Trying to sleep for hours. Wake up several times during the night. Waking up in the dark and lying in bed without sleep until dawn … All this is about insomnia. Why does it arise? And how can you get rid of it?
Sleep problems are human. This does not happen with animals. The thing is that in our brain there are areas that are able to “postpone” falling asleep and keep us active. This property is useful in case of danger or urgent work. But it sometimes turns against us and does not allow us to fall asleep, even when there is no need to stay awake.
Thus, 56% of the population in the US, 31% in Western Europe and 23% in Japan complain of insomnia. Most of them say that it affects daily life, family relationships and work. But almost half of those who have sleep problems have never tried to solve them.1.
Strong stress, anticipation of exciting events — this is enough to keep us awake against our will.
Also, sleep depends on the biological clock, which regulates the alternation of wakefulness and sleep. “They can be out of sync, they can be late, they can show half past eight in the evening, when it’s actually midnight,” explains Stanford University professor and sleep disorder specialist William Dement. As a result, we cannot sleep.
Another difficulty: sleep is not continuous, several micro-awakenings occur during the night. Our brains sometimes make us think these awakenings are longer than they really are. Why this happens is still unknown to science. And in the morning we wake up tired, as if we had not closed our eyes.
Everyone has their own insomnia?
To date, there is no scientific definition of insomnia. It is not considered a disease, but a disorder, the extent of which can only be determined by the one who complains about it. Insomnia is mainly a feeling that sleep does not satisfy us and does not restore enough strength.
There are people who feel great, despite the fact that they sleep five hours a night and often wake up.2. They are called «little sleepers». “Each of us builds and lives our insomnia on our own,” says sleep psychologist Patrick Levy. So insomnia is a personal matter for everyone.
However, insomnia can be divided into three main categories: sleep disturbance, waking up too early, and frequent waking.
“I wait hours for sleep,” complains 26-year-old Sophia. — As soon as I feel tired, I go to bed, but the dream immediately disappears. I start to get nervous, I start thinking about all the problems for the day. Terrible!»
“The morning was a problem for me,” admits Yakov, 43. — Half past five in the morning, I wake up — and sleep is not in one eye. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. The worst thing is that I feel bad, I can neither read nor work. Dark thoughts overwhelm me. As a result, I wake up tired, in a bad mood. I become more and more irritable and impatient. It’s hard for other people to be around me.»
“I wake up many times a night,” says 32-year-old Alexander. “I constantly toss and turn at night, and this bothered my friend so much that she left me.”
These three types of insomnia can occur in the same person at different stages of life. They are related to the events that we are experiencing.
Why don’t the kids sleep?
In adults, sleep is usually disturbed due to stress. And insomnia that arose in childhood is often associated with the fear of parting, says Sylvie Royan-Parola.
An anxious mother worries that something will happen to her child during sleep. Out of an unconscious sense of fidelity, he will respond to her by not falling asleep or by waking up frequently. Over time, the memory of the mother’s anxiety will leave the child’s mind, but insomnia will remain.
There is also a kind of “transmission” of insomnia from parents to children. “Every child’s sleep is interrupted. This is fine. But a parent with a sleep disorder tends to respond according to their attitude towards falling asleep, emphasizes Sylvie Royan-Parola. — He says to the child: “You are not sleeping, just like me. I’ll give you herbal tea.» So the child convinces himself that he will not fall asleep without outside help.
Help yourself to sleep
“For those suffering from sleep disorders, “lying in bed” means “not sleeping,” notes Sylvie Royan-Parola. “Therefore, another attitude should be created: to equate “lying in bed” with “sleeping.” And if you can’t fall asleep, force yourself to leave the room, no matter how much the clock shows. You should go to bed only when drowsiness comes.
If you feel unwell, you can turn to the help of sleeping pills. “But you should not take it every night, not only to avoid addiction, but also because the medicine stops working after a few days,” warns Sylvie Rojan-Parola.
As a rule, they prepare for bed. Each of us has an evening ritual: drink a glass of water or warm milk, read a little, pray… These soothing actions take us back to the time when we fell asleep after a parental kiss with a teddy bear in our hands. And it replaces for us “transitional objects” (pacifier, favorite toy, mother’s handkerchief), which in childhood were associated with the mother and helped to maintain contact, even when she was not around.
Sleep problems begin around the age of forty — sleep becomes more superficial, intermittent. But do not rush to immediately contact the doctors. Walking, physical activity, a change of scenery, falling in love … often enough to get rid of the most persistent insomnia.
1 «An international survey of sleeping problems in the general population», Current Medical Research and Opinion, 2008, № 24.
2 The study was conducted in 1997 by clinical psychologist Maurice Ohayon, examining 12 sleepers in the UK and Quebec.