The Most Common Sleep Disorder: Insomnia Cures!

The Reasons Behind Insomnia and How to Cure It.

Insomnia is one of the most common sleep disorders which affect adults despite the fact that it is not a natural result aging. There are reasons behind insomnia and cure in order to overcome this problem. One suffers from insufficient hours of sleep at once in a night; on the other hand, these hours should be distributed over three periods or more every 24 hours. A nap is considered between 1 – 3 hours.

Most of us suffer from this problem and if it happens repeatedly, this will interfere with daily life pattern which may cause stress eventually and affect negatively the body energy, emotional balance and overall health. The good news is there are means which help dealing with this problem and displaying reasons behind it. Continue to read more to find out the signs, symptoms and reasons behind insomnia and what you can do to help yourself, and when it is necessary to call in for a doctor?

Reasons behind Insomnia and its’ cure

What is Insomnia?

People who suffer from interrupted sleeping sleep over different periods of time. One period of sleep lasts from 1-3 hours. Usually, the longest connected period of sleep occurs from 2am till 6am. People who suffer from interrupted sleeping are not considered deprived from sleep, on the other hand, they get sufficient amount of sleep but it is distributed along the 24 hours of the day. Thus, this means that instead of sleeping for 7 full hours, they get them on intermittent periods of time. If you are one of these people, you will have a group of problems such as insomnia and excessive drowsiness during the day.

The human body needs to sleep at night in order to create the physical, mental and behavioral changes. Melatonin is considered the hormone induced by the brain when the body is tired and it is induced more intensively at night. Moreover, it is necessary to regulate sleep periods and natural vigilance.

Reasons Behind Irregular Sleep:

The main reason behind irregular sleep is the semi absence of the biological hour which regulates vigilance and rest periods. Such individuals who do not have a daily routine schedule are more likely to suffer from irregular sleep syndrome.

Irregular sleep increases through aging, however, aging by itself is not a dangerous factor. On the other hand, what increases with aging such as medicine, nervousness and mental disorders contribute in developing this case. There are factors which are irrelevant and can cause disorder in regulated sleep and these factors include changes in day-night shifts at work and travelling to countries with different time zones.

The Medical Reasons Behind Irregular Sleep:

There are a group of common diseases which lead to irregular sleep such as heartburn, diabetes, heart and vessels diseases, bones and muscles disorder, kidney diseases, mental health issues, neurotic disorders,, respiratory system problems and thyroid diseases…etc.

• Heartburn:

When you lay in bed after having a heavy meal, you may not have regular sleep hours because one worries that GERD acid reflux will occur and cause heartburn. One can avoid such problem by abstaining from having heavy meals before sleep hours in addition to having coffee and tea to prevent repeated nightly bathroom visits.

• Diabetes:

Diabetes is one of the common and chronic disorders which lead to high levels of sugar on blood and this occurs when body cells do not respond appropriately to Insulin (Hormone induced by the Pancreas). When the Pancreas do not produce sufficient Insulin, it is hard to control levels of sugar in blood and this leads a group of problems which affects having a complete and regular period of sleep. These problems include night sweats, repeated urge to pee and pain which impedes sleep.

• Heart Diseases:

Gradual decrease in the heart ability to pump blood to the entire body results in liquid accumulation on lungs and tissues.  This forces heart patients to wake due to breathing difficulty which results from the accumulation of excessive liquids in body. These liquids accumulate badly when one lies in bed.  Using cochins to uplift the upper part of the body helps t face breathing difficulty which in return causes waking up at night, drowsiness during the day and aggravating heart failure. Eventually, irregular sleep leads to heart attack, chest pain and irregular heartbeats.

• Musculoskeletal Disorders:

Suffering from arthritis makes it difficult to sleep and irregular sleep results in insomnia. It is preferable at such cases that patients take anti-inflammatory aspirin to ease the pain and swelling of joints. Researchers have found that individuals who get irregular hours of sleep suffer from arthritis.

• Kidney Diseases:

Suffering from kidney disorders results in difficulty to dispose liquids and wastes. These wastes which accumulate in blood lead to irregular sleep and restless legs syndrome. However, researchers are not sure of the reason but kidney diseases do not generally cause discomfort during sleep.

• Frequent Urination During the Night:

Nightly urination is defined as the urge to urinate excessively during the night.  It is a common reason behind irregular sleep and mostly elders who suffer from this issue. In regular cases, frequent urination causes the patient to wake two times at night, on the other hand, in severe conditions, it causes the patient to wake from 5-6  times. Frequent urination could be due to aging or a group of other factors such as heart failure, diabetes, urinary tract infection, enlarged prostate, multiple sclerosis, respiratory failure and excessive liquid intake at night.

1. Thyroid disease:

Overactive thyroid gland causes a group of problems such as irregular sleep. It is one of the neurotic system disorders which result in sleep difficulty and night sweats which subsequently cause irritations at night. Feeling cold and drowsiness are distinctive features of thyroid disease. Thyroid gland affects every system in the body, thus, it has a wide group of symptoms and it can only be controlled by a doctor.

• Respiratory issues:

There are a group of changes related to the muscles which surround bronchial and result in bronchial contraction at night. The aforementioned increase the possibility of night asthma seizures which cause waking up at night and irregular hours of sleep. Respiratory difficulty makes it difficult to fall asleep and it preferable for patients of respiratory difficulty to avoid consuming many steroids and stimulants such as caffeine.

• Mental health disorders:

Most individuals suffer from depression and anxiety symptoms due to irregular sleep and the inability of sleep becomes a constant concern which results in losing more sleeping hours.  

• Anxiety:

When an individual Suffer from anxiety and constant disturbing emotions of worry and fear which could be intense or regular, this will form a real threat on an individuals’ life. Common symptoms of anxiety include irregular sleep periods.

• Panic attacks:

Panic attacks are defined as intense fears which are related to a special case and it rarely causes sleep problems. This condition results in the inability to sleep deeply and sleep disorders. Thus, this condition should be countered by using anti-anxiety medications.

• Depression:

There are 90% of individuals who are more likely to suffer from depression and irregular sleep since it is considered one of the main reasons behind depression. Research have found that individuals with depression face a difficulty to enter deep sleeping phase and spend a lesser time in this phase in comparison with other individuals’ sleeping hours.

• Schizophrenia

Individuals who have schizophrenia rarely get the specific amount of sleep connectedly. Thus, this leads to sleep difficulty and entering irregular phases of sleep.

1. Headaches:

Individuals who are more likely to suffer from headaches do not get many connected sleeping hours. Headaches and especially migraines cause changes in the size of blood vessels, thus, causing pain in blood vessels and this result in sleep difficulty.

How does the Doctor diagnose irregular sleep?

The doctor will ask the patient about their special sleeping habits lately. Moreover, the doctor will ask about current problems such as insomnia and excessive drowsiness during the day. The doctor may utilize medications which will help the patient to sleep in order to diagnose irregular sleep syndrome. Treatment will include specifying when the patient sleeps and the period of time he\she needs to sleep.

• Irregular Sleep Treatment:

Irregular sleep treatment includes adjusting a group of attitudes. Phototherapy is very effective in regulating sleep periods. There are different and effective means which help elderly demented patients who suffer from irregular sleep and vigilance. The treatment includes establishing a regular schedule of sleep and light exposure in order to run melatonin properly.

• Bright Phototherapy:

The human body suffering from irregular sleep responds to phototherapy and especially bright phototherapy. One should try to set up a room with bright light and the density should be higher (6000 lux from 30-60 minutes).  This is necessary to accomplish intense transformation phase. The timing of phototherapy is crucial because it affects the degree of period transformation. For instance, exposure to phototherapy at an early hour at night delays a period, while if it is applied at the early morning, it induces early vigilance.

• Boosting Environmental Stimulants:

  This treatment is considered an important part to cure disorders and irregularities of sleep. This is accomplished through encouraging individuals to keep the room dark and quite during the night while keeping it well lit after waking up. It is advisable to keep away from bright light at night and applying normal hours for eating and other activities.

• Improving lifestyle:

It implies staying up late at night and having meals at a late hour. Moreover, some individuals perform some activities at night which result in irregular and interrupted sleep.

• Consulting the Doctor:

One can consult the specialist physician to control irregular sleep disorder and they are as follows:

• Sleep medicine specialist.
• Neurotic diseases physician.
• Psychiatrist.
• Lung diseases physician.

• Adjusting the Dietary System:

Night eating disorder leads to irregular sleep problems and the inability to maintain sleep for a long period of time at night.  Patients who suffer from irregular sleep and the inability to go back to sleep in addition to abstaining from eating and drinking. Dietary recommendation includes limiting the consumption of large meals and avoiding excessive liquids before sleeping time. These are recommendations which will help improving sleep and avoiding obesity at the same time.