If you have been experiencing trouble sleeping lately, you are not alone. A significant number of people having difficulty in falling asleep known to medical experts as insomnia.
Insomnia has increased in the last two years due to the uncertainty that the COVID pandemic has given them. In fact, due to the increased rate of people experiencing insomnia at the height of the pandemic, some experts have termed this occurrence “COVID-somnia” or “coronasomnia.”
We interviewed Dr. Pearl Angeli Diamante, a board-certified adult neurologist who completed her residency at The Medical City with distinction, to give us more information regarding the field of sleep.
“Sleep Medicine is a relatively new specialty that is commonly overlooked by many clinicians,” she shares. “This unique and on-the-rise sub-specialization has piqued my interest and curiosity. I wanted to delve into a field not many neurologists have taken up before. At the same time, it is fascinating for me to be a future specialist in a field that focuses on diseases that most people do not realize are important. While most doctors see and treat diseases that affect patients when awake, it is really very fulfilling and engaging to be a doctor that is an expert in conditions that occur during or affecting sleep.”
According to Dr. Pearl there is no specific answer as to when is the best time to sleep; rather, it greatly depends on what time you need to wake up the following day. When asked if sleeping pills or melatonin would be of help, her reply was, “The amount of sleeping differs from one person to another. It also depends on one’s age. However, literature would suggest that an average adult would need six to eight hours of sleep; some may require less and some may need more. The choice on which sleeping pill to prescribe depends on the root cause of the insomnia. That is why it is advised to seek consultation with a sleep specialist before starting any medication to make sure that it is the most appropriate choice for your condition.
In other words, there is no hard-and-fast rule to say that a sleeping pill would really be advised per se, but what is more appropriate to advise is actually to see your sleep doctor for any sleep-related conditions, most especially insomnia. For melatonin, we don’t usually prescribe it because most patients would not need supplemental melatonin as it is already being naturally produced by our body.”
Dr. Pearl is the youngest and only daughter of three children from parents Dr. Antonio Diamante Jr. and his wife Perla, also a doctor. Even at a young age, she was aware of the difficulties of individuals that are in the medical profession. Despite being a full-time ballerina, she decided to hang up her ballet shoes and pursue the field that came with many hardships and sacrifices: she decided to pick up the stethoscope and become a doctor like her parents.
At present, she is a neurology visiting consultant at The Medical City, Ortigas, and is currently enrolled in the Sleep Medicine fellowship training program of the Lung Center of the Philippines. Her current day-to-day activities include treating patients who have sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea, circadian rhythm disorders, and insomnia, among others.
Here are her pearls of advice in dealing with insomnia:
1. Keep a regular sleep schedule by having a consistent bedtime and wake-up time. As much as possible, do not deviate so much from your wake-up time, especially on weekends and holidays.
2. The bed must be reserved for sleeping and sexual activity only. We want to associate the bedroom and the bed with these activities only, so avoid eating, watching TV, working, or browsing the net while in bed.
3. Avoid taking caffeinated products such as coffee, chocolate, tea, and softdrinks. If you must drink coffee, limit it to less than three cups a day and do not drink them in the late afternoon or evening.
4. Limit alcohol intake, especially within six hours from bedtime. As the alcohol is metabolized by the body, it worsens sleep quality and induces sleep disruption in the second half of the night.
5. Avoid eating heavy meals before bedtime. Allow at least two to three hours after eating to allow time for your body to digest the food.
6. Do not use gadgets in bed. These devices can interfere with sleep by suppressing production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycle of the body.
7. Make your sleeping environment as comfortable as possible. Avoid bright light exposure at night. Make sure your bedroom is dark, quiet, and the temperature of the room just right — not too warm and not too cold.
8. When you’re having difficulty falling asleep or going back to sleep, avoid looking at your watch or clock. This causes more anxiety and stress and will just worsen your insomnia.
9. Before going to bed, you may do activities or rituals that can help you relax. You can take a warm bath, meditate, do yoga, or perform progressive muscular relaxation and deep breathing exercises.
10. Avoid taking naps. If you must take a nap, limit it to 20 or 30 minutes only. Do not also nap too late during the day as you will have a harder time sleeping that night.
(For sleep-related concerns, you may call The Medical City, Department of Neurology 8988-1000/ 8988-7000 extension 6720; Lung Center of the Philippines, Sleep Laboratory 0915-523-6775 or (02)8924-6101 extension 3022).
(We welcome your suggestions and comments. Please e-mail me at monsrt@gmail.com. Follow me on Instagram @monsromulo.)