Struggling with getting a good night's sleep? You're not alone

For Calgary-based Terry Golbeck, sleeping through the night can be an unpredictable process. He finds himself occasionally waking up at odd hours, trying to slow down his thoughts through a couple of tried-and-tested strategies like meditation and pressing acupressure points to drift off to sleep.

"I'm in my 70s, so I seem to recall my grandmother saying, you know, I need less [sleep], I can't sleep," he said in a conversation on Alberta at Noon.

Goldbeck has been coping by tweaking his bedtime routine to improve his sleep quality, taking melatonin and magnesium supplements an hour before he goes to bed.

"As we transition into the sixth and seventh decade, our sleep does become more fragmented and it is more difficult to achieve a stable night of sleep. This is completely normal," said Dr. Charles Samuels, medical director of the Centre for Sleep and Human Performance in Calgary.

He added that there's a common misconception that older individuals need "less sleep" than others in their everyday lives.

"Your sleep requirement remains stable over a lifetime," he said before explaining that your sleep patterns may change as you get older and you may find that you don't sleep as much as you used to at night. 

The best way to combat the sleep deficit is to take short, 30-minute afternoon naps every day, according to Samuels. As for melatonin, the sleep expert believes that the supplement may help older individuals sleep better because it regulates circadian rhythms. 

However, Samuels remains a huge believer in the importance of meditation and mindfulness practices for better sleep quality. He also recommends using tactics like regular exercise and limited screen time in the evenings. 

"I would argue that probably, the meditation is doing the biggest thing [in Goldbeck's case] because there is evidence for meditation improving sleep," he said.

According to Samuels, many people don't realize that bad sleep shouldn't be downplayed or ignored because it can lead to "impaired cognitive functioning" and make it harder to focus on important tasks.

It can also affect memory and interfere with weight regulation because a lack of good-quality sleep can cause us to crave unhealthy foods.

"We need to rest every 24 hours. We need to rest our body and our brain, or there is a downstream consequence," Samuels said.

For Malina Adams, seeing her three-year-old show signs of sleep apnea a few years ago was an alarming experience.

"He stopped breathing when he was sleeping. And it was really scary because I had never experienced anything like that," she said.

Adams recalled that her son wasn't able to get enough rest and it was "almost like he hadn't slept" which led to moodiness and exhaustion. He was also experiencing behavioural problems.

After consulting doctors, Adams was told her son has attention deficit disorder (ADHD) and would benefit from medication. Unconvinced, she insisted that her son's sleep issues needed to be addressed first.

"I'd like to look at these sleep issues because sleep apnea can kill adults," Adams said. "What's it doing to a three-year-old getting to a baby's brain?"

While the family figured out a solution after working with an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist, they've found themselves struggling again four years later. 

Adams noticed that her son's sleep apnea has returned and he's facing learning difficulties in school. She is now trying to determine the cause with the help of doctors, but is worried about an ADHD 'misdiagnosis' due to sleep issues.

According to Samuels, Adams' concerns shouldn't be taken lightly. The sleep expert said that it's crucial to conduct a "clinical evaluation" to determine if a child's sleep patterns are being disrupted.

"Sleep disturbance and sleep disorders can cause the symptoms consistent with ADHD," he said. "The number one sleep disorder that can look like ADHD is, in fact, sleep apnea."

Sleep disturbance and insomnia, in general, can show up in different ways and aren't limited to being unable to fall asleep. A person with insomnia may find themselves waking up in the middle of the night and not able to get the rest they need to function during the day.

Long-term insomnia can also lead to mental illness or show up on account of a mental health issue like anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD.)

"There's a tight relationship between insomnia, difficulty sleeping and mental health issues," Samuels said. "We would tend to definitely treat with medication if we were reducing the risk of a mental health outcome. That would be number one for sure."