One Woman's Quest to Beat Insomnia Patricia Morrisroe Discusses Her Sleep Issues

Insomnia is America’s No. 1 sleep complaint. And people will go to great lengths to fight it. To find out how far, we asked journalist Patricia Morrisroe, whose book Wide Awake recounts her 3-year global quest for better rest… Counting sheep at night? You’re not the only one. About 30% of adults have trouble nodding off or sleeping through the night at some point in any given year, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. About 10% lie awake frequently. One of them is New York-based journalist Patricia Morrisroe. In her book, Wide Awake: A Memoir of Insomnia (Spiegel & Grau), Morrisroe describes her 3-year worldwide trek to conquer sleeplessness. To find answers and relief, she consulted with sleep doctors, psychiatrists, drug manufacturers and therapists of every stripe. And even unlikelier experts, including a reindeer herder. “I’d wondered what it’s like to sleep when it’s dark 20 hours a day – or in the summer, when it’s almost always light,” she says. Morrisroe tried pills, psychotherapy, prayer, high-priced ear plugs and brain-music therapy. She traveled from a Manhattan sleep lab to a medical education course in Las Vegas, where she learned that doctors are more sleep-deprived than almost anyone else. That’s only one of her surprising findings. In this interview, she reveals her discoveries in her quest for a decent night’s sleep. When did you first have problems sleeping? Second grade. We had to change seats according to our math scores. I was always thrown in the last row, what became known as the “garbage row.” Being there upset me tremendously. A certain anxiety level built up, and not sleeping was the result. Do you have trouble falling or staying asleep? When I was younger, I had difficulty falling asleep. As people get older, they tend to develop sleep-maintenance insomnia – they wake up and can’t get back to sleep. That was me. I’d fall asleep fine, sleep for 3 or 3-1/2 hours, and then I was wide awake. Does insomnia run in your family? My grandfather lived with us and was always a bad sleeper. He would fall asleep fairly early and be awake by 2 a.m. He’d jot down quotes by Shakespeare. When he got bored, he’d write words from the dictionary. I always knew what kind of night he had by how many words I had to learn in the morning. My mother wasn’t a good sleeper, and she’d fall into that same pattern. So is sleeplessness genetic? Researchers haven’t found a genetic basis for insomnia, but some people seem to be naturally hyper and more vigilant. We wake up at the slightest noise. What tactics did you try to improve your sleep? I was in psychotherapy for [many] years and certainly discussed the sleep issue. I took Ativan [lorazepam], which is a benzodiazepine used primarily for anxiety. It worked for sleep for a while, but I never wanted to take drugs long-term. What prompted you to write Wide Awake? At the time, in 2006, there was all that [news] about people taking Ambien [zolpidem] and getting up in the middle of the night to raid the refrigerator. I thought, What’s happening out there with sleep? And I had neighbors upstairs with young kids who were up at 6 a.m., running around and making noise. I’d wake up at 3 a.m. and couldn’t get back to sleep, knowing they’d be crashing around a few hours later. It was my worst period. Your first step was going to a sleep clinic for an evaluation. That was a total waste of time. You spend the night in a very weird setting. You’re completely hooked up to wires. You have a man coming in and waking you up if a wire falls off and he has to reattach it. Then the doctor used that data to analyze my sleep, which, of course, had nothing to do with my natural sleep [pattern]. What was the assessment? He said I had atypical brain waves and needed to be on medicine. I’ve subsequently talked with other sleep specialists who said the brain-wave thing was ridiculous. But you tried the drug he prescribed? Yes, doxepin [an FDA-approved antidepressant]. It gave me hallucinations. Did that turn you off to sleeping pills? I’m not someone who says don’t take drugs. If you’re not as supersensitive as I am, it can be helpful. You also tried cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which involves developing positive thoughts and beliefs about sleep. It can work. However, I wasn't big on the sleep hygiene rules [behavior and environmental guidelines to improve sleep]. I like watching TV in bed and didn't think it caused my insomnia, since I'd fall asleep right away. You're also supposed to get out of bed when you wake up and do something "soothing," like read a book. But for a writer, that's probably the least soothing thing to do. But mainly, CBT didn't work [for me] because my sleep doctor worked with my cognitive behavioral therapist. My sleep doctor got angry with me when he learned I was writing the book, so I was afraid to go back. What’s the weirdest sleep technique you tried? I talked to a psychic at [a large home-furnishing store in Manhattan] who was part of a celebration of Indian culture at the store. Not that I expected to find the answer, but some people recommended her. I told her I had insomnia. She gave me a prayer to say to Nidra, the goddess of sleep. You also went to Lapland, north of the Arctic Circle, at Christmastime. What did you hope to discover? When I was little, I used to wait up for Santa. And I always thought if I could see a reindeer on Christmas, maybe I’d get the gift of sleep. In Lapland, reindeer outnumber people. Did you get that gift? At that time of year, it’s dark almost all the time. One of the reindeer herders said it wasn’t a problem. In the winter he sleeps about 10 hours a night, and in the summer maybe 4 or 5. He said, “It’s all about keeping rhythm with nature. When the sun shines, it gives us energy to keep going. When it doesn’t, we go to bed.’’ The idea hit home that my sleep, particularly living in a city, had gotten very far away from the rhythms of nature. A huge industry has sprung up to help us sleep better. You looked into staggeringly expensive products – $20,000 mattresses, $60,000 beds, custom-made earplugs. Did you buy anything that helped? I adore my sound machine. It doesn’t block out the kids upstairs, but it takes the edge off the sirens and trucks outside. I set it on white noise. Anything else – babbling brook or birds – and I’ll put a story to the sound and won’t sleep. I don’t remember how much it cost, maybe $89. But you don’t even need to do that. You can just use your iPhone [which offers downloadable white-noise apps]. In the end, meditation finally helped you sleep better. It did. I’d always wanted to try it. And I didn’t want to write a book that said at the end, OK, I can’t sleep, sorry. So I put a lot of time into this – I really wanted it to work. Every day I sat down and meditated. It helped because it calmed me down. Is it an insomnia cure? No. But for the longest time, the discipline helped a lot with my sleep. Then the book came out, and I had a lot of people ask me, “How did you sleep last night?” My sleep started to fall apart. But I’m getting it back again. What’s your meditation routine? I do it in the morning, 20 minutes, sitting in the corner of my bedroom. Sometimes I do a semi-lotus position, but if my back is bothering me, I skip that. I do a mantra at the beginning and just let my mind wander. As they say, if any thoughts pop back into my mind, I try to push them away. I tend to be a perfectionist and hard on myself. When I started, I’d get mad at myself when thoughts popped into my mind, so it was important to learn to be easier on myself. And that taught me to be easier on my sleep. What do you mean, easier on your sleep? I don’t believe we need eight hours of sleep a night. Sometimes people are going to sleep OK, and sometimes not. Perfection in sleep isn’t going to happen. If something is keeping you awake, you don’t want to let that pattern take over your life. And that can happen. You think, I’m not sleeping tonight; I’m not going to sleep tomorrow; I’ll never sleep well again. Fear of not sleeping can lead to not sleeping. What do you recommend to other women with insomnia? First, make sure there’s not another issue keeping you awake. We tend to think of sleep apnea [a disorder that causes people to stop breathing during sleep] as primarily affecting men, and it does. However, women who have gone through menopause have higher rates of it. Insomnia can also be caused by depression or restless leg syndrome. If there’s no other medical issue, consider trying relaxation exercises, like meditation. Get plenty of exercise and sunlight, because our biological clock needs it. Lead as healthy a life as you can. If you’re not sleeping as well as you think you should, analyze how many [hours] you really need. If you’re sleeping 6 hours a night, maybe that’s enough. The worst thing you can do is obsess. Learn more strategies for a good night’s rest in our Sleep Health Center. Are You Smart About Sleep? Getting a good night's sleep affects every aspect of your day, including your mood and your ability to be productive. And if that doesn't get your attention, listen up: Your sleep habits can even affect the number on the scale.