There are times where you find it hard to fall asleep. Especially if you had a great time out with your friends, binge-watch your favorite movie or TV series, or after a great cup of coffee. There are episodes where your body clock is adjusting due to a new time at work or travel. Those are normal instances in life that may affect our sleeping pattern or habit. But if you keep on tossing left and right in bed not just for hours but for days, or it started having a pattern of episodes then it must be Insomnia. And visiting insomnia clinics are the best option.
A Night Owl’s Curse
Insomnia, as we all know, is a sleep problem or disorder. It makes people hard to sleep, find sleep and have longer sleep. Having a sleeping dilemma affects our everyday routine and life in general. It’s like a curse! Although your sleeping problems are not permanent, for some it becomes a habit.
There is this short-term sleeping disorder that is something due to stress or fatigue that doesn’t last long. It can normally take days or weeks before your sleeping habit becomes normal again.
And there is also this ongoing or a long-term sleeping problem called chronic insomnia. This is normally caused by health issues, physical pain, anxiety, or depression.
Common Symptoms
Although insomnia symptoms may vary per person the following are the common signs of people experiencing sleeping problems:
- Having difficulty in sleeping or finding sleep for a couple of hours.
- Having trouble in going back to sleep after waking up in the middle of the night.
- Waking up too early.
- Feeling fatigued or tired.
- Having a bad mood, anxious or feeling sleepy during the day.
At any point that you have these symptoms, you should seek professional help in order to fix your sleeping problems and prevent them from happening again.
Non-Medical and Medical Treatments for Insomnia
Bear in mind that humans can only last for 11 days without sleep and more than that can lead to your deathbed. So why need to go that far if you can solve it today? Sleep is one of the major requirements of a human body for survival. Therefore, SLEEP is LIFE.
There is the behavioral and psychological approach that can be used in order to properly treat insomnia. Most of these techniques can be done at home or others may opt to seek help from a sleep disorder specialist or therapist.
- Relaxation Approach – this approach teaches the patient to relax the body muscles while lying in bed until they feel calm and slowly drift off to sleep. Other relaxation methods are meditation, breathing exercise, mind, and body relaxation technique, and guided imagery for relaxation. Some may listen to music or sound recordings in order to help them get to sleep faster and fall back to sleep in case they wake up at night.
- Think Healthy – Having a healthy mindset is one way of being able to cope easily with life’s situations or problems. The CBT or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy uses a counseling approach that helps patients to understand why they are having difficulty in sleeping and guiding them on what to do in order to avoid it from happening. This therapy helps patients let go or get rid of negative thoughts or fears around them during their sleeping time.
- Embrace Change – this involves the change in your lifestyle or daily routine. Like the change in your bedtime schedule and/or sleeping area, being mindful or cautious of the time and the quality of what you eat and drink, consider having an active lifestyle like having a regular morning walk or visit the gym.
Other insomnia patients rather take medical treatments because it is what their doctor suggests or it is what works for them. These are prescription and over-the-counter medications that are approved to treat insomnia. But before you choose such medical insomnia treatment drugs, consult first with your insomnia treatment, Rockville specialists or any treatment centers around your area. Medication depends on the symptoms and health condition a patient may have therefore it is not advisable to just jump to your nearest drug store and purchase such oral medications.
Common medicines that help with sleeping problems are antidepressants which have a calming effect and can help patients fall asleep and antihistamines which are normally used to treat certain allergies but can contribute in providing a sleepy effect.
Remember to always talk to a sleeping disorder specialist or therapist in order to be provided with the right treatment and solution to your sleeping problems.
