What is insomnia?
Insomnia is a common sleep disorder for adults that can make it hard to fall asleep, hard to stay asleep, or cause you to wake up too early and not be able to get back to sleep. The National Institutes of Health estimates that roughly 30 percent of the general population complains of sleep disruption, and approximately 10 percent have associated symptoms of daytime functional impairment consistent with the diagnosis of insomnia.
There are two types of insomnia.
- Primary insomnia: Primary insomnia means that a person is having sleep problems that are not directly associated with any other health condition.
- Secondary insomnia: Secondary insomnia means that a person is having sleep problems because of something else, such as a health condition, which includes depression, pain, asthma, alcohol and medications.
What are the common causes of insomnia?
- Stress. Worry about work, school, health, finances or family can keep your mind active at night, leading to insomnia.
- Sleep-related disorders. Induvial who has sleep apnea can present with difficulty falling and staying asleep. Sleep apnea causes you to stop breathing periodically throughout the night, interrupting your sleep. Restless legs syndrome causes unpleasant sensations in your legs, which may prevent you from falling asleep.
- Depression and Anxiety. Both Depression and Anxiety can cause or worsen insomnia.
- Medical conditions. Medical conditions, such as chronic pain, heart burn, diabetes, heart disease, COPD and asthma can disturb your sleep.
- Medications. Many medications can interfere with sleep, such as certain antidepressants and medications for asthma or blood pressure. There are many over-the-counter medications that contain caffeine and other stimulants can disrupt sleep as well.
- Poor sleep habits and lifestyles. Poor sleep habits include an irregular bedtime schedule, stimulating activities before bedtime, and using your bed for eating or watching TV. Involving with computers, TVs, video games or smartphones before bedtime can interfere with your sleep cycle. Drinking caffeinated beverages, such as coffee, energy drink or sofa in the afternoon or evening, and smoking can keep you from falling asleep at night. Alcohol may help you fall asleep, but it prevents you from getting into deep sleep and often causes awakening in the middle of the night.
- Disruption in circadian rhythm: We all have a natural sleep-wake rhythm. For most people, their circadian rhythm involves sleeping at night and being awake during the day. When this rhythm gets disrupted, it can cause insomnia. Working overnight shifts and traveling across time zones are two common factors that can alter circadian rhythm.
What are treatments for Insomnia?
The treatment may depend on the cause. For example, treating underlying conditions or health problems that are causing the insomnia. In insomnia, cognitive behavior therapy helps you to change behaviors that worsen insomnia and helps you to learn new behaviors to promote sleep.
What are tips for Treating Insomnia?
- Stick to a regular bedtime: Stick to the same bedtime and raising time each day may help you get into a routine and improve your sleep.
- Avoid Caffeine beverages, nicotine, and alcohol late in the day. Caffeine beverages and nicotine are stimulants and can keep you from falling and staying asleep. Alcohol can cause waking in the night and reduce sleep quality.
- Get regular exercise. Try not to exercise close to bedtimes because it may stimulate you and make it hard to fall asleep.
- Don't eat a heavy meal late at the night.
- Make your bedroom comfortable. Be sure that it is dark, quiet, and not too warm or too cold.
If these actions don't work, contact us as you may have issues that need to be addressed.
