Insomnia Is a sleep disorder in which you have trouble falling and/or staying asleep.
The condition can be short-term (acute) or can last a long time (chronic). It may also come and go. Acute insomnia lasts from 1 night to a few weeks. Insomnia is chronic when it happens at least 3 nights a week for 3 months or more.
Types of Insomnia
There are two types of insomnia: primary and secondary.
- Primary insomnia: This means your sleep problems aren’t linked to any other health condition or problem.
- Secondary insomnia: This means you have trouble sleeping because of a health condition (like asthma, depression, arthritis, cancer, or heartburn); pain; medication; or substance use (like alcohol).
Insomnia Causes
Causes of primary insomnia include:
- Stress-Related to big life events, like a job loss or change, the death of a loved one, divorce, or moving
- Things around you like noise, light, or temperature
- Changes to your sleep schedule like jet lag, a new shift at work, or bad habits you picked up when you had other sleep problems
Causes of secondary insomnia include:
- Mental health issues like depression and anxiety
- Medications for colds, allergies, depression, high blood pressure, and asthma
- Pain or discomfort at night
- Caffeine, tobacco, or alcohol use
- Hyperthyroidism And other endocrine problems
Other sleep disorders, like sleep apnea, restless legs syndromeInsomnia Risk FactorsInsomnia affects women more than men and older people more than younger ones. Young and middle-age African Americans also have a higher risk.
Other risk factors include:
- Long-term illness
- Mental health issues
- Working night shifts or shifts that rotate Insomnia Symptoms
Symptoms of insomnia include:
Problems with concentration or memory Insomnia Complications Our bodies and brains need sleep so they can repair themselves. It’s also crucial for learning and keeping memories. If insomnia is keeping you awake, you could have:
- Sleepiness During the day
- Fatigue
- Grumpiness
- A higher risk of health problems like high blood pressure,obesity, and depression
- A higher risk of falling, if you’re an older woman
- Trouble focusing
- Anxiety
- Grumpiness
Good sleep habits, also called sleep hygiene, can help you beat insomnia. Here are some tips:
- Go to sleep at the same time each night, and get up at the same time each morning. Try not to take naps during the day, because they may make you less sleepy at night.
- Don’t use phones or e-books before bed. Their light can make it harder to fall asleep.
- Avoid Caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol late in the day. Caffeine And nicotine are stimulants and can keep you from falling asleep. Alcohol can make you wake up in the middle of the night and hurt your sleep quality.
- Get regular exercise. Try not to work out close to bedtime, because it may make it hard to fall asleep. Experts suggest exercise at least 3 to 4 hours before bed.
- Don’t eat a heavy meal late in the day. But a lightsnake before bedtime may help you sleep.
- Make your bedroom comfortable: dark, quiet, and not too warm or too cold. If light is a problem, use a sleeping mask. To cover up sounds, try earplugs, a fan, or a white noise machine.
- Follow a routine to relax before bed. Read a book, listen to music, or take a bath.
- Don’t use your bed for anything other than sleep andsex.
- If you can’t fall asleep and aren’t drowsy, get up and do something calming, like reading until you feel sleepy.
- If you tend to lie awake and worry about things, make a to-do list before you go to bed. This may help you put your concerns aside for the night.
Homoeopathic Treatment
- Coffea Cruda: This remedy relieves sleeplessness with worries, overactive thoughts, and hypersensitivity to pain.
- Nux Vomica: This remedy relieves irritability, sleeplessness at 3 a.m., and digestive troubles associated with overindulgence in food, tobacco or alcohol.
- Silicea(also called Silica): This is a useful remedy for nervous people with low stamina who get too tired, then have insomnia. The person often goes to sleep at first, but awakens suddenly with a hot or surging feeling in the head – and finds it hard to fall asleep again. People Who need this remedy usually have anxious dreams, and some (especially children) sleepwalk frequently.
- Sulphur: This remedy may be helpful if insomnia comes from itching – or an increasing feeling of heat in bed, especially in the feet. The person is irritable and anxious, and often feels a need to throw the covers off. Lying awake between two and five a.m. is typical. Insomnia that develops because of a lack of exercise may also be helped with Sulphur.
- Staphysagria: This helps relieve physical symptoms, sleeplessness and irritability caused by grief, repressed anger or vexation.
- Cocculus: This remedy is often helpful to those who feel “too tired to sleep” after long-term sleep loss – from getting up with an infant, taking care of someone who is ill, a disruptive work schedule, travel and jet lag, or chronic worry and insomnia. The person may feel weak and dizzy, with trouble thinking, and may be sleepy, irritable, or tearful. IgnatiaIf insomnia is caused by emotional upset (grief or loss, a disappointment in love, a shock, or even an argument) this remedy may be helpful. The person is sensitive and nervous, and may often sigh and yawn in the daytime, but find it hard to relax at night. As the person tries to fall asleep, the arms and legs may twitch or itch. If sleep arrives, it is usually light, with jerking of the legs and arms, or long and troubling nightmares.
- Kaliphosphoricum: This remedy relieves physical and intellectual fatigue due to overexertion, with sleeplessness and headaches.
