Sleep is an important part of any human life that exists on the earth's surface. But sometimes in this well-established process, incomprehensible failures occur that most directly affect the general condition of the body. If a person can endure a short period, then the consequences of prolonged insomnia are difficult to hide or escape from their influence: a bad mood, constant irritation, deteriorating well-being, up to real he alth problems, a decrease in the level of performance, and so on.
What is insomnia
The very fact of insomnia is not a separate disease. Often it accompanies other pathologies, representing a vivid example of the poor functioning of the nervous system. A person who is tormented by insomnia has to wait a long time for the onset of sleep. But even during it, he will be undermined several times a night, paying for frequent awakenings with general weakness, weakness, irritation, and so on.
In the scientific community, insomnia is known as insomnia. Insomnia is a failure in the dailywork of the biological rhythm. He is responsible for changing periods of wakefulness and viewing dreams. It is this process that is meant when referring to the biological clock, which is responsible for preparing the human body for sleep.
At such moments, a person reacts more slowly than usual to external stimuli, it is harder to solve mental problems, the body gradually refuses to work, pressure and temperature decrease, and the level of adrenaline in the blood drops. He knows it's time to get ready for bed. But, when insomnia appears, the biological rhythm goes astray, and the specific symptoms of the upcoming sleep may not come at night, but in the morning or afternoon, when you need to wake up.
Researchers have proven the fact that girls suffer from insomnia much more often than men. In some cases, children and the elderly are affected. Despite this, it is the latter category that most often complains to doctors about the presence of symptoms of insomnia and is advised on how to eliminate it.
Variations of this disease
Doctors distinguish three main varieties that depend on the causes and consequences of insomnia: chronic, short-term and transient (appears from time to time when there are factors favorable for it, but also quickly passes).
When a person is undermined at night for several days, then we can confidently assert the presence of transient insomnia. It manifests itself as a result of experienced stress, strong feelings or emotions. Over time, it disappears, and the patient has the opportunity to sleep peacefully. Butany nervous tension can provoke a recurrence of attacks, and the nightly rises will again be repeated. Doctors advise not to worry in the presence of such insomnia and to master a couple of sleep techniques that successfully help eliminate this trouble.
Short-term insomnia is a more serious disturbance of the biological rhythm. It lasts from 7 to 30 days. In this case, it is better to contact a specialist who will help to avoid the development of insomnia to the most dangerous stage and prescribe appropriate medications.
If it lasts more than 30 days, then it has passed into the stage of chronic insomnia. Despite the popularity of home remedies, none of them will be able to participate in the fight against this deviation. Only a specialist will help the patient eliminate the consequences of insomnia that worsen the quality of life: general physical fatigue, unwillingness to perform daily duties, poor he alth, constant irritation, and so on.
Chronic insomnia is divided into several subtypes:
- side effect of medication;
- idiopathic - biological rhythm disturbances occur throughout a person's life;
- childhood insomnia, known as behavioral insomnia - the child is not able to fall asleep without the presence of certain factors: reading fairy tales, rocking, night feeding, and so on;
- paradoxical - the patient complains of frequent rises during sleep, but, nevertheless, sleeps more than the prescribed time;
- appears under the influence of psychological illness;
- psychophysiological - sicknervous before an important event;
- body signals hidden diseases;
- improper sleep hygiene - the habit of sleeping during the day, a tendency to smoke or drink alcohol, excessive exercise or mental stress.
Besides them, some doctors mention primary and secondary insomnia. The primary appears as a result of the characteristics of the psyche and the physiological structure of a particular person. In contrast, secondary insomnia is the result of a specific disease.
Factors provoking the development of deviation
For clarity, we can recall the list of conditions that can provoke a similar deviation:
- Alcohol abuse.
- Inappropriate sleeping conditions: stuffy room, large and soft pillow, heavy blanket, and so on.
- Growing up.
- Negative emotional experiences: stress, anxiety, fear, fear.
- Strong coffee and tea disrupt sleep patterns, waking a person up several times a night.
- Pathologies of the central nervous system: psychosis, depression or neurosis.
- Taking drugs that stimulate the nervous system.
- Bad eating habits associated with eating before bed. A working stomach prevents you from fully immersing yourself in a state of sleep.
- Brief pauses in breathing or a tendency to snore at night can also trigger insomnia.
- Sometimes other diseases cause insomnia: ulcers,dermatosis, angina pectoris, hypotension and so on.
- Intermittent urinary incontinence during sleep.
- Change of time zones or place of residence.
- Night shifts at work.
Main symptoms of insomnia
- even in a state of severe fatigue, a person cannot fall asleep;
- a potential patient cannot concentrate on a certain subject;
- many nighttime wake-ups and complicated bedtime process;
- the desire to sleep appears only during the day, and it is accompanied by strong irritation from the impossibility of prompt implementation;
- a dream that does not affect the deeper layers of the subconscious;
- The habit of taking sleeping pills or alcohol before bed.
A person suffering from the consequences of insomnia, distracted, irritable, with constant complaints of a broken state and lack of strength. It is difficult for him to remember small amounts of information, to concentrate on something specific, or to perform actions that require large energy costs.
Consequences of insomnia for the body
- If a person sleeps less than 7 hours, he risks nullifying the beneficial effects of the medications he takes.
- The possibility of developing cancerous tumors in the prostate and mammary glands increases.
- A person sleeping less than 6 hours is at risk of developing a disease of the cardiovascular system.
- Lack of sleep pushes unhe althy diets based onhigh calorie food. She, in turn, causes obesity.
- A person cannot concentrate, remember anything or work in the same mode.
- Lack of sleep kills human nerves, incapacitating the entire psyche. For the consequences of insomnia, it will not be difficult to form a fertile ground for psychoses and various strengths of neuroses. A potential psychiatrist patient almost completely loses the ability to control his own emotions.
- People who sleep poorly are more likely to have a stroke.
- General immunity weakens, making the human body more vulnerable to exposure to viruses and pathogens.
- The level of stress hormones in the blood increases, which worsen the quality of the skin and reduce the duration of human life.
- A person becomes vulnerable to developing diabetes.
Risk group vulnerable to insomnia
Specialists identify several categories that are more prone to the appearance of insomnia:
- travelers who can't stay long in one time zone;
- people over 60;
- night workers;
- women who have entered the period of cessation of menstruation;
- a person who has experienced a strong emotional shock;
- patients with chronic diseases, whose appearance is accompanied by vivid pain signs;
- a patient with an unstable psyche, from time to time giving serious failures.
Today, experts still doubt whether they should be classified as too susceptible individuals who painfully perceive any trouble, or leave them among ordinary sensitive people.
Methods of disease control
In less advanced cases, it is recommended to use special techniques that, if performed well, can help get rid of the developing pathology on their own:
- If insomnia was caused by a state of strong anxiety or anxiety, then you can try to fall asleep by relaxing your whole body. That is, you need to strain one muscle at a time, and then relax it with an interval of a couple of seconds. It is advisable to walk all over the body in this way.
- Remove all watches from view at bedtime.
- Breathing exercises can be a good way out of the situation. First you need to close your eyes and completely relax. Then silently count to 10, take a deep breath at number 4, stop breathing at 6 and exhale through your teeth at time 8. This technique can be repeated several times.
- Another gymnastics is no less effective. Lying in bed, you need to close your eyes and wait for the appearance of colored dots. When they start to flicker, you need to focus on them and not lose sight of them for as long as possible.
Scouts use their own methods, which can also be taken into account. For example, lying in bed, you need to cover your eyes and roll them up. Or, on the contrary, lie down and start counting to 5, then close your eyes and repeat the count. Andcontinue this activity until drowsiness sets in.
Medication use
No matter how strange it may sound, there is no medicine that definitely and completely eliminates the effects of chronic insomnia. All known drugs are designed to treat short-term phenomena and are not at all intended for other types of disease. To cure insomnia at the chronic stage, doctors adhere to several principles:
- use minimal doses of drugs;
- alternate many kinds of drugs;
- stick to short-term medications;
- Each medicine gradually withdraw from the daily diet;
- try to avoid relapse after stopping all medications.
Before using, you need to study all the pros and cons of available drugs. There will be no ideal among them, so when choosing, you need to focus on the cause of insomnia and the features of the drug itself. Moreover, even starting the reception, it is recommended not to lose sight of the reaction of the human body to it. Psychiatrists do not recommend treating a pathology on their own, which has already directly affected the behavior and psyche of the patient.
For the treatment of insomnia, the medications "Zaleplon" and "Zolpidem" are prescribed. If a person often gets up at night, any doctor will recommend taking benzodiazepines for a short time. In the case when the patient gets up before the moment of awakening itself, he will be prescribedbenzodiazepines for less time.
Be careful with long-term benzodiazepines. The body quickly gets used to this drug, causing a number of side effects: slow reaction to external stimuli, forgetfulness, drowsiness, and so on. Doctors turn to them only when chronic insomnia is accompanied by prolonged depression. In any other case, preference is given to drugs from the imidazopyridine category, which are safer sleeping pills.
For a more serious effect, adaptogens are used, which most directly affect the biological rhythm of the body. The most popular are medicines with melatonin, which help to fall asleep faster and not wake up during the whole sleep.
