What is insomnia?
Insomnia is a condition
characterized by inability to sleep or to remain asleep during night. It is a
sleep disorder that significantly hampers the quality of life of affected
individuals.
What causes insomnia?
Insomnia is caused due to
the following factors:
- Stress, anxiety and / or depression
- Poor sleeping habits
- Certain diseases such as GERD, cardiac diseases, liver disorders, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, arthritis, Parkinson’s disease
- Certain medications
- Inappropriate eating schedule
- Excessive consumption of alcohol or caffeine
- Significant changes in work schedule
What are different types of insomnia?
The
different types of insomnia include:
- Acute insomnia
- Chronic insomnia
- Comorbid insomnia
- Onset insomnia
- Maintenance insomnia
How does insomnia spread?
Insomnia
is a sleep disorder and not an infectious disease. Therefore, it does not
spread from one person to another.
What are the symptoms of insomnia?
Individuals
suffering from insomnia suffer from the following symptoms:
- Inability to fall asleep
- Waking up early
- Staying awake during night
- Periods of wakefulness during night
- Tiredness during daytime
- Increased frequency of errors and or accidents due to tiredness
- Decreased attention span
- Disturbed cognitive functioning
- Disturbance in gastrointestinal tract
- Digestive problems
- Development of tension headaches
What is the treatment of insomnia?
In the initial stages,
individuals are advised to make significant changes in their sleeping pattern
and dietary habits. Along with this, if there are underlying disease conditions
that are causing sleeplessness then these are also treated. However, if these
measures do not bring about the desired effect, then the following methods are
adopted:
- Behavioral therapies that include light therapy, educating the individuals about desired sleeping habits, sleep restriction, stimulus control and techniques to relieve stress
- Medications that help to fall asleep
- Use of sleep aids
How can insomnia be prevented?
The
following steps can be taken to prevent insomnia:
- Maintaining a proper sleeping schedule
- Adopting proper eating habits
- Regular exercising
- Keep stress out of the bed
What are the diet and lifestyle changes in insomnia?
Some
basic steps can be practiced to keep insomnia under control:
- Following a proper bed time ritual
- Staying active
- Maintaining proper weight
- Avoiding heavy meals right before hitting the bed
- Avoiding caffeinated drinks before going to bed
- Not making a habit of taking naps in the afternoon
- Practicing yoga before going to bed, which help soothe the nerves and calm down the stress hormones
- A hot water bath or shower before going to bed is also advisable
What is Ayurvedic treatment of insomnia?
The science of Ayurveda
recommends drinking warm milk with a teaspoon of honey for a better sleep.
Individuals can even consider taking aniseed and milk before sleeping. In
addition to these remedies, certain ayurvedic therapies are also very useful in
treating the condition. These include shirodhara, shirobhyanga, netra tarpan, abhyanga,
and padabhayanga.
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