Love listening to music at night? or reading a book at night is your favorite hobby? Have you ever wondered is it your hobby or you might be suffering from a sleep disorder?

Can this hobby of yours cause you mental health issue or cancer?

Read this article to know about sleep disorder or bad sleeping habits.

What exactly is Insomnia?

Insomnia is a common sleep disorder which includes an inability to go to sleep, waking up too early, or feeling tired after sleep for at least three nights a week for three months.

Long-term insomnia makes it difficult to achieve routine tasks like going to work or school and taking care of yourself. Insomnia can lead to the development of other health problems, such as depression, heart disease, and strokes.

Did you know? In India, More than 10 million cases are insomnia every year.

What are the types of Insomnia?

• Acute Insomnia happens because of life circumstances for example when you can’t fall asleep the night before an exam or after receiving stressful or bad news. Many people may have experienced this type of passing sleep disorder, and it tends to resolve without any treatment.

• Chronic Insomnia can occur by changes in the environment, unhealthy sleep habits, shift work, other clinical disorders, and certain medications. People with chronic insomnia get benefits from some form of treatment to help them and get back to healthy sleep patterns. Chronic insomnia can be linked to another medical or psychiatric issue, although sometimes it’s difficult to understand this cause and effects.

• Comorbid Insomnia has psychiatric symptoms such as anxiety and depression are known to be related to changes in sleep. Some medical conditions can cause insomnia as in the case of arthritis or back pain, which may make it hard to sleep.

What causes can get you Insomnia?

Bad sleeping habits can cause you many health issues like chronic stress, cancer and many more. Insomnia can cause these following health issues:

• major life stress for example  job loss, the death of a loved one, divorce, moving
• Illness
• Emotional or physical discomfort
• Environmental factors are like noise, light, or excessive temperatures that interfere with sleep
• Some medications for example used to treat colds, allergies, depression, high blood pressure, and asthma may interfere with sleep
• Interferences in normal sleep schedule like jet lag or switching from a day to night shift
• Depression and anxiety
• Pain or discomfort at night
• Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
• Neurological (brain) disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease
• Arthritis, asthma
• The trouble with hormones, including thyroid problems
• Gastrointestinal disorders, such as heartburn
• Other sleep disorders like restless legs syndrome (RLS)
• Menopause symptoms, such as hot flashes

Who is likely to become an insomniac?

Anyone can get insomnia but it mostly affects women compared to men.

FACT: More than one in four women suffers from insomnia, compared than one in five men. 

According to the study, women of all ages reported worse sleep quality than men including taking longer to fall asleep, sleeping for shorter periods of time and feeling sleepier when awake.

Why most women suffer from insomnia?

Women experience unique hormonal changes that can cause insomnia symptoms. That is why; women may be more likely to have insomnia than men.

These include hormonal changes when the menstrual cycle, especially in periods. Moreover, women who have premenstrual Dysphoric disorder (PMDD) are more likely to become an insomniac.

Pregnancy is also a reason for insomnia for women especially in the third trimester, when women may wake up often because of discomfort, leg cramps, or needing to use the bathroom.

During menopause, hot flashes and night sweats can disturb sleep.

 Insomnia during pregnancy

Insomnia is common in pregnancy, especially in the first and third month.

Irregular hormones, nausea, and an increased need to urinate are some of the changes that may keep you awake in pregnancy.

You may also face emotional stress, such as anxiety about the increasing responsibilities as a mother. Pain, cramps and back discomfort may also keep you awake.

Your body experiences many changes like an active metabolism and increases in progesterone to contain the new life growing in you.

Lifestyle changes that may help include:

• keeping active during your pregnancy
• maintaining a healthy diet
• staying well-hydrated
• maintaining a consistent sleep schedule
• if you have anxiety taking a warm bath before bedtime

NOTE: Consult your doctor about any new exercise, routines, medications, or supplements. You have to ensure that they are safe for someone who’s pregnant.

What are the symptoms of Insomnia?

• Difficulty falling asleep at night

• Waking up during the night

• Waking up too early

• Not feeling well-rested after a night’s sleep

• Daytime tiredness or sleepiness

• Irritability, depression or anxiety

• Difficulty paying attention and focusing on tasks

• Increased errors or accidents

• Ongoing worries about sleep

Insomnia in adults and teens

These days most teenagers are insomniacs. Wondered why? They are constantly living on their phones without being aware of what’s happening in real life around them.

Teenager’s bodies require more sleep than a grown adult as they are in their developmental stages. When the natural sleep cycle is disturbed then symptoms related to insomnia occur in the short-term or the long-term depending upon the type of insomnia.

Insomnia symptoms may occur in teenagers physically, psychologically or environmentally, including:

• Poor habits
• Poor diet
• Lack of guidance
• Assertion of independence
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Stress
• Changes associated with moving or home life
• Sleep disorders which including restless leg syndrome and sleep apnea.

Insomnia symptoms in teens are more common than you might think. But the most disturbing part of insomnia is depression.

The National Sleep Foundation surveyed teenagers on sleep and discovered that nearly half of those teens were in the stage of “depression”. In addition, they get stressed on a regular basis.

Depression is a harmful disease of epidemic proportions and can be a huge factor of insomnia.

Teen symptoms of insomnia and sleep deprivation are given below:

• inability in sleep, stay asleep or waking too early in the morning
• Irritability
• Aggressive
• Severe moodiness
• Feel constantly tired
• Binge eating or loss of appetite
• Lack of concentration
• Clumsiness
• absenteeism at school and/or on a job

Is insomnia a curable disease?

Yes, it is curable for probably 75 to 80 percent of the people who are suffering from insomnia. Sleep experts shared that curing insomnia takes work and commitment on the part of the individual.

Sleep hygiene and meditation have always been deeply connected. Sleep is important, but the regular practice of meditation has been shown to be more effective than sleep alone.

Treatment and Diagnosis of Insomnia

Sleep hygiene training may also be optional because sometimes, behaviors that interfere with sleep cause insomnia. Sleep hygiene training can help you change some of these disorderly behaviors.

Your doctor can talk to you about what treatments might be suitable for you. You also may need to try a number of different treatments before finding the one that’s most useful for you.

In order to arrive at a diagnosis for insomnia, your doctor will ask questions about your:

• medical conditions
• social environment
• psychological or emotional condition
• sleep history

This information can help them to determine the original causes of your sleep problems. You might be asked to:

• keep a sleep log
• record when you fall asleep
• note the instances when you wake up repeatedly
• regularly report what time you wake up

Medication for Insomnia

Sometimes medication is also used to treat insomnia. Medications in insomnia have long term side effects so it’s important to consult a doctor before starting yourself any medicine for insomnia.

Some prescription medications that may be used to treat insomnia include:

• eszopiclone (Lunesta)
• zolpidem (Ambien)

Consult with your doctor before using any medications or supplements to treat your insomnia.

Home remedies to treat your Insomnia

You can also treat your insomnia by home remedies if you don’t want to take pills or any medicines.

Warm milk, herbal tea, and valerian are the natural sleep aids you can try.

You can also try these following tips:

Meditation

Meditation is a natural, easy, medicine-free method for treating insomnia. According to the study of the National Sleep Foundation, meditation can help to improve the quality of your sleep. And meditation keeps you out from these health issues:

• stress
• anxiety
• depression
• digestive problems
• pain

Melatonin

Melatonin is a hormone which is naturally produced by the body during the sleep period. People often take melatonin supplements for improving their sleep.

Studies are questionable about melatonin can actually help to treat insomnia in adults. According to research, melatonin supplements may slightly decrease the time it takes you to fall asleep but more research is needed.

Melatonin is generally safe for a short time period, but its long-term safety has yet to be confirmed.

Essential oils

Essential oils are strongly perfumed liquids that are made from a variety of plants, flowers, and trees. People treat themselves in a variety of conditions by inhaling oils or massaging them into the skin. This practice called aromatherapy.

Essential oils that help you to sleep are given below:

• Roman chamomile
• cedarwood
• lavender
• sandalwood
• neroli, or bitter orange

According to a study, aromatherapy is beneficial in promoting sleep. Lavender is especially useful in promoting and sustaining sleep. The mixture of essential oils reduced sleep disturbance and increased good sleeping habits in adults. Essential oils don’t cause any side effects when it used as directed.

Healthy sleeping tips to treat Insomnia

Poor sleep causes negative effects on your hormones, exercise performance, and brain function. It can also cause you weight gain and increase disease risk in both adults and children.

Good sleep can help you eat less, exercise better and stay healthier. In nowadays sleep quality and quantity have declined.

If you want to keep your health fit or lose weight, then getting a good night’s sleep is one of the most important things you can do. Switch to these healthy sleeping tips to prevent yourself from insomnia:

• Increase bright light exposure during the day
• Reduce blue light exposure in the evening
• Don’t consume caffeine late in the day
• Reduce irregular or long daytime naps
• Try to sleep and wake at regular time
• Take a melatonin supplement
• Don’t drink alcohol
• Optimize your bedroom environment
• Set your bedroom temperature
• Don’t eat late in the evening
• Relax your mind in the evening
• Take a relaxing bath or shower
• Rule out a sleep disorder
• Get a comfortable bed, mattress and pillow
• Exercise regularly but not before bed
• Don’t drink any liquids before bed

Summary

Insomnia is not just an irritation or a small inconvenience. It is a real sleep disorder that can be treated.

You can treat yourself by healthy sleeping tips or by medications. Meditation is also a good option to treat insomnia.

But start any medications please consult your doctor first.

• Tags:  
• Insomnia in pregnancy
• healthy sleeping tips

Mahima Kumar