Table of contents:
- What is insomnia?
- Various causes of insomnia that you don't expect
- 1. You have a different sleep schedule on weekdays and weekends
- 2. You sleep too early
- 3. You don't have a bedtime routine
- 4. Too much coffee all day
- 5. Get out of bed when you wake up in the middle of the night
- 6. Too restless in the middle of the night
- 7. Busy playing gadgets before bed
- 8. Too worried about not having much time to sleep
- 9. Feeling the need to sleep a full 8 hours
- 10. Suffering from chronic pain
- 11. Effects of drugs
- 12. Mental health conditions
- 13. Allergies
- 14. Restless legs syndrome
- 15. Worms
Do you always find it difficult to fall asleep, no matter how tired you are all day at work? Or do you often wake up in the middle of the night and lie awake for hours, staring at the dark ceiling of the house? Insomnia is a common problem that drains your energy, mood, fitness, and ability to move for the next day. Chronic insomnia can even cause serious health problems.
What is insomnia?
A person with insomnia finds it difficult to fall asleep at night and / or stay asleep throughout the night.
Insomnia is the inability to get the amount of sleep you need to wake up in the morning feeling refreshed and energized. Because different people sleep differently, insomnia is defined by the quality of your sleep and how you feel when you wake up in the morning - not the number of hours you sleep or how quickly you fall asleep at night. Even if you spend 8 hours asleep, if you feel sleepy and tired during the day, you may experience insomnia.
These sleep disorders also vary in how long the episodes last and how often they occur; short term (acute insomnia) or long lasting (chronic insomnia). These disorders can also come and go, even when you don't have trouble sleeping. Acute insomnia can last from one night to several weeks, while chronic insomnia lasts at least three nights in a week and lasts for a month or more.
Various causes of insomnia that you don't expect
Many of us can recall a time when our deep sleep plans occasionally turned to staying up late in the middle of the night when caught up in the stress of routine. However, there are a number of other causes of insomnia. Learn what causes you to wake up in the middle so you can finally get the sleep you need.
Here are some reasons you may not have realized it before:
1. You have a different sleep schedule on weekdays and weekends
Your body needs consistency. If you keep the same sleep schedule during the week, but are used to going to bed late on the weekends, don't expect to fall asleep on time to your normal Sunday night. This habit is dubbed "social jet lag" by experts, because you are effectively forcing your body to switch between two different time zones every week.
2. You sleep too early
Reporting from Reader's Digest, ninety percent of insomniacs sleep too early than their usual schedule. As ineffective as it may sound, staying awake for a little longer sends a signal to your body's homeostatic system that you need more sleep. So, when you do sleep, you'll fall asleep faster.
In cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), your doctor will often start with your morning wake-up time, then count backward 6-7 hours. For example, suppose you wake up at 5:30 a.m., which means your bedtime is around 11:30 a.m. Limiting your sleep time sends a message to your body that you are more active and need sleep when you try.
3. You don't have a bedtime routine
Often times, once you feel tired after a long day of activities, you tend to fall asleep right away without any preparation to save more sleep. What we don't realize is that a little routine at bedtime turns out to be useful for preparing the body to rest.
One hour before bedtime, spend the first 20 minutes solving the 'homework' debt that needs to be done (e.g. replying to work emails, getting clothes ready for the next day) and the next 20 minutes getting you ready for bed (wash your face, brush your teeth, change your nightgowns) ). For the last 20 minutes, do something that can calm your body and mind, such as light yoga, meditation, or reading a book while accompanied by a glass of warm milk. After the 60 minutes are up, turn off the lights and go to sleep.
4. Too much coffee all day
It's no secret that caffeine keeps you awake, but many people mistakenly think stimulants don't have any effect on them. In fact, caffeine has a half-life of up to 8-10 hours (meaning that half the 'serving' of caffeine from your last cup of coffee is still in your system in the 8-10 hours thereafter), so drinking too much coffee at the end of the day may inadvertently hold you back sleep well. What's more, the body's metabolism of caffeine will slow down even more with age. Your body can't process caffeine as efficiently as it did in your early 20s, so the same amount of caffeine that didn't have any effect on your body at first is starting to take its true effects.
5. Get out of bed when you wake up in the middle of the night
When you wake up at night, it's best to stay in bed and don't walk away. If you feel relaxed and calm, it's okay to just lie down for a moment waiting to fall asleep again. You can work around this by trying to count down from 100 to induce drowsiness, rather than getting out of bed feeling frustrated, which will only invigorate your body.
6. Too restless in the middle of the night
If you wake up in the middle of sleep feeling anxious and filled with hundreds of thoughts running back and forth in your image, it's better to get out of bed. But, what really determines how well you rest is what you do afterward. Stay away from things that stimulate the body, such as checking email or tweeting about your insomnia. Choose activities that you enjoy, such as knitting or continuing to read your favorite fun novel, to help minimize the anxiety that is often felt by insomniacs.
7. Busy playing gadgets before bed
Remember the tips for creating one simple bedtime routine? So, for the restful sleep you've been dreaming of, don't include playing on your cellphone or laptop into your sleep routine. While watching TV for a while before bed is considered helpful for some people, activities that involve interaction - replying to emails, playing Facebook, tweeting, or simply chatting before bed - will prevent your brain from resting and can trigger insomnia symptoms.
8. Too worried about not having much time to sleep
If you keep watching the clock running before bed, you will quickly calculate how much time you have until you have to wake up in the morning. This will make you more anxious and restless, as well as increase the production of adrenaline and cortisol, hormones that keep you alert and will interfere with your restful sleep.
9. Feeling the need to sleep a full 8 hours
Adults generally do not need and do not get eight hours of sleep each night.
Some people need nine hours of sleep a night, but don't get it because they feel it is too long, while some others include people who can sleep for only six hours, but feel not enough. If you can wake up in the morning without an alarm and don't feel lethargic later, then you're probably getting the right amount of sleep for you.
10. Suffering from chronic pain
Any condition that keeps you trapped in discomfort can disturb the rest of your sleep. Arthritis, low back or back pain, acid reflux disorders, fibromyalgia, and many other chronic pains can keep you up at night. What's more, losing the amount of sleep can make the pain worse.
11. Effects of drugs
Medicines used to treat a variety of conditions, from high blood pressure, the common cold and flu, to asthma can cause insomnia as a side effect. Even if you have limited your coffee consumption during the day so as not to disrupt your night's sleep, some medicines can contain caffeine or other stimulants. Various drugs are known to disrupt sleep quality, ranging from inhibiting REM sleep, blocking melatonin production, destroying natural levels enzymes or other pathways in the body. Fortunately, many drug alternatives cause little disruption to your sleep, so talk to your doctor if you are on certain medications and complain of having trouble sleeping.
12. Mental health conditions
Underlying mental health problems can often affect a person's sleep patterns, for example clinical anxiety disorder or depression which can cause anxiety and anxiety that consistently interferes with your sleep. The bad news is that if you have an anxiety disorder, worrying about your sleep patterns can make it even more difficult for you to sleep well. Additionally, some people who have depression may also sleep too much.
There are several other health conditions that can affect sleep, including bipolar disorder, PTSD, panic disorder, and schizophrenia.
13. Allergies
Reporting from the Huffington Post, red eyes and itching and congestion can interfere with a person's sleep quality consistently. In fact, about 59 percent of people who have respiratory allergies report experiencing sleep disturbances due to symptoms that arise. A 2006 study suggests that sleep disorders and allergies may have a role, because people with allergies are twice as likely to suffer from sleep disorders, such as insomnia. Experts say that adherence to rules about good sleep hygiene (a dark, cool and quiet bedroom, keeping electronics out of the bedroom) and allergy symptom alleviation tricks (showering before bed, changing bed sheets and pillowcases regularly) are key to allergy symptoms. sleep well with allergies.
14. Restless legs syndrome
Restless leg syndrome, aka RLS, causes uncomfortable sensations in the legs that can be very difficult, preventing the sufferer from falling asleep. Even when this condition has been treated, complaints of difficulty sleeping at night still persist. A potential cause of this condition may be due to abnormally high levels of a neurotransmitter involved in increased arousal, called glutamate, in people with RLS.
15. Worms
Pinworm infection is a very common type of infection, where the tiny pinworms invade the intestines and multiply inside. Most people do not experience serious complications from this condition. In rare cases, intestinal worms can sometimes cause bladder tract infections in women. Pinworms can also travel from the anus to the vagina, affecting the uterus, fallopian tubes, and other pelvic organs. Vaginitis, endometrics (inflammation of the uterine wall), or other infections can also occur as a result. A large number of worms in the intestines can also cause stomach upset. As a result of this chronic pain and discomfort, a person can experience insomnia.