report that they don’t get the recommended number of hours of sleep to feel restored and rested — either because they have trouble falling or staying asleep, or they wake up too early.The stimulation of modern life doesn’t suddenly vanish the moment you close your eyes in bed. Whether it’s ruminating about what happened during the day or worrying about tomorrow, turning off and relaxing takes a little time.
But these hypnotic medications, which increase the activity of GABA and produce a characteristic calm, are potentially habit-forming and addictive. They can also cause adverse cognitive effects, in learning and memory, particularly among older people.Caffeine is usually metabolized within four to six hours, though drinking coffee throughout the day can interfere with sleep and drive the use of sedating drugs to turn off. With just a little effort, you can break this cycle.
The simple truth is that you cannot keep yourself propped up with caffeine indefinitely because the rising tide of adenosine in your brain will become impossible to ignore. When that happens, don’t panic and turn to sleep medication, just give your brain a chance to turn off naturally.And here’s the most effective trick for falling asleep, which has been studied and shown to be as effective — if not more — than any hypnotic drug.