Insomnia. This is when you lose the ability to get asleep each night. Or you might get asleep but you'll wake again shortly afterwards and you won't be able to get back to sleep. When it starts off first insomnia is just annoying - you wind up feeling very tired for the first few days of it. It's only when you're in your second or third week of insomnia that you start to realize just how much this sleep disorder can affect your emotional and mental health. Plus you simply won't be able to function in work and you've probably found yourself dozing off during the day.
Why Is Sleep So Important?
Your body needs time to rest and regenerate - that's why you sleep. Your body basically spends the time you're asleep fixing itself and regenerating the parts of yourself that you wore down or damaged during the day. Not only is it important to sleep but it's important to regulate how much or how little sleep you get. Ideally you should be sleeping 7 - 8 hours per night. Any more or any less than this can lead to long term health problems. One study showed a 15% - 20% potential increase in the mortality rates of people who sleep more than 8 hours or less than 6 hours per night over the long term. That's why I feel like slapping people who boast about sleeping 12 hours per night - you are literally wasting your life away - physically and metaphorically.
Types Of Insomnia
There are 3 basic types of insomnia that you can suffer from. The first is transient insomnia which means you'll suffer from the sleep disorder for less than 7 days. The second type is acute insomnia which means the problem could continue on for up to 4 weeks. Chronic insomnia is where you'll suffer from this problem for more than 4 weeks.
Personally I've suffered from chronic insomnia - the condition lasted for almost 3 months and left me a wreck at the end of it. The first few weeks were tiring but as the problem got worse I found myself really struggling to cope with sleeping 1 or 2 hours per night. Or even worse was when I'd be awake for up to 72 hours straight- I would literally pass out from exhaustion. But the condition did pass and my life got back to normal.
What Can Cause It?
Insomnia doesn't have any one single cause which makes treating it that bit tougher. The first, and most common, cause is stress. If you have a lot on your mind at the end of the day you're going to find it difficult to sleep. You then spend the next day tired and you still have stuff on your mind so the following night you wind up over-tired but not being able to sleep. Then you're into the vicious, downward spiral of stress related insomnia.
Other things that can cause this sleep disorder are psychoactive drugs (ecstasy/MDMA/E) and amphetamines (speed) - if you're a party person then that's your choice but taking either of these is going to mess up your sleep pattern and vital body organs too. Accept the repercussions of putting this junk into your body.
Changes in your hormone levels (menopause or menstrual cycle for example) or in your shift pattern in work will bring on an attack of insomnia quicker than you'd think. Frequent changes in your working shifts is bad for your health overall and it's like waving a red rag at the sleep disorder bull.
You also need to make sure your bedroom is as quiet and restful a place as possible so make sure you eliminate any loud noises or light that you can - this is basic good sleep hygiene. Without it you're going to have trouble sleeping full stop.
How Can You Treat Insomnia?
The key to treating this problem is identify the root cause. Treating the symptoms with a pile of sleeping pills isn't a long term solution for a number of reasons. If you're finding that you can't sleep because your mind is distracted then you need to deal with that by talking to a trusted friend or a professional about what's bothering you. The more you think about a problem the more it gets buried in your long term memory.
The best way to cure your insomnia is to remove or deal with any emotional, psychological or drug issues that could be causing it. Once you've dealt with the root cause the next step is to get yourself as relaxed as possible before you go to bed. Try taking a warm bath and drinking some valerian tea one or two hours before you sleep. Or learn some basic meditation and breathing techniques to help slow down your mind and heart rate. Once your body is relaxed sleep will come naturally - there'll be no need for sleeping pills.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/sleep-articles/coping-with-insomnia-a-guide-for-the-sleep-deprived-2871297.html
