Various forms of insomnia suffer from almost a quarter of people. It is impossible to ignore this problem. Sleep disorders, its insufficient quality and quantity negatively affect performance, concentration and reaction speed. Cell regeneration occurs during sleep, so the expected result of not getting enough rest is a poor appearance and a sallow complexion. Subsequently, more serious disorders may occur: depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, vegetovascular dystonia, malfunctions of various organs and systems.
How should normal sleep be?
The average sleep rate is 8-9 hours a day. Theoretically, you can systematically sleep for 5-6 hours a day, but in this case, fatigue will gradually accumulate, discontent and irritability will increase. Over time, performance, concentration, memory will deteriorate, signs of depression and functional disorders may appear.body disorders. Chronic lack of sleep can compensate for full sleep at least one or two days a week. The duration of sleep in this case should be almost twice as long as usual, that is, 9-10 hours.
Normal is also considered a dream that meets the needs of the body and natural rhythms. Owls and larks are types programmed by nature. Scientists conducted an experiment: a person, deprived of the opportunity to observe solar activity and having no means of recognizing time, begins to go to bed and wake up in his natural mode. For some people, the circadian rhythm is shorter than 24 hours, for others it is longer. People with a long rhythm often tend to go to bed later.
Excessive sleep is considered more than 10-15 hours a day. Both prolonged and insufficient sleep are equally dangerous for the human body. This is due to the disorder of human biological rhythms. Both with chronic lack of sleep and with too long sleep, concentration of attention and working capacity decrease, apathy begins to be felt. In terms of physical he alth, too much sleep can lead to congestion, high blood pressure, swelling, or migraines.
At the same time, all norms of time are considered conditional, because each person has his own time frame for rest. For some, six hours of good sleep is enough, while others get enough sleep for only 8-9. Getting enough sleep is essential for restoring emotional and physical strength. Sleep is the cure for sicknessand ailments. But a conscious change in the regime towards lack of sleep or oversleeping does not lead to anything good.
Sleep rates by age
Sleep rate also varies with age. A newborn sleeps 16-19 hours a day in total. At night, the baby can sleep for 5-6 hours without a break, and daytime sleep is 1-3 hours at short intervals of wakefulness. At the age of one to three months, the baby sleeps continuously for 8-11 hours at night. During the day, rest lasts for 5-7 hours at intervals. At three to five months, the baby sleeps the same 14-17 hours a day as before, but the duration of uninterrupted night sleep increases. It is already 10-12 hours. During the day, the baby sleeps three to four times for 4-6 hours.
From six to eight months, the baby continues to sleep for 10-11 hours a night. Slightly reduced daytime sleep. During the day, rest is required two or three times for 2-4 hours. In the future, the daily norm of sleep is gradually reduced due to a decrease in daytime rest. At two years old, it is enough for a baby to sleep 1-3 hours during the day, and 10-11 at night. From four to seven years old, many children can do without daytime sleep, but in this case, nighttime sleep should be equal to the daily norm, that is, 10-13 hours. From seven to ten years, a child needs 10-11 hours of sleep at night, from ten to twelve - 9-11 hours. At twelve or fourteen years old, it is enough for a teenager to sleep 9-10 hours a day. By the age of 17, the sleep rate is approaching that of an adult.
Older people need a little less sleep to fullyget enough sleep. As a rule, 7-8 hours of sleep a night is enough, but many feel the need to get some rest during the day. This desire should not be resisted. A person can sleep less and feel sufficiently rested during emotional stress, when all the forces of the body are thrown into maintaining working capacity. When sick or unwell, on the contrary, a little more sleep is required. Pregnant women can often complain of insomnia and sleep much longer than usual - this is also the norm in this position.
What causes sleep problems?
Why do I suffer from insomnia? There are many reasons for sleep disorders. In childhood, this may be an overexcitation of the nervous system or physiological disorders, such as colic or pain during teething. The most common factors affecting the depth and duration of a good rest at different ages are the following:
- Unusual or uncomfortable sleeping conditions. Extra light or noise, heat or cold, not enough oxygen in the air, smoke impurities, strong odors, uncomfortable mattress, pillow, etc.
- Eating foods that stimulate nervous activity both during the day and just before bedtime. These are coffee, chocolate, green tea, energy drinks, drugs and so on. Nicotine negatively affects sleep even with secondhand smoke.
- Lifestyle change. Short trips and business trips, job changes, marital status, place of residence, sleeping away and so on.
- Stressful situations, especially forpeople who are overly emotional. Separately allocate people suffering from chronic sleep disorders. Many of them are frightened by the very approach of nighttime and disturbing thoughts that interfere with the onset of sleep.
- Various diseases accompanied by sleep disturbance as a symptom or causing pain. Difficulty breathing, frequent urination, heartburn, cramps, coughing, and other pains interfere with sleep. Short-term insomnia can be caused by hormonal changes. Often, women experience difficulty falling asleep on critical days or during PMS. The period of such hormonal imbalance, which is caused by physiological processes, is approximately 3-4 days. These conditions do not require treatment.
- Taking certain medications. Sleep disorders can be caused by psychostimulants, nootropics, antipsychotics, corticosteroids, sympathomimetics, thyroid and other drugs.
- Disorders of the circadian rhythm. This includes jet lag, shift work day and night, morning and evening, active recreation and entertainment at night, and the habit of sleeping long weekends.
- Depression of varying severity.
The causes of insomnia in women should be considered separately, because it is ladies who are more likely to experience this disorder. The fair sex is usually more emotional and reacts more sharply to what is happening in life. This adds monthly hormonal fluctuations, disruptions, pregnancy and lactation. Causes of insomniamen are usually more difficult to identify. Most often it is stress or depression, strong personal experiences. Sleep significantly affects the use of stimulants (coffee or tea, alcohol, which will help you fall asleep, but make sleep disturbing and interrupted), smoking. Physical activity in the evening prevents you from falling asleep, but an inactive lifestyle can also cause problems with falling asleep.
Insomnia symptoms and diagnosis
To find out the causes of insomnia in a man or woman (after all, the treatment and the ability to help the patient depend on it), the doctor collects a detailed history. A functional disorder is a situation in which the patient experiences sleep disturbances at least three times a week or more often, complains of difficulty falling asleep, poor quality of rest, severe ailments, reduced social functions or performance due to insufficient duration or poor quality of night sleep.
Manifestations of insomnia are frequent awakenings at night and a feeling of superficial sleep, daytime sleepiness. Awakenings can be caused by specific reasons: the urge to urinate (due to illness or hormonal changes during pregnancy, for example), pain, and so on. As a result, a person becomes irritable, concentration decreases, memory deteriorates, and social problems may arise.
Evolutionary mechanisms are such that women not only suffer from insomnia more often, but also tolerate it more easily. The mother gets up at night, responding to the crying of the child, the woman reacts more emotionally to both negative andpositive experiences. The consequences of female insomnia are less devastating than male ones. What's more, sleep disturbances in men increase the risk of accidents at work, while driving, or in other activities that require attention and care.
For this reason, treatment of sleep disorders is required. Which doctor should I contact for insomnia? First, it is better to consult a general practitioner, that is, a family or therapist. After collecting an anamnesis, the specialist will refer the patient to narrow specialists: a neuropathologist, psychologist, psychotherapist, cardiologist, and so on. An electromyography, pulse oximetry, electroencephalography, electrocardiography, or electrooculography may be ordered.
Classification of insomnia
Patient actions and treatment will vary depending on the type of disease. Why do you suffer from insomnia? Acute, or adaptive, occurs against the background of acute stress, unresolved conflict or emotional shock. In this case, the excitement can be both negative and positive. Psychophysiological is associated with increased human anxiety due to sleep problems.
Paradoxical insomnia is a situation in which a patient complains of chronic sleep deprivation and its accompanying symptoms, but in fact the actual duration of sleep is more than normal. Idiopathic insomnia begins in childhood and persists into adulthood. Associated with increased or decreased activity of the nervous system. behavioralinsomnia in children develops against the background of poor sleep hygiene.
Why do I suffer from insomnia? If you have problems with sleep against the background of other he alth disorders, insomnia also develops. Violations can occur in connection with medication, tea or coffee, improper sleep hygiene, or a mental disorder of the nervous system. Non-organic insomnia is caused by mental illness and other psychological factors, improper organization of sleep.
General advice to patients
In the treatment of insomnia, only an integrated approach should be used. The doctor gives general recommendations that help most patients, unless, of course, sleep disorders are not caused by concomitant diseases, but are an independent problem against the background of improper sleep organization, emotional arousal or overwork. If you are he althy, then it is enough to follow the general recommendations to return a good quality of sleep.
These recommendations boil down to the following:
- Get up and go to bed at the same time every day, including weekends and holidays.
- Eat dinner 3-4 hours before bed, no energy drinks or caffeinated drinks 6-8 hours before bedtime.
- Reschedule important matters early to avoid emotional outbursts 3-4 hours before bedtime.
- Use the bed only for its intended purpose. For watching TV and reading the news, it is better to choose another place.
- Sleep in complete silence and darkness on a wide and comfortable bed. Maintain optimal air temperature and humidity: 18-20 degrees Celsius, about 30-45% humidity in the cold season and 30-60% in the warm season.
- Stop napping.
- If this treatment for insomnia from overwork or other causes does not help, you should use behavioral techniques.
Behavioral techniques for dealing with insomnia
Why do I suffer from insomnia? If this is due to overstrain or sleep disturbance, doctors often advise patients to use behavioral techniques, but this method is suitable for those whose sleep disturbances are not caused by concomitant diseases. The bottom line is not to lie in bed for more than 15 minutes without sleep - this is enough time for a he althy person to fall asleep. If you have not been able to fall asleep during this time, then get up and do something (reading, listening to music). Get back into bed when you feel yourself drifting off to sleep.
You can resort to more drastic measures. If you only get 5-6 hours of sleep out of your 8 hours and can't sleep the rest of the time, cut your time in bed down to those 5-6 hours. If you only slept 3-4 of those hours, then don't go to bed during the day. Be patient until the next night, which you will most likely oversleep soundly. Once you are able to fall asleep quickly and have 85% of your time in bed resting, you can increase your rest time by an hour.
Traditional medicine
Simultaneously with othersways to combat insomnia, you can use folk methods, namely herbal teas. What herbs for insomnia are useful to drink at night to make it easier to fall asleep? The most famous plants with a sedative effect are motherwort and valerian. Fees can be bought at any pharmacy. This is a simple remedy for insomnia. It is enough to brew herbs and drink shortly before bedtime.
Valerian for insomnia and neurosis can be used in tablets or as an infusion. It is a natural and practically harmless sleeping pill. For anxiety and stressful situations, valerian should be taken three times a day. In chronic insomnia, the drug accelerates falling asleep and has a positive effect on the quality characteristics of different phases of sleep. This natural sleeping pill for insomnia is enough to take once 30 minutes before bedtime. You can twice: in the evening and 30 minutes before going to bed. The optimal course of treatment is one month.
From herbal teas you can still drink chamomile or mint tea, children's tea with oregano. On sale you can find tea bags that are convenient to brew. Hop cones, cyanosis, hawthorn have a mild hypnotic effect and a moderate sedative effect. Such herbs are quite suitable for combating sleep disorders. You can combine in one complex several herbs that have complementary or unidirectional action. So the treatment of insomnia can be combined with the maximum benefit for the body.
Aromatherapy for sleep disorders
Some causes of insomnia in women can be successfully treatedaromatherapy. Don't forget to take a relaxing bath. Water treatments are best taken 15-30 minutes before bedtime, the temperature should not exceed 40 degrees Celsius. You can add a few drops of aromatic oil or a bag of herbal tea to the water. For aromatherapy, you can use essential oils of rosewood, basil, lemon balm, cypress or lavender. You can use a special aroma lamp.
OTC sleeping pills
In some cases, following general recommendations and taking natural remedies is not enough to get rid of sleep disorders. In this case, you can take herbal tablets to normalize sleep patterns. From insomnia on a nervous basis, Novopassit, Persen or Dormiplant help. Adult patients need to take one tablet three times a day (with an interval of 4-5 hours). After consulting with your doctor, the dosage can be increased. During treatment, you need to be careful when driving a car and performing other work that requires a quick reaction, attention and concentration.
"Persen" - a drug for insomnia, which is created entirely on a plant basis. It is better to purchase "Persen Night", designed specifically to combat insomnia, and not just light stress and nervousness. Take a tablet an hour before bedtime for 1-1.5 months. You can take Phenibut at night for insomnia associated with impaired functioning of the nervous system. Take the drug should be one tablet three times a day. It is advisable to drink a few minutes before meals and drink with a largequantity of drinking water.
Insomnia on the background of depression requires more serious measures. From among the potent drugs for home use, you can buy "Melaxen". This is a synthetic analogue of the human sleep hormone, which leads to rapid falling asleep. It is enough to take half or a whole tablet 30-40 minutes before going to bed. "Melaxen" can be used to prevent insomnia when flying between time zones.
The doctor may prescribe other pills that will help calm the nervous system and tune in to a he althy sleep. It is important that prescription drugs must be taken exactly according to the scheme proposed by the doctor. These are serious drugs, so violation of the recommendations is fraught with complications, side effects, addiction and similar problems.
Sleep music for insomnia
Many sleep-disordered patients benefit from music. The most common choice is classical music, which will help relieve tension after a hard day and help you fall asleep easily. You can choose such music for sleep from insomnia - the melodies of Tchaikovsky ("Evening Dreams") or Beethoven ("Moonlight Sonata"). But not everyone loves the classics, so you can stop at other music. Some prefer calm songs of foreign performers. Ignorance of the language allows you not to listen to the text, but simply relax.
Relaxation music helps with insomnia. These melodies have a specialrhythm, which helps to tune in to rest. To normalize sleep, usually 7-10 days of listening to such melodies is enough. When music therapy is combined with other methods of treatment, the therapeutic effect will come much faster. Sounds of nature for sleep are also a good choice. The sounds of the forest, the fire, the sound of the sea, the calm singing of birds help well. You can choose the sounds of nature for sleep that you like.
Not all cases of insomnia can be managed with home treatment. In 80% of patients suffering from sleep disorders, the disturbances are caused by mental or somatic diseases. This means that a comprehensive examination and treatment of the underlying pathology is required to solve the problem.
