An average adult person needs almost 6-8 hours of sleep to keep him physically and mentally healthy and active. However, if a person is unable to sleep, gets up again and again, or does not have good quality sleep instead of having a proper environment, he is said to be an “insomniac”. This condition is called insomnia.
Symptoms of insomnia
- Lack of sleep
- Fatigue
- Lack of attention
- Tiredness during the whole day
- Waking up before the time
- Poor mental health or memory
Types of insomnia
There are two main types of insomnia
Acute Insomnia
Acute insomnia is a short span. It may develop because of a temporary health problem, tiredness, or tension. It usually fades away with time. It may take 1 to 3 weeks to heal.
Chronic Insomnia
It is a long-term disease. If your insomnia takes more than 3 weeks it is chronic insomnia. Many mental and physical health problems lead to chronic insomnia.
Some less-known types of insomnia are
Sleep-Maintenance Insomnia
In this type of insomnia, the patient is unable to have good quality sleep. He wakes up again and again from his sleep which makes him even more tired
Sleep-Onset insomnia
In this type, patients find it difficult to sleep.
Mixed Insomnia
As the name shows, it is a mixture of the upper two types; sleep-onset and sleep maintenance. This type of person feels difficulty sleeping and even if he manages to get sleep, it is not good quality. He wakes up again and again.
Paradoxical insomnia
In this type, the patient always feels sleepy. He always thinks he has got less sleep than the actual requirement.
Causes of Insomnia
Depression
Depression and anxiety are the main reasons behind insomnia. If a patient is stressed, he will not be able to have good quality of sleep until he clear his mind
Screen Time
Nowadays every person has a laptop and smartphone and most people are habitual of using their phone just before sleeping. It causes lack of sleep. The blue screen or light of mobile phone, tv or laptop makes our mind believe that it is day time and one has to wake up. So the mind does not make itself ready to sleep. If using a screen is necessary before sleeping, keep it in night mode.
Poor Eating Habits
Another bad habit which hinders good sleep is eating or drinking just before bed. It makes a person uncomfortable to sleep. Eating and drinking before bed also increases chances of heartburn and increases urination.
Insomnia in Pregnancy
Sleeplessness is very common during pregnancy due to up and down of hormones. Heartburn, restless leg syndrome are also very common in pregnancy which leads to insomnia. Also during the last months of pregnancy, there is an increase in urination because of baby’s weight on bladder which also causes insomnia
Other Diseases
Many other diseases are linked to insomnia like Alzhimer disease, diabetes, depression, Asthma, Dementia, Parkinson’s disease etc.
Medications
Many medicines interfere with the sleep cycle of patients. For example many antidepressants, allergy or cold medications etc. Products
used for weight loss also causes insomnia.
Caffeine and Alcohol
Caffeine and alcohol interrupts sleep cycle therefore consumption of too much caffeine and alcohol can disturb your sleep cycle.
Aging
As you age, your sleep cycle changes because of changes in hormones, health issues, menopause if you are a woman and increased anxiety, less physical activity. All these things combine to give you insomnia.
Diagnosis of insomnia
For the diagnosis of insomnia, our sleep cycle may be assessed along with some physical check up. A questionnaire is provided to check the symptoms of insomnia and habits of the patient. Insomnia is considered chronic if symptoms prevail more than 3 months or thrice a week.
Treatment of Insomnia
The treatment of insomnia is dependent on the type of insomnia whether it is acute or chronic. treatment involves “Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT-i) along with some sleep inducing medications.
CBT-i
Cognitive behavioral therapy is only provided by experts and licensed individuals who have received proper training for this treatment.
It concentrates on the type of insomnia and symptoms and causes the patient is showing. The psychologist then aims at the underlying reasons resulting in insomnia. For example,
- If the person is stressed, the first thing to focus on is the patient’s stress.
- Patient is taught about good sleeping habits and proper sleeping environment
- Stimulus Control is about handling sleep time anxiety. Doctors forbid patients to take naps in the morning and go to bed only when the patient is extremely tired.
- Doctors also keep an eye on how much time the patient lays in bed awake trying to sleep. It is advised not to lay in bed if you are not sleepy.
- Some relaxing exercises like breathing exercises and meditation also helps to clear the mind. So that a person goes to bed without anxiety and has a good quality sleep.
- Creating a relaxing environment. Turn off all the lights, neat and clean room with proper temperature also helps in sleep
- Stay active during the day. Do a cardio exercise, make your mind stress free before bed time
- Many sleep induced medication are also prescribed by the doctors according to the need of patients
