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Alternative Medicines

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Cholesterol Basics

Diet Aids

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Fitness and Exercise

Gerd

Hair, Skin and Nails

Hair Loss

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IBS

How To Live Well

Insomnia

Lowering Cholesterol

Mumps

Nutrition

Pain

Safety

Smoking Cessation

Stress Reduction

Thyroid Health

Tick Bites

Vitamins  

How To Live Well With:  Insomnia

Insomnia is an annoyance to those who suffer from it, as well as a major factor in lost productivity in the workplace. Although it is not lethal, insomnia makes those afflicted feel as though they have entered another dimension. A much as 30-50% of the general population has experienced insomnia, and 10% of these people have chronic insomnia.

Insomnia is defined as "difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, or both.” Although most people know what insomnia is and have encountered it, few get medical treatment. Many maintain a stoic attitude and ignore the behavioural and medical options available. Insomnia affects all age groups, including children. Among older adults, insomnia affects women more often than men. It is, however, an age related condition that worsens, as we get older. Stress is often the initiating factor in short-term or acute insomnia. However, if left uncorrected, this may develop into chronic insomnia. Other causes of, or correlations with, insomnia include psychological problems including anxiety and depression, or physical causes which can vary from chronic pain, to congestive heart failure and chronic pulmonary disease to circadian rhythm disorders. There are occupational factors that can serve as risk factors to developing insomnia, such as shift work, night work, and travelling. High-risk groups include students, seniors, and menopausal women. Many asthmatics are at high risk for developing insomnia because of their medications, and high blood pressure medications are associated with sleep disruption. Lifestyle factors, such as stress, as mentioned before, and caffeine and alcohol consumption can also trigger insomnia.

            But what to do about insomnia? The first recommendation is to address lifestyle factors that could be potential causes. Limit or eliminate your caffeine intake, and remember that caffeine is not limited to coffee, but includes tea and nearly every soft drink. Alcohol, while it certainly looks like a good idea, actually is a serious promoter of sleep disturbance. A drink may enable a person initially to drift off to sleep, but within six hours, the alcohol is metabolised to a substance that is actually a stimulant. Many people wake six hours after ingesting alcohol with a profound inability to sleep. In addition, alcohol interferes with the normal process of deep or REM sleep, leaving the person less rested in the morning. This is also true of sleep inducing drugs, which may provide short-term relief, but may result in overall poor quality sleep.

What does seem to work against insomnia is getting back to the basics. For those whose insomnia is caused by circadian rhythm imbalance, taking the drug melatonin is highly successful. Melatonin is a hormone that regulates the day and night, sleep-wakefulness cycle in animals. Its release is triggered by sunlight and vitamin D. Many people have tried melatonin for insomnia, but if circadian rhythm imbalance is not the cause, it has little effect.

Another faddish supplement that has worked for some is the amino acid tryptophan, which promotes relaxation and is found in poultry meat. Unfortunately, the way to address sleeplessness lie in identifying and eliminating the causes, which is never as simple as gnawing a turkey leg before bedtime. In fact, the opposite is true. Many people report that they have better sleep quality when they limit their caloric intake severely in the hours before bedtime and eat only foods such as rice or oatmeal that are simply digested.

It is recommended that insomnia sufferers adopt a strict schedule whereby they eat several hours before bedtime and limit liquid intake one hour prior to bedtime. The bedroom or sleep chamber is to be reserved only for relaxation. No computers or televisions, please. Daily exercise, although not within 4 hours of bedtime, is a must. Relaxation techniques and self-hypnosis can be very effective in achieving sleep, and regaining it if awakened. If these life style changes do not work, it is necessary to seek the aid of a health professional that can prescribe sleep inducers for short-term relief and refer a mental health professional to explore the causes of chronic insomnia.