Understanding daily habits is key to solving common sleep problems

MT. AIRY, Pa. (WPVI) -- Good sleep is so essential for good health but is so hard for many people to get.

Even a brain scientist experienced problems with sleep, but finally found solutions after decades of searching.

"I'm a schizophrenia research person," says Rick Josiassen, from Mt. Airy, describing his life's work.

Josiassen has been at the forefront of brain research, in academic circles with behavioral therapy pioneer Aaron Beck and mathematician John Nash, whose experience with mental illness was detailed in the movie, "A Beautiful Mind."

But ever since his youth, he's been at war with his own brain over sleep.

"I'm very aware of my first year in high school beginning to not be able to sleep," Rick recalls.

"I was a football player and, you know, very active. And even with all that, I might get four hours of sleep," he adds, "And then wake up and try to go to a math class."

Simply put, "I can't shut my brain off," Rick says. "The problem has always been, I can't sort of get my mind to stop imagining things."

While it was often helpful for scientific endeavors, it often left Rick "progressively more and more anxious about what, what's going on? How come I can't sleep?"

Dr. Robert Satriale, a Temple Health sleep specialist, hears a wide range of complaints.

Most don't require tests to solve, but do take digging into a person's daily habits.

First, is the trouble seasonal?

"We tend to sleep longer in winter than we do in summer." Dr. Satriale says.

Next, do you get outside for about 20 minutes a day?

"The sunlight is, is very helpful in setting the alarm clock each day.," he notes. And when it's time to change the clocks, "The change in the sunrise is really what affects us the most."

Third, do you take your worries to bed?

"Take care of everything during the daytime. When it's time to sleep, just relax, wind down and get a good night's rest," he says.

And "winding down" doesn't mean going on the internet.

The blue light from screens makes it harder to fall asleep.

Finally, are you expecting too much sleep?

"I often see people spending 9, 10 hours in bed, and they have trouble sleeping, simply because they only need 7 hours," Dr. Satriale says.

Rick says it was liberating to learn from Dr. Satriale that he didn't need eight hours of sleep.

Now, he's satisfied he's getting enough sleep, and his big worry is publishing decades of his research.

"I've probably got two or three years of writing ahead of me. I've got a bunch of colleagues down at UNC and up at Harvard and Baylor who are still worrying about getting these things published," he says with a smile.

Rick says everyone's sleep disorder is different, but a specialist can help sort it out. He went years before consulting one, figuring he knew what was going on in his brain. He wrongly thought he'd have to be wired up in a sleep lab for testts.

Dr. Satriale says those aren't needed for many sleep problems, that adjusting sleep habits solves many issues.

He suggests that making a sleep diary, or at least notes on when and how problems occur can be a major help in solving them.