insomnia | The PrimAGE

Worried About Your Sleepless Nights?

4 min read

Do you toss and turn all night, only to wake up feeling exhausted? Do you rely on caffeine to get through your days? You're not alone. In fact, 1 in 3 adults reports struggling with some sleep issue.

It can be challenging to get enough sleep if you can't fall asleep or wake up frequently during the night. And when you're not rested, it can affect your mood, energy levels, and overall health.

Are You at Risk for Sleepless Disorder? What are the Potential Causes?

If you find yourself tossing and turning at night, if you wake up feeling exhausted instead of rested, you may be at risk for sleepless disorder. The sleepless disorder can have many causes:

1. Stress

Your cortisol levels are high in the morning and gradually decrease throughout the day. But if your cortisol levels stay high all day, you may have trouble sleeping at night. This is because cortisol can keep you awake and interfere with your sleep cycle. Too much cortisol can also lead to anxiety and stress.

2. Physical issues

Physical issues such as body pain can keep you awake by causing discomfort and disrupting your sleep patterns. Suffering from body pain can make it tough to get a good night's sleep. You toss and turn, trying to find a comfortable position, but nothing seems to help. You wake up feeling groggy and unrested, which can make it difficult to get through your day.

3. Medical problems

If you’re an asthma sufferer, you may be at risk for a sleepless disorder. That’s the finding of a study that suggests people with asthma are twice as likely to suffer from insomnia. The study didn’t determine why asthma is linked to sleeplessness, but the researchers speculate that airway inflammation caused by the condition may lead to difficulty sleeping. Other potential medical issues that cause sleeplessness disorder include sleep apnea and menopause.

4. Mental health disorders

It's not just the physical act of sleeping that's crucial to our health – our mental health is just as important. And when that's out of balance, it can have a significant impact on our daily lives. Unfortunately, mental health disorders like depression and anxiety are often accompanied by sleeplessness.

Another potential cause of the sleepless disorder is narcolepsy, a neurological disorder that causes people to fall asleep suddenly and without warning.

5. Night shift

If you work a rotating or night shift, you are at risk for a sleepless disorder. Working these shifts can disrupt your body's natural sleep-wake cycle. This can lead to problems sleeping at night and excessive sleepiness during the day.

6. On medication

Certain medications can disrupt the natural sleep-wake cycle, leading to difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. Examples of medications that can cause sleeplessness to include certain antidepressants, blood pressure medications, and allergy medications.

7. Alcohol

Alcohol can disrupt sleep patterns and make it difficult to fall and stay asleep. It can also lead to morning drowsiness, a condition that makes it hard to function during the day. Because alcohol can disrupt sleep and reduce REM sleep.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for sleep troubles. However, by understanding the causes of your sleep problems, you may be able to find a better way to address them.

Don't Let Sleeping Problems Keep You Up at Night: a Good Night's Sleep Solutions at Home

One of the best ways to improve your sleep is to create a bedtime routine.

Make sure to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.
Avoid watching television or working on the computer in bed.
Winding down for 30 minutes before bed by reading or listening to calming music.
Get plenty of exercise during the day, but avoid strenuous activity within three hours of bedtime.
Avoid caffeine and alcohol before bedtime, and don’t eat large meals within two hours of going to sleep.
Make sure your bedroom is dark, quiet, and cool.

End Your Battle With Sleeplessness/ Insomnia With These Treatment Options

The treatment for insomnia is determined by what is causing your sleep problems. Some people, for example, can help restore healthy sleep patterns by developing good sleep habits (also known as good sleep hygiene). People with medical conditions such as restless legs syndrome (RLS) or sleep apnea are likely to require medical assistance in addition to good sleep hygiene to better manage or resolve the medical condition.

Behavioural therapy

Behavioural therapy can an effective way for many people to resume getting a good night's sleep.

Behavioural therapy for sleeplessness includes:

Learning about good sleeping habits (sleep hygiene)
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can help you manage or eliminate worries.
Relaxation techniques
Managing the thoughts and activities (stimuli) that keep you awake
Reducing the amount of time you spend in bed when you are not sleeping
Light therapy, such as getting more sunlight or using a full-spectrum light box

Complementary approaches

While there are many prescription medications available to help, they can often come with unwanted side effects. There are also a number of complementary approaches that can be used to help overcome sleep problems. Example:

Certain plant remedies that help modulate the melatonin hormone for a better sleep routine.
Acupuncture is a form of traditional Chinese medicine that involves the use of needles to stimulate specific points on the body.
Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils to improve health and well-being. These oils can be used in a variety of ways, including inhalation, topical application, and ingestion. Some essential oils that are known to help with sleeplessness include lavender oil, chamomile oil, and neroli oil.
Yoga is a great way to relax and de-stress, and it can be helpful in getting a good night's sleep.

Medication

If needed, your doctor may prescribe medication for a limited time to help you sleep. Sleeping pills are meant to help people sleep, but like all medications, they should be taken as directed by a doctor. While they can be helpful for some people, they can also be dangerous, especially if taken in high doses or for long periods of time. Some of the dangers of sleeping pills include addiction, dependency, and overdose.

Conclusion- Worried About Your Sleepless Nights?

If you are experiencing difficulty sleeping, it is important to consult with your doctor to rule out any underlying health issues. There are many things you can do to improve your sleep hygiene and help you get the rest you need.

You may also want to consider seeking professional help if sleeplessness is severely impacting your daily life.

Coronasomnia - How is the pandemic wrecking our sleep?

4 min read

COVID-19 has provided us with numerous reasons to be concerned. Here's another example: More people than ever are suffering from severe sleep deprivation as a result of the pandemic and stress. It's known as "coronasomnia." It's very real and very common.

A recent study conducted revealed "very high rates of clinically significant insomnia” along with more acute stress, anxiety, and depression during the pandemic. No one is surprised by this. As who hasn't had a few sleepless nights recently? Or a lot of sleepless nights? And who hasn't felt stressed by jumbled lives and health restrictions that seem to have no end in sight?

Even before the pandemic, medical experts were already concerned about rising rates of insomnia and its consequences on physical and emotional health. With COVID-19 stress, significant changes in routines, and decreased activity for many people, medical experts believe the coronavirus has caused the second pandemic of insomnia.

Coronasomnia is exacerbated by disrupted routines

As if COVID fatigue and anxiety weren't enough, there's another cause of coronasomnia: Our normal routines have been shattered. On the one hand, our lives have become overly routine. We can hardly leave the house. We don't go to movies, restaurants, bars and pubs, or any of the other places where we could meet new people. As humans, we require stimulation. We require some variety in our activities. When our lives become so routine, a lack of stimulation and activities contributes to poor sleep.

On the other hand, many people who work from home have strayed from their normal daily routines, which has an impact on their sleep. We're supposed to be awake during the day and asleep at night, but many people work and sleep at odd hours after the pandemic. Their circadian rhythms are thrown off. Every cell in your body is regulated by the body's "internal clock". They have an impact on your eating, digestion, immune response, and sleep. When the master clock is disrupted, everything else starts to fail.

Coronasomnia is a series of vicious circles

Insomnia is self-perpetuating. The more you can't sleep, the more you worry about it, and the less sleep you get. In fact, COVID-19-related insomnia is formed in an interconnected vicious circle:

Many of the things we do to combat insomnia, such as taking a nap during the day or drinking an extra glass of wine, actually worsen our sleep problems and disrupt our routines.
COVID-19 has worn us all out. When you add exhaustion from lack of sleep, every new annoyance, no matter how minor, causes frustration and anxiety – and further disruption to sleep.
Sleep deprivation can lead to weight gain, which can cause issues such as reflux, which keeps you awake.
Sleep deprivation has a variety of health consequences, ranging from depression to high blood pressure to an increased chance of heart attack or stroke. These factors can make us more prone to COVID-19, which causes increased anxiety and insomnia.

Follow these tips for a more restful night

There are several things that individuals can accomplish on their own. It all starts with adopting actions to combat COVID fatigue's stress. Here are some sleep tips:

Maintain a regular daily schedule: If you're working from home, keep the same schedule you would if you were going to work. Don't go to bed early or stay up late. Get up when that alarm goes off, no matter how unpleasant it is. Also, just as you would at the office, take a break during the day. Take a break for lunch, go for a stroll, or simply get outside.
Create and stick to a bedtime routine: At the end of the day, slow down. About a half-hour before bedtime, start dimming the lights. The production of natural melatonin is inhibited by bright lights (a hormone that is part of our natural sleep cycle and helps us sleep).
Avoid using devices in bed: Blue light from phones, tablets, and computers tells our bodies to stay awake and stop producing melatonin. It's difficult, but please turn off your electronics. Reading a book is preferable to watching TV.
Do not use your bedroom, particularly your bed, as an office: You want to train your brain that here is where you rest. You don't want it to say, 'This is your workplace.'
Get some exercise during the day: It helps to relieve stress and maintain our bodies natural rhythms. It's ideal to do the exercise a few hours before bedtime to allow your body to cool down and relax.
Get some sunlight: It aids in the maintenance of our circadian rhythms, allowing us to manufacture melatonin at night rather than during the day.
If you can't sleep and wake up in the middle of the night, get out of bed: While a change of environment can help you reset, keep the lights low and avoid doing anything that would invigorate you. Get up and leave the bedroom if you can't sleep for more than a half-hour. In the dull light, do something easy and monotonous.
Limit your intake of alcohol and caffeine, as both disrupt your sleep patterns: While alcohol can help you fall asleep, it does not guarantee that you will stay asleep or sleep well. "Not all sleep is created equal". We want to get the right amount of sleep.
Sleep medicine should be used with caution: over-the-counter sleep aids such as some flu medication can cause restless sleep or drowsiness in the morning, and prescription drugs can lead to emotional dependency. Some over-the-counter supplements can help to relieve sleep disturbance problems.

Too often, people do not consider insomnia to be a medical issue, despite the fact that it is making them miserable. It is frequently overlooked, despite the fact that a lack of adequate sleep might result in increased health risks. Chronic sleep deprivation can weaken your body's defences and make you more susceptible to illness, especially in the midst of the current pandemic.