The Snooze News

CONNIE: Good morning!This is Connie Sung, bring you "Here's to Your Health," a program about modern health issues. Today we've invited Dr. Ray Thorpe to talk to us about insomnia. Dr. Thorpe is the director of the Sleep Disorders Clinic. Welcome to the show!

DR. THORPE:Thanks, Connie. It's great to be here.

CONNIE: Your book Night Shift will be coming out soon. In it, you tell people to pay more attention to sleep disorders. What's the big deal about losing a little sleep?

DR. THORPE: I always tell people to think of the biggest industrial disaster that they've ever heard about. Usually it was caused at least in part by sleep deprivation. Then I ask them to think about what can happen if they drive when they're tired. Every year, up to 200,000 automobile accidents are caused by drowsy drivers.

CONNIE: Wow! That is a big problem.

DR. THORPE:And a costly one. We figure that fatigue costs businesses about $70 million a year.

CONNIE: That's astounding! But getting back to the personal level, if I come to your clinic, what would you advise to do?

DR. THORPE: First, I would find out about some of your habits. If you smoked or drink, I would tell you to stop.

CONNIE: Really? A lot of people have a drink to relax.

DR. THORPE: Bad idea. Both habits are not only bad for your general health, but they interfere with sleep.

CONNIE: What about the old-fashioned remedies like warm milk?


DR. THORPE: Actually, a lot of home remedies do make sense. We tell patients to have a high-carbohydrate snack like a banana before they go to bed. Warm milk helps, too. But I'd advise you not to eat a heavy meal before bed.CONNIE: My doctor told me to get more exercise, but when I run at night, I can't get to sleep.


DR. THORPE: It's true that if you exercise regularly, you'll sleep better. But we always tell patients not to exercise within three hours of bedtime.

CONNIE: My mother always said to get up and scrub the floor when I couldn't sleep.



DR. THORPE: That works. I advised one patient to balance his checkbook. He went right to sleep, just to escape from the task.

CONNIE: Suppose I try these remedies, and they don't help?


DR. THORPE: We often ask patients to spend a night at our sleep clinic. We have electronic equipment that permits us to monitor the patient through the night. In fact, if you're interested, we can invite you to come to the clinic for a night.

CONNIE: Maybe I should do that.