Insomnia

...ba href=/insomnia/a/b and fragmented, poor quality sleep.

Daytime naps certainly help.

After all, more than half the world takes an afternoon siesta or xiu xi!

Naps, though, need to be brief (no more than one hour), taken early in the afternoon, and should be avoided altogether if getting to sleep or staying asleep at night is difficult.

What about those who have trouble falling asleep?

A balanced diet and regular exercise are both important for high quality sleep, but not right before bedtime.

Vigorous exercise can raise your internal body temperature and thereby delay sleep onset.

Avoiding caffeine and other stimulants for at least four hours before bedtime, and alcohol and nicotine at least two hours, is also advisable.

Alcohol may help you get to sleep, but it can fragment your sleep cycles, leaving you drowsy in the morning.

For the same reasons, bedtime alcohol may also impair memory formation (not a good thing the night before an exam!

).

A few other tips.

Maintain as regular a bedtime and waking time as you can.

Spend time outdoors, every day, out in the light.

Develop bedtime routines to cue your body into sleep.

Take a warm bath, or drink some herbal tea or warm milk, or listen to music or read.

Find some stress-reducing activity that will help you relax—before you get into bed for that good night's sleep.

Be well!

Sleep well and sleep enough!

Jeff Benson, M.D.Dudley Coe Health Center See more articles from this series: Ask Dr.

Jeff Article Options • Email this article R...

...ba href=/insomnia/a/b and impotence.

"It's associated with laziness," said Omar Jamal, executive director of the St.

Paul-based Somali Justice Advocacy Center.

"People sit around for hours chewing." But Jamal worries that East African immigrants will be unfairly targeted as drug dealers for what's considered a common pastime in their home countries.

"This is a classic case of culture clash," said Jamal, who said Somalis from across the state have inundated his office with requests for legal help.

"We're getting calls from Moorhead.

We're getting calls from St.

Cloud.

We're getting calls from Rochester, from Waseca.

We're getting calls from very small towns we've never even heard of before." Frederick Melo can be reached at fmelo@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-2172.

ABOUT THE DRUG What is khat?

It's an evergreen shrub and grows to about 10 feet.

How is it used?

Fresh leaves and stems are chewed to reduce appetite, increase alertness and induce euphoria.

Contents: Cathine and cathinone, which mimic the effects of amphetamines.

Khat can be habit-forming.

Legality: Khat is illegal in the United States and Canada but is permitted in parts of Europe, eastern Africa and the Arabian peninsula.

Medicinal uses: Asthma, diabetes, lethargy and stomach ailments.

Side effects: While researchers debate whether the drug is physically addictive or simply habit-forming, khat has been associated with side...

...ba href=/insomnia/a/b, McGuire's was an action flick.

Several times, he sat straight up and gasped for air.

A couple of times, he stopped breathing so long the technician observing his slumber considered calling 911.

His is among the worst cases that Popper has seen since he opened his practice almost 25 years ago.

McGuire was so sleep-deprived, Popper noted, he was unable to make sound choices about his health.

Popper started McGuire on a continuous positive airway pressure device.

The typical CPAP breathing apparatus consists of a mask, tube and unit about the size of a desk phone with a lot of incoming lines.

It ensures a steady supply of oxygen to the sleeper.

Within days, McGuire felt better.

He eventually lost 150 pounds, some of which he admits that he regained when he stopped smoking.

His blood pressure returned to the normal range.

He is now married and an all-round happier person, said his colleague, Richard Bratcher.

"I didn't know how lousy I felt until I got the problem fixed," McGuire told me.

Some of the highest compliments Popper has received as a doctor came from patients successfully treated for sleep apnea, he said.

"These people were essentially nonfunctional, and now they feel like a new person." McGuire agrees.

And while he still gets up with the chickens, he is one farmer who doesn't need to count his sheep.

— E-mail this Star columnist at ccason@VenturaCountyStar.com.

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