day will affect the night’s sleep less
Be gentle with yourself
If you’ve had sleep problems for a while you’re not likely to snap right back into a good sleep pattern. but will probably see small improvements that you can build on. Recognise where these improvements are occurring and include them in your routine.
Specific sleep problems
Jet Lag
Your body can adjust to time changes at the rate of about one hour per day.A time difference of over three hours will cause problems. Get plenty of sleep and eat well the day before Set your watch for “local time” once on the plane and try to eat and sleep (using a eye-mask and reading light to control light) as if you were already there, and drink plenty of water.
Shiftwork
You will need to trick your biological clock into thinking day is night. Ensure you have little exposure to light on the way home, and once indoors, your bedroom should be “light tight’ and double-glazed to reduce outside noise. Use earplugs and consider a white noise generator. At work try and get as much light as possible
Driver Fatigue
Do not drive if you feel tired If you become tired on a long journey opening the window and turning up the radio will do little to keep you awake. Stop where you can do safely Have a cup of coffee or two, this will take about 20 minutes kick in. In those 20 minutes get a nap — if you nap for longer than 20 minutes you may experience sleep inertia. If you feel really tired just stop and book in somewhere for a proper sleep.
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Phil Lindsay,
Health Development Officer. Northumberland Care Trust
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