Dispatches from Sleeplessville
"Insomniac" by Gayle Greene
University of California Press, 2008
503 pages, $29.95
Longtime insomniac and college professor Gayle Greene guides sleep-starved readers through the thick fog of chronic sleeplessness in "Insomniac."
Greene has written a field guide to the night from one knowledgeable insomniac to millions of others. Greene, a professor of literature and women’s studies at Scripps College in Claremont, Calif., has been to sleep labs and to conferences where specialists discuss their latest research. She discusses behavior modification, drugs, alternative therapies and the ways specialists sometimes throw up their hands and write off victims as neurotic or otherwise responsible for their own bleary eyes.
The book was an Amazon.com best pick in 2008. Here is a synopsis of an Idaho Health interview with Greene.
Why did you write the book?
I wrote it because of my own experience with insomnia. Ever since I can remember, I’ve been an insomniac. It affects everything — mood, energy, optimism. I don’t know how many marriages have crashed on these rocks. It is so hard for people to maintain a normal life.
Is insomnia stigmatizing?
Insomnia is said to be due to depression or pathology of some sort. To admit that you are an insomniac is to wear a label that says, ‘I am a neurotic.’ Doctors don’t want to see you because they can’t help you.
Are sleep labs useful?
Yes, if you have a condition doctors can measure and treat. That now includes restless leg syndrome (an uncontrollable urge to move the legs when patients are at rest) and narcolepsy (a condition in which patients suddenly fall asleep for minutes at a time during the day). Medical professionals once considered both symptoms of psychiatric disorders. Now we know they have a biological basis in the brain. Someday, scientists will discover a biological mechanism for chronic insomnia, just as they have for those conditions.
How do you deal with your own insomnia?
There’s not a cure, that’s for sure. The first thing you have to do is get a hold of your life so this is not so hysterical. I sometimes take Ambien (a prescription sleep medication) when I wake up in the middle of the night, can’t go back to sleep and have an important event the next day. It gives me a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. I also have some control over my time, especially during the summer, because of my work. That is a great way to help yourself, if it’s possible.
What else works?
The methods that work are as different as the people who suffer from insomnia. Behavioral changes such as going to bed and getting up at the same time each day help some people, as do relaxation techniques. But you have to figure out what works for you. Even though some sleep hygiene experts recommend turning off the TV before bedtime, I find watching an action movie on DVD helps because it washes out my imagination with new imagery.