Having trouble sleeping? Find out how you can catch some shut-eye
Most of us have struggled with a bout of sleeplessness at one time or another. For many of us, the difficulty in falling asleep will pass and the frustratingly long nights of tossing and turning, forgotten. For some though, a good and rewarding night's sleep is like an impossible dream. Sleeplessness can stretch for prolonged periods and can adversely affect a person's mood, behaviour and health. Insomnia is not defined by the number of hours of sleep a person gets or how long it takes to fall asleep. Rather, it includes sleeplessness, difficulty staying asleep and constantly waking up too early. It can also include unrefreshing sleep, where you wake up from sleep still tired and feeling like you haven't slept at all.
Why Can't I Sleep?
While it is easy to define insomnia, it is probably harder to pin down its causes. Very often, sleepless nights are caused by temporary factors such as anxiety or anticipation over something that is going to happen, like starting at a new school, or going on a big date. They might also be caused by a change in your surroundings or other environmental factors, eg. moving to a new house, a noisy neighbour, or hot, humid nights. This kind of sleeplessness is known as transient insomnia. It usually only lasts for a single night or for several days, and can be easily overcome with a few changes to your sleeping habits.
According to a Senior Consultant with the Ministry of Health and Chief of Academic Psychiatry (Singapore), the main causes of insomnia for most teenagers are poor sleep hygiene and irregular sleeping patterns. In other words, if you are sleeping badly, you might want to clear your bed of magazines, food crumbs and other assorted bits and pieces, cut down on the marathon PlayStation or computer game sessions, and cut short the late-night phone calls with your friends.
Underlying Issues
If episodes of transient insomnia occur from time to time, it is classified as intermittent insomnia. If you go through certain periods where you have difficulty sleeping, examine what is going on in your life and try to identify what you are most worried about. It might be school, projects, exams, or perhaps problems with family or friends. All these things can contribute the feelings of stress that are troubling and keeping you awake. However, if you have trouble sleeping on most nights and this lasts for a month or more, it is considered chronic. Chronic insomniacs often suffer from tiredness and a constant lack of energy during the day, irritability, and difficulty concentrating. The problem becomes more complex and is often the result of a combination of factors.
In most chronic insomnia cases, the central cause is emotional. Feelings of anxiety over something or someone important to you, unexpressed anger over something that happened, stress at work, and personal problems are common causes. Other causes can by psychological issues such as depression and grief, as well as a range of medical problems, including sleep apnoea, asthma and hyperthyroidism. It seems that insomnia is more common among women and the elderly. People with a history of depression are also more prone to suffering from insomnia. Chronic insomnia can also be due to behavioural factors such as disrupted sleeping/waking patterns, consuming excessive amounts of caffeine, and misusing alcohol and drugs. The best thing to do then, is to avoid irregular sleeping hours, too much coffee or soft drinks loaded with caffeine, and drinking or smoking too much. Not only will it contribute to your insomnia, it also adds up to a very unhealthy lifestyle.
Seek Treatment
Transient and intermittent insomnia usually do not require treatment, since it only lasts a few days at a time. With a change of habits, your biological clock will soon get back on track. However, if your insomnia is persistent or worsens, and if it disrupts your studies or social life, you should definitely consult a doctor. Depression may be one cause of insomnia, but there is also an inevitable vicious cycle that takes place with a prolonged lack of sleep. People who suffer from chronic insomnia and who leave it untreated have a higher tendency to develop morbid thoughts. According to experts, half of untreated sufferers go on to develop conditions such as depression, anxiety and substance abuse.
It is therefore important to get professional help if your sleeplessness is interefering with your daily life. Your doctor will probably help you identify any behaviour that might be contributing to your insomnia, or diagnose and treat any underlying medical or psychological problems you might be having. You might be prescribed sleeping pills for a short duration to help you start sleeping properly, and your doctor will recomend some techniques like relaxation therapy or reconditioning, so that you will be able to relax and achieve peaceful, dreamy sleep.
Do:
»: Keep regular a bedtime hour
» Get some physical exercise during the day
» Sleep on a good firm bed
» Sleep in a well-ventilated room, and keep the room in a comfortable temperature
» Avoid caffeine, alcohol and cigarettes before bed
» Use sleeping pills only as directed, and not for more than two weeks
Don't:
»: Don't cluuter your bed with study materials or random stuff. Keep your bed a
place for sleep.
» Don't watch TV or read in bed
» Don't use alcohol to help you sleep
» Don't sleep in too late, try to wake up early
» Don't nap for too long in the afternoon
» Don't keep worrying about having difficulty sleeping, learn to relax and
you'll soon be fast asleep
Some Ideas To Help You Get To Sleep:
» Listen to soothing music
» Drink warm milk and honey, chamomile tea, or the Chinese herbal remedy of boiled lotus seeds in water, just before bed
» Have a light bedtime snack of fruit or biscuits
» Take a warm bath
» Try deep breathing
» Practise progressively relaxing your body, to relieve tension and stop your mind racing
» Get someone to give you a relaxing massage, or try the stomach rub -- rub slowly clockwise, then counter-clockwise round the navel several times.
» Don't lie in bed awake for more than half an hour. Get out of bed instead and do some quiet activity until you feel sleepy again, then head back to bed.
Labels: insomnia, irregular sleeping patterns, shut eye, sleeplessness, trouble sleeping, unrefreshing sleep
