Can’t sleep?

Understanding insomnia and its symptoms. 

Insomnia is the inability to get the amount of sleep you need in order to wake up feeling refreshed and rested. 

It is defined by the personal needs of each person, and how you awake feeling. 

It is not the number of hours that you sleep, or how quickly you doze off. 

Even if you are spending eight hours a night in bed, if you feel drowsy and fatigued during the day, you may be experiencing insomnia.

So, what are the symptoms of insomnia?

Symptoms of insomnia can include any or all the following:

·       Difficulty falling asleep, despite being tired

·       Trouble getting back to sleep when waking up during the night

·       Waking up too early in the morning

·       Not feeling refreshed after sleep

·       Relying on sleeping tills or alcohol to fall asleep

·       Daytime drowsiness, fatigue or irritability

·       Difficulty concentrating during the day
 

Common causes of insomnia

How long does insomnia last? 

It can range from a few nights and can resolve on its own, this is usually caused by stress, anxiety and depression, other causes can be emotional and psychological causes, including chronic or significant life changes, stress, anger, worry, grief, bipolar disorder, and trauma.

Some medical problems and illness can contribute to insomnia, including asthma, allergies, Parkinson’s disease, hyperthyroidism, acid reflux, kidney disease and cancer. 

Chronic pain is also a very common cause of insomnia.

Also some prescription drugs can interfere with sleep, including some antidepressants, stimulants for ADHD, corticosteroids, thyroid hormone, high blood pressure medications and also some contraceptives. 

Common over the counter culprits include cold and flue medications that contain alcohol, pain relievers that contain caffeine, i.e. Midol, Excedrin, diuretics and slimming tablets.

Insomnia is in itself a sleep disorder, but it can also be a symptom of other sleep disorders, including sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome and circadian rhythm disturbances tied to jet lay or late-night shift work.

It is important to identify all possible causes of your insomnia, including things that you are doing during the day and leading up to bedtime. 

Some common causes are;

Watching TV, playing video games, use of a computer tablet or smartphone in bed. 

Exercising or eating late in the evening, using blue screens late. 

It is important that once defining the cause of your sleeplessness, that you change them. 

Exercise and meals should be eaten prior to 7pm, use of caffeine should be stopped by 3pm. 

In order to define what is attributing to your sleep deprivation, it is really useful to keep a sleep diary. 

Some habits are so ingrained that you may not even consider them part of the problem. 

For example, using a computer, television or any blue screen devises can cause sleep problems and you may not have associated these with sleeplessness.

So, we have discussed what not to do, and in my next blog I will give you the things that are really helpful to get a good night sleep. 

Look out for my next blog, next week.

Signing off now.

Yvette Allen