subject: Treatments For Insomnia - Disorder Or Simply Stressed? [print this page] "Slept well?" This is one of the most common questions you ask your partner or children in the morning. It is a recognition of the importance of a good nights sleep.
But what is insomnia?
This is the definition that "The National Institutes of Health" in the US has of insomnia " ...complaints of disturbed sleep in the presence of adequate opportunity and circumstance for sleep".
To put it in simple words: you have a bed waiting for you, and you have nothing else that demands your attention, but you still find it difficult to fall asleep. Maybe you do fall asleep but wake up far too early.
To find an insomnia cure it is helpful to get a rough idea what is the basic cause. Having a bad night now and then is not the same as insomnia.
Everyone will have the occasional sleepless night. Maybe we stay up watching a favourite football game, drinking beer, or we are waiting for a late flight, sitting in a caf drinking coffee.
Disrupting your normal day/night cycle will cause a disruption in your sleep. That's not a problem, it's a temporary setback.
You do need to asses your problems more in depth if you have trouble with more frequent or severe sleep disruptions. It is helpful to try to find out why you sleep badly - might there be an easily pinpointed cause of sleeping disorder, that prevents you falling asleep?
Some medications, or shift working, not to mention basic things like having coffee late at night? Maybe your house is close to a busy railway or highway?
One reason can be you suffer from sleep apnea because you're overweight - what this means your body doesn't get enough air because you snore!
Your brain will then shout to you "wake up or choke to death!".
Diabetes or high blood pressure are other physical conditions that can be a cause of sleeplessness and insomnia.
Having said this, it is more common to find the causes of insomnia in the way your mind works.
Money worries, or relationship problems, will not help you to wind down in the evening.
This is the reason experts in sleep medicine always advocate the "simple" method of learning to "wind down" before bedtime.
Here are some relatively simple ideas to look at: practise yoga, learn to meditate, make sure your bedroom is dark and quiet - these are all things that will make it easier for you to get into the right state of mind for sleep.
Simple things like these may well be all you need to cure your insomnia, unless your sleep disorder is really severe.
