“The last refuge of the insomniac is a sense of superiority to the sleeping world.”
―
According to a study, 33% adults in India are insomniac. Insomnia, in basic words, means disability to sleep. People who suffer from insomnia have difficulty in dozing off, sleeping peacefully, waking up at early hours and not able to sleep again. Though people may still feel tired after waking up. This disorder can vary in degree, i.e. it can be acute insomnia (for a short period of time) or chronic insomnia (for a long period of time). Even it is possible that this condition may come and go in intervals.
Insomnia can be classified into two types :-
A) Primary Insomnia - This means that the sleeplessness isn't connected or linked to any other disease or a problem. This type of insomnia may develop due to following reasons :-
1) Stress related to life events such as loss of any loved one, job or something prominent in life.
2) Things around you may disturb you like light, sound or the room temperature is too low or too high.
3) Change in sleeping schedule due to moving around.
B) Secondary Insomnia - This type of insomnia is usually linked with some disease that causes trouble in sleeping. Examples include cancer, asthma, depression or diabetes. It can also be due to drug abuse, alcohol consumption and other unhealthy lifestyle habits. Causes of this type of insomnia are following :-
1) Mental health issues like depression or anxiety.
2) Pain or discomfort at night.
3) Caffeine, tobacco, alcohol and drug abuse.
4) Excessive medications for fever, cold and cough.
If we observe the figures closely, women are at more risk of developing insomnia than men and older people are at more risk than the young generation. There are many risk factors that circulate around this disease :-
a) People can develop a long term illness.
b) Various mental health issues can develop if the problem is not treated initially.
c) People might take up night shifts or jobs that might exert their energy and tire their body.
If someone wants to know, if they have developed insomnia, they just need to check on the following symptoms :-
# They feel sleepy during the day and sleepless during the night.
# They feel tired and fatigued all the time.
# They can become grumpy and have mood swings.
# People might develop problems in memorizing or remembering things.
Insomnia can be treated through medication, using sleeping pills but only those that are prescribed by your doctor. However, if a person is suffering from chronic insomnia, avoid intake of excessive sleeping pills because it has many ill side effects on our body and health.
Sleeping is a natural mechanism, and controlling it too much with medication will only disrupt the natural sleeping process of your body. Our bodies need sleep so they can repair themselves after a long day of work. If insomnia is keeping you awake, you could have a higher risk of health problems like high blood pressure, obesity, and depression.
Though, insomnia can be fought with good sleeping habits, also known as sleep hygiene, and other things like,
- Go to sleep at the same time each night, and get up at the same time each morning. Try not to take naps during the day, because they may make you less sleepy at night.
- Don’t use phones or e-books before bed. Their light can make it harder to fall asleep.
- Avoid caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol late in the day. Caffeine and nicotine are stimulants and can keep you from falling asleep. Alcohol can make you wake up in the middle of the night and hurt your sleep quality.
- Get regular exercise. Try not to work out close to bedtime, because it may make it hard to fall asleep. Experts suggest exercising at least 3 to 4 hours before bed.
- Don't eat a heavy meal late in the day. But a light snack before bedtime may help you sleep.
- Make your bedroom comfortable: dark, quiet, and not too warm or too cold. If light is a problem, use a sleeping mask. To cover up sounds, try earplugs, a fan, or a white noise machine.
- Follow a routine to relax before bed. Read a book, listen to music, or take a bath.
- If you can't fall asleep and aren’t drowsy, get up and do something calming, like reading until you feel sleepy.
- If you tend to lie awake and worry about things, make a to-do list before you go to bed. This may help you put your concerns aside for the night.
Follow these steps, and notice the changes in your sleeping pattern. Insomnia is not incurable, as long as people take efforts in pushing it out of their life. Having an 8 hours of sleep in a day is necessary, for you body to regain it's lost strength and working through another tough day.
Sleep well and sleep tight!
- By MeeRa 💗💗
