If you are not sleeping through the night, or can’t fall asleep, or lie awake all night, you are suffering from a sleep disorder.
A middle-aged adult should get around eight hours of sleep a day. Sleep’s function is to rest. Insufficient sleep creates a lack of concentration and the possibility of accidents.
The following is a short list of some of these conditions:
- Insomnia
- Sleep Apnea
- Central Sleep Apnea
- Periodic Limb Movement Disorder
- Restless Leg Syndrome
- Narcolepsy
- Parasomnia
- Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorders
What causes insomnia?
- Psychiatric diseases like the disorders of anxiety and depression
- Inadequate sleep hygiene (taking naps, drinking caffeine and/or alcohol, rigorous physical activity before sleeping, irregular time of going to bed/waking up, being in bed for many hours, performing intellectual activities before bedtime, etc.)
- Rheumatic diseases, fibromyalgia, asthma, cardiac arrest, acid-reflex, gastric/duodenal ulcer
- Stimulating medicines, antidepressants, sedatives, or hypnotic suppressions
- Irregular sleeping pattern, rotating work schedule
How is insomnia treated? There are general measures that can be applied to all patients with insomnia:
- Spend less time in bed (if you wake up and can’t fall asleep, get up, don’t stay in bed)
- Avoid naps, tobacco, alcohol, and coffee
- Avoid rigorous exercise close to bedtime
- Avoid intellectual activity two hours before bedtime
- If you can’t fall asleep, get up and change places; only return to bed when you are tired
- Avoid large meals at night
Other measures include relaxation therapy, sleep restriction therapy, and psychotherapy.
- Pharmacy measures include a great variety of medications to treat the different types of insomnia. You should avoid taking “sleeping pills” without visiting your doctor.
- Other measures Since many diseases can cause insomnia (respiratory problems, heart problems, rheumatic diseases, digestive problems, sleep apneas, hormonal disorders, etc.), the treatment in these cases is directed to improve these conditions and hence the complaint of insomnia.
