Insomnia
Sleep is very essential to us as food, air and water are. Many people experience difficulty sleeping at sometime in their lives. Sleeping problems are common experienced by women (especially menopausal), the ill, the elderly, smokers, and alcoholics however anyone can be a victim. Even though it’s not an ailment and it’s no way life-threatening, insomnia can really be very distressing, exhausting, frustrating, and depressing.
Insomnia is characterized by difficulty in initiating and/or maintaining sleep for a reasonable period. This term is used to indicate any and all stages and types of sleep loss. Although it’s not a disorder, it is believed to be a symptom.
The following are the different types of insomnia:
- Sleep Onset Insomnia or Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome is occurs when there is a delay in the major sleep episode in relation to the desired clock time consequently resulting to difficulties in awakening at the desired time.
- Idiopathic Insomnia occurs due to an abnormality of the neurological control of the sleep-wake system. This type of insomnia is a lifelong incapability of getting inadequate sleep, commonly beginning in early childhood.
- Psychophysiological Insomnia occurs mainly because of a resulting somatized tension (anxiety is transformed into physical symptoms) and discovered sleep-preventing association that somehow results into such.
- Childhood Insomnia or Limit-Setting Sleep Disorder is primarily a childhood characterized by the inadequate enforcement of bedtimes that had been made habitual by refusal to go to bed on appropriate times.
- Food Allergy Insomnia occurs as a result of an allergic response to food allergens. This type of insomnia is typically associated with the introduction of a new food or drink.
- Environmental Insomnia or Environmental Sleep Disorder is caused by disturbing environmental factor.
- Transient Insomnia or Adjustment Sleep Disorder is a temporary sleep disturbance related to acute stress, conflict or environmental change resulting to emotional agitation.
- Periodic Insomnia or the Non 24-Hour Sleep-Wake Syndrome is a chronic (long-term) steady pattern consisting of 1-2 hour daily delays in sleep onset and wake times.
- Altitude Insomnia is a type of insomnia that is accompanied by headaches, loss of appetite, and fatigue occurring mainly after an ascent to high altitudes.
- Hypnotic-Dependency Insomnia or Hypnotic-Dependent Sleep Disorder is characterized by insomnia or excessive sleepiness associated with tolerance to or withdrawal from hypnotic medications.
- Stimulant-Dependent Sleep Disorder is representative by a reduction of sleepiness or suppression of sleep through central stimulants consequently resulting to alterations in wakefulness following drug abstinence.
- Alcohol-Dependent Insomnia or Alcohol-Dependent Sleep Disorder occurs with the assistance of initiation of sleep onset through the sustained ingestion of alcohol used for its hypnotic effect.
- Toxin-Induced Sleep Disorder occurs because of poisoning with heavy metals or organic toxins and that results to insomnia or excessive sleepiness.
Even with the complexity insomnia, the good news about it is that you can cure yourself however you must be prepared to make some changes in your lifestyle in order to sleep better. Here are some tips on how to prevent or completely halt insomnia:
- Environment – a comfortable bed and a room that’s quiet, warm and dark enough would be best and free yourself with noise.
- Lifestyle – exercise regularly, cut down on stimulants and other anxiety-oriented routines.
- Relaxation – learn a relaxation exercise and free your mind from day-to-day activities.
- Self Confidence – do anything that would increase your self-confidence.
- Food and drink – have a healthy diet and cut-down on rich-food (carbo-rich), caffeine and alcohols.
- Sleeping Pills – try a medication advised by your physician.
- Anger – bottling up anger can influence mind and feelings hence causing you to become disturbed, addressing anger properly and systematically releasing it can help settle down your mind.
- Imagination games – stimulating your mind and visualizing yourself into your bed are one of the effective things to battle insomnia.
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