Top Doc Secrets to Finally Getting the Sleep You Need

Calling all tired women: You've tried the typical sleep advice (yawn… no, really, yawn). Now listen to what wise MDs tell their exhausted pals and get some real rest. By Lisa Whitmore, REDBOOK.

Eight hours a night is a myth

"If a friend comes to me stressed out because she isn't getting eight hours of sleep a night, I reassure her that it's okay. In fact, from a math perspective, the average person only needs 7½ hours of sleep, or five 90-minute sleep cycles. But it's individual. For instance, I've been sleeping fine on 6½ or 7 hours my whole life. The best way to figure out how much sleep you need is to calculate 7½ hours before you have to get up--that's your bedtime. If you wake up feeling great, you need 7½ hours. If not, adjust your bedtime gradually till you hit the magic number." - Michael Breus, Ph.D., clinical psychologist specializing in sleep, fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine

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A one-hour nap will make you more tired
"A friend of mine had a new baby and was getting up a lot at night, so she was really zonked during the day. She tried taking naps, but they weren't helping. Turns out she was setting her alarm to wake her from the nap at 60 minutes-she didn't know that the average sleep cycle is 90 minutes, so she was waking up when her body was in its deepest stages of sleep. No wonder she felt groggy, not rested! I told her that if she needed quick energy, stick to a 20-minute nap. But if she was trying to catch up a little after a particularly sleep-deprived night with the baby, a 90-minute nap was better. It would get her through an entire sleep cycle and she'd wake refreshed." - W. Christopher Winter, M.D., spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine

A full moon can mess up your sleep
"My friends often joke that they know it's a full moon when they wake up in the middle of the night--nd I tell them they're right! In a recent study, researchers found that people generally sleep less when there's a full moon. Our levels of melatonin go down, and it actually takes us longer to fall asleep and our overall sleep time is shortened. Researchers believe this is because our bodies still sync up with the geophysical rhythms of the moon, called our circalunar clock. I experience this myself-I'm often up in the middle of the night for two hours on a full moon." - Rubin Naiman, Ph.D., clinical assistant professor of medicine at the University of Arizona's Center for Integrative Medicine

Related: How to Burn 900 Calories in Just One Hour

Forget scientific proof--if it helps you sleep, do it
"Friends always ask me if things like chamomile tea, warm milk, and 'sleep fabrics' are proven effective. The truth is, there's not enough research to support most of the over-the-counter aids, home remedies, or the so-called sleep-enhancing sheets that are supposed to get you to snooze better. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try them. If something turns off your mind or helps you ease into a bedtime mind-set, there's no harm in using it. The key is to not become so tied to them that you feel frustration if, one night, they suddenly don't 'work' anymore." - Allison Siebern, Ph.D., clinical assistant professor at the Stanford Sleep Center

Watching TV before bed can help you fall asleep
"When a friend told me that the only way she could sleep was by watching TV, I told her not to worry. Lots of people have trouble turning their minds off at the end of the day; watching some TV, especially if it's a funny show, can help distract you, which in turn helps you fall asleep. I suggested that my friend set the timer on the TV so it would shut off after about 30 minutes. It would allow her to distract herself in order to drift off, but the noise and light won't disturb her later in the night. That said, if you need more than 45 minutes of TV time to fall asleep, or if the hum of the set actually wakes you up, follow the no-TV-before-bed strategy." - Breus

Related: How to Get 8 Full Hours of Sleep - Or At Least Look Like You Did

Melatonin is worth a try
"Hands down, the biggest question I get at cocktail parties is, 'What do you think about taking melatonin supplements?' Melatonin is a hormone that the body produces when it's time for sleep, regulating your circadian rhythm. It can help a night owl who's usually up until 2 a.m. change her cycle so she dozes off by midnight. The key is taking a very low dosage, such as 200 micrograms, several hours before your desired bedtime for a month or two--it takes a while to reinforce the change in the body clock. For the occasional bout of insomnia, on the other hand, you need to take higher doses of melatonin, such as 3 milligrams, closer to bedtime to help transition into sleep." - Helene Emsellem, M.D., clinical professor of neurology at George Washington University Medical Center

There's a therapeutic fix for insomnia
"One sleep helper that not a lot of people talk about is cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTI). My friends are always surprised when I suggest it. It's a super-short-term therapy method--usually your issues go away after four to six sessions--that helps you learn how your sleep system actually works so you can do something to fix your troubles. It cuts out the anxiety and frustration surrounding sleep, and many of my friends find that once they just give it a try, they're convinced." - Siebern

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