Contents
Insomnia most often worries older people. This is a serious problem that significantly reduces the quality of human life. The scientific name for insomnia is insomnia. It is recognized by official medicine as a disease. The causes of insomnia can be very diverse. Sometimes it is very difficult to install them. Therapy for insomnia is long and does not always give a positive result. You should not take drugs to improve the quality of sleep on your own, as they are addictive, and it will be problematic to refuse them in the future.
What is insomnia?
Insomnia is a sleep disorder that almost everyone has experienced in their lives. This concept includes lack of sleep, inability or inability to get enough sleep, trouble falling asleep, short sleep time, or constant early awakenings with the inability to fall asleep again.
Symptoms of insomnia
Insomnia manifests itself in different ways. Some people find it difficult to fall asleep, while others find it difficult to get out of bed in the morning. Some patients complain of frequent awakenings in the middle of the night.
Symptoms of insomnia include:
Difficulty falling asleep. In this case, a person may not experience any disorders in the nervous sphere. The conditions for sleep are favorable: the bed is comfortable, the room is ventilated, but you can’t even doze off. A person is looking for a comfortable position, but cannot find it, he gets either hot or cold. Sometimes he cannot distract himself from thinking about various matters. This leads to the fact that sleep does not occur.
Waking up after a short sleep. Waking up is caused by an inexplicable fear or a nightmare. The person again tries to doze off, but he does not succeed. Therefore, in the morning he feels overwhelmed and tired.
Short night sleep. Sometimes it happens that after sleeping for several hours, a person wakes up and can no longer fall asleep. The duration of sleep at 3-4 hours does not allow you to fully relax.
All these symptoms first bother a person from time to time, and then appear more and more often. You need to be wary when signs of insomnia occur every other day for a month.
Symptoms of neurological disorders may include:
A person cannot cope with insomnia on their own. At night he suffers from discomfort. At the same time, during the day, he painfully wants to lie down and fall asleep, activity decreases.
A person’s thought processes are affected. It is difficult for him to concentrate on work or study, attention and memory are deteriorating.
The person develops depression. Although sometimes it becomes the root cause of insomnia.
Experts do not recommend taking medications at the first sign of insomnia. This will lead to the fact that in the future it will not be possible to fall asleep without their help, and the dose will have to be increased all the time.
Causes of Insomnia
Sleep is controlled by the central nervous system.
Therefore, the causes of insomnia can be hidden in such disorders as:
Stress. The more impressionable a person is, the more likely it is that nervous tension will have a negative impact on falling asleep.
Uncomfortable conditions for falling asleep. Extraneous noise in the room, bright light in the room, heat or cold can lead to insomnia. Sometimes insomnia develops when the usual environment changes.
Changes in habitual lifestyle. An example is the restructuring of work or school schedules.
Climate change or moving to a country with a different time zone. Adaptive mechanisms in each person are developed to varying degrees.
Taking drugs that have a stimulating effect on the central nervous system.
Overeating before bed. Not only a hearty dinner can affect the quality of sleep, but also the intake of alcoholic beverages, strong tea or coffee, chocolate, Coca-Cola.
Watching TV before bed. If the program or film was exciting, then a person may develop insomnia. A similar situation is observed in people who spend a long time at the computer, play games.
Diseases of the thyroid gland with its hypo- and hyperfunction.
Pain. Any pain will not allow you to fall asleep. The more intense they are, the more difficult it will be to fall asleep.
Respiratory diseases. People with bronchial asthma and obstructive pulmonary disease often suffer from insomnia. Cough of any etiology negatively affects the quality of sleep.
Diseases of the digestive system. Any discomfort disrupts sleep.
Calf cramps, restless legs syndrome, sleep apnea – all these syndromes are the causes of insomnia.
Mental disorders. These include depression, neurosis, anxiety.
Neurological diseases: Parkinson’s disease, traumatic brain injury, osteochondrosis of the spine.
Cardiovascular pathologies: arrhythmia, previous heart attack or stroke, hypertension, heart defects.
Alcohol abuse. Withdrawal syndrome is the cause of insomnia in all alcoholics. It is not possible to cope with the problem even with the help of taking potent drugs.
Smoking. Smokers often suffer from disturbed sleep quality. Adherence to a bad habit makes them get up at night and reach for a cigarette. This exacerbates the problem even more.
The age of the person. There are certain periods when people often have trouble sleeping. This happens in children, in adolescents, in women during menopause, in the elderly. Sometimes pregnancy and childbirth can provoke insomnia.
What to do if you suffer from insomnia?
With insomnia, you should not immediately resort to taking medications. Such drugs exist, but a doctor must prescribe them.
First you need to try to deal with the problem in other ways:
Adhere to the regime of work and rest. You need to go to bed at the same time. The body will get used to the established rhythm and sleep problems may resolve themselves.
Avoid eating before bed.
Avoid alcohol and stimulant soft drinks.
Refuse to smoke.
Don’t go to bed on an empty stomach. Before going to bed, you can drink a glass of kefir or warm milk. If you want to eat something, then preference should be given to light snacks that will not contain spicy sauces and seasonings.
Go for a walk before bed. Relaxing massage and gymnastics also help to fall asleep faster. You can take a warm bath with decoctions of herbs.
Refusal of mental work before going to bed. It must be completed no later than 2 hours before the night’s rest.
Stop reading books and watching TV before bed. You should not play computer games and talk on the phone.
Create a comfortable sleeping environment for yourself. The room needs to be ventilated. Falling asleep should not be disturbed by light and noise.
[Video] Dr. Berg – What happens if you don’t sleep well for 2 weeks?