Hello Ram,

There could be various reasons for the difficulty in sleep that you are experiencing, but lets begin with the simplest and most common one. I suggest that you improve your sleep hygiene by making some behavioral changes; in all likelihood, that should solve the problem. The key is that you need to be disciplined and follow these recommendations strictly -

1. First and most important - DO NOT SLEEP DURING THE DAY. I know it will be difficult, but you are currently in a vicious cycle. You sleep during the day, which prevents you from sleeping well at night, which leaves you fatigued and drowsy during the day, which leads to daytime naps..... You have to break the cycle!

2. Some physical activity during the day is recommended as it makes your body tired and more receptive to falling asleep at night. However, no rigorous exercise for 4-6 hours before, and no moderate exercise for 2-3 hours before sleep (Sexual activity is the only exception, because it leads to a feeling of mental and physical relaxation). Also, gradually decrease your physical activity as you approach bedtime.

3. In general, avoid too much of mental activity before you retire. For example, watching television, having an animated discussion with your roommate, speaking on the phone, arguing etc. will make your mind more active and should be avoided (again, an exception is doing that kind of mental activity which makes you bored e.g. homework!).

4. In the 5-10 minutes before you sleep, do something that makes you feel calm e.g. some people find that meditating or praying helps get better sleep.

5. In general - try to retire at about the same time every night, but retire only when you are feeling a little drowsy (i.e. don't push yourself to go to sleep); do not use your bed for any activity other than sleeping.

6. If you are lying in bed and unable to sleep, don't think about why you are not getting sleep. Instead, try to focus your mind onto other thoughts, for e.g. concentrate on your breathing, or concentrate on relaxing one part of the body after another.

I can give many more tips, but lets first see how these work out for you.
Occasional sleep talk and a bit of snoring is normal. Also, the reason you cannot hear the alarm clock go off is probably because you have taken a long time to fall asleep and are therefore still in one of the initial phases of sleep from which it is often difficult to wake up.

I can assure you that your sleep problems can be solved. There are also many safe medications available that can help, but I am quite hopeful that you will not need any.

Happy sleeping!

Regards,
Dr. Saifuddin Kharawala
MBBS, DPM