Now, according to the National Institutes of Health, insomnia is a sleep disorder. In fact, it is a disorder in which people have a hard time falling asleep. Moreover, they may stay awake hours at a time. And, if they do fall asleep, they find it difficult to stay asleep. Or, if they do fall asleep, they wake up too early in the morning.
What is Insomnia
Most of all, there are many types of insomnia. For example, some people fall asleep right away. But they wake up soon after. On the other hand, other people retina specialist have a hard time falling asleep. But when they do fall asleep, they sleep for a very long time. Meanwhile, others have a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep.
Now, at some point in their lifetime, most people have difficulty falling asleep. However, it’s only when this problem occurs frequently or regularly that people are diagnosed as having insomnia.
In fact, studies show that, at some point in their lives, up to 95 percent of Americans suffer from bouts of insomnia. Furthermore, according to the American Sleep Association, thirty percent of adults report short term issues with insomnia, while ten percent report chronic insomnia.
Transient Insomnia
Meanwhile, transient insomnia is a temporary form of insomnia which may last anywhere from one night to several weeks. In fact, this temporary form of insomnia may be just one night of poor sleep. Or, it could be recurring episodes of insomnia while sleeping normally in between these episodes.
What Causes Insomnia
By the way, bad sleeping habits are one cause of insomnia. For example, these bad habits include:
- First, eating a heavy dinner just before it is time to sleep
- Or, drinking caffeinated beverages in the evening
- Next, falling asleep with the lights on
- Or, falling asleep while watching television
- Next, using a cell phone, computer, or tablet before bedtime
- Lastly, smoking
Also, other causes of insomnia include anxiety, depression, and stress, along with medications used to treat them. Furthermore, medical conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, asthma, chronic pain, COPD, endocrine problems, heart issues, Parkinson’s, sleep apnea, strokes, and thyroid problems also cause insomnia.
Remedies
So, if you are having difficulty sleeping, there are ways to get relief. Some of them are listed below.
- First, avoid doing office or other related work before bedtime.
- Second, avoid having, emotionally upsetting conversations before going to bed.
- Third, avoid watching scary movies before bedtime.
- Fourth, avoid reading thrilling novels just before you sleep.
- Next, give yourself a foot massage. In fact, a soothing, relaxing foot massage helps the body unwind, improves blood circulation, and helps relax nerves. And, these, in turn, will encourage restful sleep.
- Also, decompress before bed by taking a warm bath, listening to relaxing music, meditating, or reading a soothing book.
- In addition, keep your room quiet. For example, use a fan to drown out noise that you can’t control (such as street noise entering through the windows or a family member watching television in another room).
- Furthermore, make your bedroom as dark as possible. For example, use heavy shades to block all light entering the room.
- Meanwhile, too much alcohol can disrupt your sleep by interfering with your sleep cycle, causing you to wake up too early. In fact, too much alcohol blocks REM sleep.
- Next, if you must snack, eat easily digestible snacks before bedtime. For example, eat fruits, cheese, or cereal with milk.
- Because the food won’t have time to be digested, do not eat an hour before bedtime.
- Most of all get a cardio workout during the day.
- Also, avoid caffeine after two in the afternoon. Meanwhile, caffeine is found in many foods and drinks. Consequently, you need to be careful to avoid these items.
- In addition, physically put your clock in a place that makes it difficult for you to look at from your sleeping position.
- Furthermore, if you get too tired or stressed during the day, take a 20 minute or less nap in the afternoon.
- Next, remove all blue light emitting devices from the bedroom. For example, remove computer screens, cell phones, tablets, television, bright clocks, and others from the bedroom.
- Also stop smoking – Nicotine is a stimulant making it hard to fall and stay asleep. Studies show that nicotine increases insomnia, daytime sleepiness, and sleep problems. By the way, nicotine suppresses restorative rapid eye movement or REM sleep.
- Finally, Melatonin tablets may help. However, it’s best to see your health care provider to make sure it’s the right choice for you.
