​A consistent routine is an essential part of a healthy sleep (and wake) pattern.  With a consistent routine, the circadian rhythms of sleep / wakefulness (alertness) and body temperature become synchronised, or entrained to each other.  Concurrent dips in body temperature and alertness culminate in a strong signal for the induction of sleep (in the late evening), and concurrent rises in body temperature and alertness culminate in a strong signal to wake (in the morning).  Rotating shift patterns disrupt the synchrony between these two rhythms, making sleep less easy to induce and to maintain.  Thus, people living with frequently rotating shift patterns are continually disrupting the synchrony of their circadian rhythms and their sleep often suffers as a result. 
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The consequences of this are manifold.  Long-term there are clearly established negative health consequences (Costa, 1996), but in the short- and medium-terms there are feelings of fatigue, and so impaired performance, which leads to mental health problems (Lac & Chamoux, 2004), decreased productivity and an increased rate of work-related accidents (Rajaratnam & Arendt, 2001). 
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Due to being unable to receive help from my GP – I made a great mistake by self-medicating using alcohol to try and get to sleep. I would regularly drink a bottle of wine to try and get to sleep. Whilst sometimes this would help me to get to sleep, I would be up in the night to use the bathroom and would struggle to then get back to sleep. I became overweight due to consuming too much alcohol and not exercising and this made me really unhappy – I knew I needed to make a change but did not know where to turn.
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Fast forward to 2015, in my current role as a Student Financial Adviser and I was still struggling to sleep but trying to cope as I was working closer to home and as such my insomnia was slightly easier to manage. I was still very unhappy and constantly tired which made my job harder as organising my case load was difficult due to a lack of energy. It was at this time that my colleague invited me to Dr. David Lee’s Sleep Clinic.

During the Sleep Clinic, David explained the importance of sleep in our lives and explained how stress and environmental factors can have a detrimental effect on our sleep. David invited us to talk about our experiences and for the first time I felt like I was not alone in my struggle with insomnia – many people in our group described similar periods of lack of sleep. David also explained how we can maximise our chances of getting quality natural sleep by improving our ‘sleep hygiene’ and setting a routine. I made notes of all David’s advice and vowed to myself to try and put this information into practice – It felt really good to be given advice that did not include taking some prescribed drugs.

David also explained the theory regarding our ‘Circadian Rhythm’ and advised that I check the time periods when I would become tired and yawn on an evening. David advised I try to use the sign of yawning as an indicator to go to the bedroom for sleep.

After the Sleep Clinic I put Dr. David Lee’s advice into practice. Within 3-4 days of observing when I would feel tired on an evening, I noticed that every 45 minutes I would have these feelings of tiredness and as such I started a routine of going to bed for sleep at these times. I could not believe the results. For the first time in 6 years I went off to sleep in around 10 minutes and stayed asleep for 6-7 hours without getting up in the night. I have continued to keep track of my Circadian Rhythm and now have routine bed time that has promoted regular quality sleep.

My quality of life if greatly improved now that my insomnia has vanished. I am sleeping really well and have returned to the gym. I am losing weight and enjoying more quality time with my family. I can’t thank Dr. David Lee and Sleep Unlimited enough for providing me with the tools to overcome my insomnia. I would recommend anyone whom is suffering with insomnia to contact Sleep Unlimited as their guidance and advice is invaluable.

​Nick Berry
Student Financial Adviser
University of Sunderland, Age 36 years