As many people have discovered, regulating sleep is often one of the best ways to regulate mood. Unfortunately, maintaining a regular sleep schedule is not always as easy as it sounds, especially if your neighbors, your family or roommates, your schedule, your lifestyle, or your sleeping arrangements do not cooperate.

In Bipolar Disorder for Dummies, we offer several recommendations for getting to sleep and getting enough sleep, but not too much. We recommend setting (and sticking to) a sleep routine, winding down with pre-bedtime rituals, laying off the caffeine, getting your family (or roommates) to cooperate, teaming up with your doctor, and so on.

My wife and I have a great bedroom that’s terrible for sleeping. If it had any more windows or skylights, it would officially qualify as a greenhouse. Even worse, it has no door. The only thing setting it off from the rest of the house is a flight of stairs. My wife usually runs a fan to create some white noise so she can sleep; otherwise, if someone happens to be watching late-night TV in the living room, she can forget about sleeping. (On the other hand, I can sleep through just about anything.)

If sleep is an issue in helping you maintain mood stability, please share your experiences, insights, and suggestions. What challenges do you face in getting to sleep, staying asleep, or waking up in the morning? How have you addressed these challenges? What suggestions, if any, do you have to offer other visitors to the Bipolar Beat? (Working a split shift can really make you toss and turn. If you work a split shift, has it posed a problem? What have you tried to do to deal with it?)

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From Psych Central's website:
PsychCentral (July 7, 2009)

    Last reviewed: 7 Jul 2009