Nothing like a good night's sleep

In an in between season such as now, when there is no distracting off and on hum from either heating or air conditioning, sleeping - for me - is so much better. Then when the cool of the morning comes and I am covered by the right weight of blankets, I just want to peacefully stay in bed. Sleeping well is one of those essentials for a healthy life. This week I talked with a patient whose main problem was, "I ain't sleeping." In fact a study (polysomnography) showed that he had true insomnia, and it was causing him all sorts of problems. Aging changes the way we sleep. Teenagers sleep hard and long, but apparently the body-brain-sleep connection changes through the years. When I worked night shift on a geriatric unit, the old folks would get up and down during the night several times, and by the time they woke up at the crack of dawn, to my surprise they would say how well they slept. As for me, even though it has been many years since my teenaged brain determined my sleep, I really look forward to bedtime in the early fall.