Less bedtime can improve insomnia

Insomnia, the inability to fall asleep, stay asleep or sleep peacefully has become a common hardship for young and old alike.

Its effect is felt during the day with drowsiness, the inability to nap, and feeling anxious, irritable, forgetful, or unable to concentrate.

Insomnia is a symptom, like fever or pain, rather than a disorder. The remedy hides behind finding the cause and acting on it.

A health newsletter from the Harvard Medical School discusses a surprising way of tackling and recovering from insomnia.

According to the newsletter, nearly half of insomnia cases stem from psychological or emotional problems. Stressful events, mild depression, or an anxiety disorder can keep people awake at night. When the underlying cause is treated successfully, insomnia usually goes away. If not, focusing on improving sleep may help.

Insomnia can trigger a vicious cycle. After experiencing a few sleepless nights, some people start to associate the bedroom with being awake. Napping, drinking coffee, having a nightcap or forgoing exercise only fuels the problem.

As insomnia worsens, anxiety regarding insomnia may also worsen. Before long, a person's fears about sleeplessness and its consequences become the primary cause of insomnia.

It is not unusual for insomnia sufferers to spend more time in bed, hoping this will lead to sleep.

Surprisingly, spending less time in bed — a technique known as sleep restriction — promotes more restful sleep and restores the role of the bedroom as a peaceful place to rest instead of a room of torment.

As you learn to fall asleep quickly and sleep soundly, the time in bed is slowly extended until you obtain a full night's sleep.

Some sleep experts suggest starting with six hours at first, or whatever amount of time you typically sleep at night.

Setting a rigid early morning waking time often works best. If the alarm is set for 7am, for example, a six-hour restriction means that no matter how sleepy you are, you must stay awake until 1am.

Once you are sleeping well during the allotted six hours, you can add another 15 or 30 minutes, then repeat the process until you're getting a healthy amount of sleep.