How to combat short-term memory loss due to interrupted sleep?

December 25, 2007 3:30 PM

When your sleep is frequently interrupted and your memory and focus suffer, how do you get back up to speed?

As a parent of a ten-month old, I frequently am awoken during the night. I noticed that my short-term memory suffers due to this interrupted sleep schedule.

Is there any way to combat this? Does anyone have any tips, brain exercises, techniques to combat short-term memory loss and the fatigue that follows?

Lately, I've been using lots and lots of caffeine with sugar. I can't keep that up, but I also can't sleep at my desk.

posted by EastCoastBias to health & fitness (27 comments total)

There may be a medicine that is right for you and that can help you stay awake during the day and focus better. Talk to your physician?
posted by Stewriffic at 3:41 PM on December 25, 2007

For starters, cut the sugar and stick with the caffeine (i.e., black coffee). The sugar will just play havoc with your energy levels. Eating light meals rather than rich, heavy ones (which are tempting to reward oneself for the day-to-day difficulty) will also help your energy. I find that exercise actually does help, especially when you don't load up on food, but I recognize how difficult it is to embark on a regimen during that stage of childcare.

Those are the only things that have helped me.
posted by chips ahoy at 4:08 PM on December 25, 2007 [1 favorite]

Try a 20-30 minute nap at lunch time. This may not work if you are already consuming a lot of caffeine but one way to power nap is to take caffeine (No-doz works) right at the beginning of the nap - it will kick in just as you are ready to start waking up.

Make sure you have lots of light, preferably day light or full spectrum light when you are trying to be awake and think.
posted by metahawk at 4:15 PM on December 25, 2007

There may be a medicine that is right for you and that can help you stay awake during the day and focus better. Talk to your physician?

I sleep like crap, my memory suffers and there's a brain fog in general to go along with it. I take Provigil--it's great for helping me keep focussed and keeps my short-term memory from becoming that of a squirrel. Anyway, that's what MY Dr. went with. Of course, YMMV. Yes, talk to your physician.
posted by wafaa at 5:19 PM on December 25, 2007

it might help to use a light box for about half an hour in the mornings.
posted by thinkingwoman at 5:25 PM on December 25, 2007

There is a technique with strong coffee and power napping- you drink the coffee down, and take your nap immediately (before the caffeine kicks in). If you can get at least 15-30 minutes of sleep in, you may find it is hugely refreshing.

I think some folks also take melatonin for this?
posted by jenkinsEar at 5:28 PM on December 25, 2007

I went through this with the first kid, and going through it right now with 10 month old, and it is very hard to believe that people would resort to drugs for it, seriously. Although I know it is the new American way.

Luckily, I got better at falling a sleep (used to take 2 hours, went down to just 35 minutes during the peak) and started to go to bed earlier. Naps at lunch helped, drink caffeine, then nap, then it wakes you up about 15 mins later.
posted by lundman at 5:37 PM on December 25, 2007

You gotta solve the problem by solving the kid's problem, not yours. Every 10-month-old is capable of sleeping through the night. Routine is paramount. Try any of the various baby-sleeping books available at your favorite bookstore.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 6:05 PM on December 25, 2007

Carry around a notepad + writing implement. Use them. All the time.
posted by anaelith at 6:12 PM on December 25, 2007

I'd try different methods first besides a pill from your doctor that likely has 3 pages worth of other side effects.

Check out BrainGym, it's used mostly in the classroom but it is helpful for people of any age, and should help with your short term memory loss. You can find them at www.braingym.org and www.braingym.com

Also check out the National Sleep Foundation, I'm sure they have tips, www.sleepfoundation.org

Good luck.
posted by healthyliving at 6:17 PM on December 25, 2007

Yeah we waited until 11 months before we did the controlled crying thing, which really took only 2 nights, then he slept the whole night (and one of the reasons he was waking up was from an upset tummy from drinking during the night!) In retrospect, should have done it sooner.

One of the best things Mum instituted when she visited was that, first lunch, then toilet, then nap. Period. That was a huge change. The kid slept better at night, more fun to be around during the day, and fit in much better at daycare later on. You just can't see the signs for over-tiredness when it is "normal".

When ever I meet people and they say "well, we thought about that, but our kid doesn't need a nap" and you can just see all the signs of over-tiredness in the kid..

Mum owned, and ran daycare centres for 35 years, and she will tell you all kids will do better with a nap, it is up to the parents to get the routine started. If not, she would and the everyone would benefit.

Sorry, guess I derailed..
posted by lundman at 7:09 PM on December 25, 2007 [1 favorite]

Try any of the various baby-sleeping books

Those are all garbage.

Seconding anaelith.
posted by kmennie at 7:38 PM on December 25, 2007

Exercise, excercise, excersize.
posted by Octoparrot at 7:39 PM on December 25, 2007

If you can, sleep when the baby sleeps. And nth-ing trying to get the baby to sleep through the night and avoiding caffeine.

When my kids were that age, it was challenging because I always wanted to engage my brain in something, so I would be much more interested in reading or emailing or whatever than sleeping. Getting yourself more interested in naps might also help. Can you remember a really great dream? Lie down, close your eyes, and try to go back to that dream. You don't have to try to go through the events of the dream, just recreate the atmosphere. Then you'll start looking forward to naps. They're little refreshing escapes.

One thing that you can assure yourself of is that this period will end, and when your kid is a little older, you'll be able to get back into better patterns. It may last a couple of years, but it is temporary.

I think if you get enough sleep, even if it's not all in one chunk, then your memory will improve. If it's all in one chunk, then of course it's better.

Schedules work wonders for kids. Try to guess your kid's sleeping/eating patterns, and then try to tweak them a little into what's best for you and the kid. Then rigidly keep it that way.

lundman -- that's no derail. That's great advice. But what's the "controlled crying thing"?
posted by strangeguitars at 9:01 PM on December 25, 2007

Controlled Crying is also called Cry It Out.

If you're brutal, like we were, you'll just decide one night that enough is enough.

You'll put the munchkin to bed as usual and if he wakes up, too bad.

It takes two nights to get a child to sleep through if you just let the cry it out.

It is ABSOLUTELY not for the faint hearted. One of you will want to break, and go in.

It will make you INCREDIBLY upset.

But it WILL work. And the child will be much happier. (Lots of parents find it too hard to do, and cave in. Teaching the child that crying will eventually produce a parent after x amount of crying. )


I'm of the opinion (and so is my baby book) that if your kid is waking up at 10 months, it's because they've been conditioned to. They don't need a bloody thing at that age.

Our daughter first slept through from 5 weeks. She was extraordinary. It was nothing we were doing that was brilliant. She just did. I only tell you that so you know that a 5 week old can sleep for 10 hours straight. A ten month old certainly can.

If you don't like the controlled crying brutal method, there's the real controlled crying method.

That method says go in after about 5 minutes and settle them. DON'T PICK HIM UP. Then leave.

Go in after about 10 minutes if still crying. DON'T PICK HIM UP. Then leave.

Go in after about 15 minutes if still crying. DON'T PICK HIM UP. Then leave.



You get the idea. In our area we have Tresillian and Karitane nurses who will advise you at a day stay or night stay facility. Our government pays for it. That's how much the government believes that sleeping babies is 1) possible very early on and 2) good for the health of the family.

In short, your issue is not about sleep/memory loss for you. It's about sleep patterns for baby eastcoastbias. Being woken several times during the night is NOT OK for a 10 month old.

Good luck. What ever you do, it will be hard work. But your 10 month old most certainly can sleep through the night.



(I should clarify..... we didn't make a 5 week old cry. She just did that sleeping through thing on her own. She became dummy/pacifier dependent when we were living in a monastery in India when she was 4 months old..... we shoved it in her gob to keep her silent.... when we got back home at 5.5 months it was time to get rid of it as she had been spitting it out during the night and waking up. )
posted by taff at 11:30 PM on December 25, 2007

Oh, the other thing to mention.

We have an incredibly strict bed routine. Both parents have a role, we never deviate from our parts in any way. Ever. The story books change, but nothing else does.

Sleep is never negotiated. Ever.

She never gets attended to in the night, ever.

Ok, that's not quite right. About a week ago she started crying in the night. She hadn't done that in about 10 months. So I sent my husband in as I was worried she was too hot. (She's just recovering from a nastly cold.) Australian summer at the moment. He thought she'd had a nightmare. She's 15 months. That's been about it.


Back to the sleep routine. Whatever you choose as your routine/cues. Stick to them. They're your friend.

Again, best of luck.
posted by taff at 11:36 PM on December 25, 2007

The baby's sleep:
It's reasonable to work on the baby getting only very business-like attention at night. Dry diaper, nursing, hug. Make sure she doesn't sleep too late, and doesn't nap too much.

Co-sleeping is reasonable, and it can be convenient to have the baby in or near your bed for ease of diapering & nursing.

I had a baby with colic, and Ferberizing (letting the baby learn to cope with increasing periods of not responding, named for Dr. Ferber & his book) does not work with all children. If you have a baby with colic, email me.

You and the other parent can figure out the best way for your family. Parenting advice is often quite vehement and quite contradictory. This will not last forever.

Your sleep:
Give stuff up so you can go to bed much earlier. Your home doesn't have to be spotless. Meals can be less elaborate. Your social life might come to a halt.

Go to bed much earlier. More sleep will help you deal with interrupted sleep. Nothing will work a swell as getting more sleep, so be somewhat compulsive about making it a priority.

Use coffee early in the day, but stop at least 10 hours before you need to go to bed. If you have to get up at 6, be in bed by 8 or 9.

Ask friends to help if you get swamped with laundry or cooking. If you can spend money on quality takeout food, a housekeeper, or other conveniences, it may be money well spent.

Is that her? Cuuuuuuute
posted by theora55 at 9:13 AM on December 26, 2007

@theora55: Yep, that's her. Loves to party at 4:30am. Sometimes 3:30 is good too. Sometimes we can get her to sleep after she wakes up. As soon as she realizes she's hitting the bed of her crib, she gets back up.

Keep the advice coming. I'll have to see if mrs. eastcoastbias will agree to the ferber method.
posted by EastCoastBias at 10:51 AM on December 26, 2007

IANAParent, but I read about this technique somewhere: Set a soft alarm clock (the parent involved used the alarm on an extra mobile phone) to ring at the time the baby normally wakes up. After they get used to it, make the time later by 15 minute increments. They'll get conditioned to wake up with the clock, and eventually you'll get the sleep you need.

(Alternatively, you could just adjust your schedule to go to bed a few hours earlier, and just plan on being up for 4am, but that's probably a bit extreme.)
posted by happyturtle at 11:48 AM on December 26, 2007

It is ABSOLUTELY not for the faint hearted

It is also not for anybody who has done five minutes' reading on infant and child development. It is at best lazy parenting.

Just because somebody has published something in a book does not make it good advice.

Some good advice, some interesting reading.
posted by kmennie at 3:50 PM on December 26, 2007

I disagree kmennie. I do not believe for a minute that it is lazy parenting. That is just you making a judgement call based on spurious evidence. I've yet to see convincing ACADEMIC literature butressing your point.

Please feel free to find such literature and provide links. I'm sure eastcoastbias and myself would be most interested.

Kellymom is pro attachment parenting and extended breastfeeding which is a very loaded area. And not free of agenda. Even if the breastfeeding advice is good.
posted by taff at 9:43 PM on December 26, 2007

Taff, you could start with Hold on to your Kids by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Mate. Neufeld is a clinical psycholigist (PhD). Mate is an MD. They provide many references to other academic literature.

In other related parenting news, this week, a professor who is well known for his SIDS research and who discovered the risks with putting chidren to sleep on their bellies, stated that daycare is another major SIDS risk. The hypothesis is that this is because of stress and/or lack of breastfeeding.
posted by davar at 2:42 AM on December 27, 2007

Hey Davar. My interest lies more in research, not so much in books written by educated people. Sadly, for me, there's a world of difference.

Is the book you mentioned research?

I have also not heard about the non-breastfeeding/stress/SIDS link. Do you have a citation for that? And Dr Jonge's work with the tummy sleeping? I had thought it was a statistical correlation that was observed in lots of places. I'd love to hear more about it, if you've got the time to find the citations.
posted by taff at 4:04 AM on December 27, 2007

It seems that baby eastcoastbias needs to be fed now and then at 3-4am, then goes back to sleep. Never mind that we often feed her before she falls asleep (by 9:30-10pm).
posted by EastCoastBias at 2:29 PM on December 27, 2007

Hold on to your Kids is more a book written by educated people, but it does mention and cite research. It is definitely the most textbook like book about parenthood that I own (it is uncomparable to for example the Sears parenting books), but the author does have an opinion, based on his clinical practice.

I can only find Dutch references to Dr de Jonge's work, so I am afraid that that's not that helpful. The daycare/SIDS link was big news here last week but I could not find much more than this newswire message in Dutch. It did state that children in daycare (in our country, of course) are more likely to have higher educated non smoking parents, and to sleep on their back and not under a comforter, so the increased SIDS is not because of these factors.

The Wikipedia article about De Jonge says that he made the recommendation that babies sleep on their backs and got a lot of criticism at the time (in 1987, years before the back to sleep campaign in the US started). After his recommendations were implemented in the Netherlands anyway, we had a dramatic decrease in SIDS cases and he is known as the leading SIDS researcher in our country. There are a few references at the bottom of his Dutch Wikipedia biography (that I linked before). I found an English article where De Jonge is mentioned as the initiator of back to sleep promotion. Of course it is totally possible that researchers in the US found the same thing around the same time, I have no idea about that. His research is cited in studies on SIDS that I found on Pubmed though.
posted by davar at 3:00 PM on December 27, 2007

On CIO research, research on normal infant sleep
posted by kmennie at 3:02 PM on December 27, 2007

Dear eastcoastbias.... how about trying a bottle of water in the middle of the night?
Babytaff was fed solids at 6pm with a breastfeed at 7pm at ten months and slept through to till around 6am. Little tummies can last without the food. I bet your daughter could do it.

After a while of just doing the water, she'll eventually work out that there's nothing to be gained from waking up. Hopefully. Plus, it's bad for her teeth to have a bottle in the night.

Another thing to consider is stopping the actual bottle. Do you have a hard spouted sippy cup? (Has to be hard or it won't work.) We use the avent spout on the Avent bottle. It's nowhere near as nice to suck on, and babytaff only drinks when she's thirsty. Not for the chewy sucky factor.

These will hopefully get you some way to more sleep. You could keep the last feed at night for a while.... and drop the 3am one. Either do the water, or just settle her back down without feeding/major cuddling.

You can email me for more tips with or without the controlled crying part. I hate it. But I know a fair bit about it.

OOOOh... I thought I read bottle in there. Perhaps she's breastfed. If that's the case.... I don't like your chances with a sippy cup in the middle of the night without notice... your wife's boobs might object for a few days..... Hmmm.... it's possible. How is your gorgeous, scrumptious baby girl feeding in the night?


-----------------------------
Kmennie, I'm ignoring your deeply offensive slur about my and other parents practices.

Obviously we come from different philosophical backgrounds and my words will mean nothing to you.

In Australia we have very rigorous academic standards at our universities. This may not your experience. I have nothing more to say to you here.
posted by taff at 3:39 PM on December 27, 2007