Insomnia

Insomnia

Insomnia is an impression badly to sleep, not to even close the eye of the night, with difficulties with drowsiness, alarm clocks night: the person is completely awaked, ready to rise, or with deadened half, or opens the eyes every five minutes and sees turning the needles of her alarm clock and drowsiness appears finally when it is necessary to rise.
In addition to this card, read our files:
> In finishing with insomnia.
> The sleep… and its disorders,
> My newborn wants to never go to lie down.

The insomnia of the beginning of the night

The insomniac has difficulties with drowsiness. He lies down early while being sure that he will not sleep; the anxiety to be able to sleep maintains it waked up, for little that it is able to fall asleep, it awakes regularly in the night for each time having difficulties to fall asleep again.

The insomnia of the middle of the night

Drowsiness is correct but the alarm clock is early towards 2 or 3 hours of the morning with an impossibility to fall asleep again except at dawn a few minutes before the alarm clock: it is frequent to meet this kind of insomnia at depressive people.

Chronic insomnia

If insomnia persists, it can have consequences on quality of life, the insomniac can be somnolent in the course of the day, to have disorders of the attention, memory, to be irritable. It then has often coffee, the… A vicious circle can settle and insomnia to become chronic.

To find the causes of insomnia

It can exist environmental causes: a change of the lifestyle, a voyage, an jet lag (the East-West shift is less awkward), a stay in altitude, an excess of work, a too intense sporting drive.

It can also be a psychological reaction to a recent stress: professional or family concern, a mourning, a dismissal, a divorce,…

Certain pathologies are sometimes responsible for insomnia: the syndrome of the legs without rest, apnea of the sleep, the pains, the depression, of the neuropsychiatric disorders…

A certain imbalance in the lifestyle: too copious dinners, mental or sporting activities after 5 p.m. can involve an insomnia.

It should be prevented that an occasional insomnia is not transformed into chronic insomnia where the initial cause will have disappeared and will not be responsible any more.

Some councils to try to avoid insomnia

It is necessary to have a good hygiene of life, light dinners, to avoid the exciting activities which they are sporting or intellectual after 5 p.m. One should not be made concern because one night without sleeping, at one moment or the another sleep will return.

To avoid the coffee, the, Coke, the vitamin C in drug, alcohol.

To have a correct temperature in the room, neither too heat, nor too cold.

We have a whole a ritual of drowsiness, it is necessary to find it or find it: to drink something of heat, to read some pages…

It is useful to hold the bed with the sleep and to avoid looking at television there, to eat there…

If appears an occasional insomnia, it is necessary dédramatiser, especially if a particular reason is responsible for insomnia; the organization must adapt to a possible change of situation: travel with jet lag, stay in mountain, separation…

To find a rate/rhythm sleep-awakening

Studies showed that the insomniac spent finally much time to the bed: it lies down early to sleep and rises late because it does not sleep.

The evening it is to better privilege the reading, the music, television. One should not seek to sleep at all costs and not to lie down too early.

It is not either to better rise late.

If drowsiness does not come at the end of a half hour, it is better to be raised, leave the room, to look at television, to read, to have a resting activity and recoucher when the desire for sleeping is again felt.

If the person awakes in the course of night, it is necessary to start again: to rise, read or look at television and recoucher when the eyes start to be closed.

Obviously, one should not sleep in the course of the day, this known as, small a 20 maximum minutes nap in any beginning of afternoon does not seem not contra-indicated in the event of insomnia.

Behavioral assistances are sometimes useful

There exist methods of restriction of the sleep with on the beginning of the process, of the short nights from 5 to 6 a.m. but of good sleep, then the periods of sleep are increased nights after nights.

It is necessary to learn how to release itself physically and mentally: who did not have a day of obsessing thoughts which prevented from falling asleep. Sometimes relieving makes it possible to make the vacuum.

It is necessary to learn how to release itself in the course of the day to be able to do it the evening.

If an anxiety is responsible for insomnia, a psychotherapy can be proposed.

Sleeping pills

These drugs allow drowsiness but habituation appears rather quickly and paradoxically will maintain insomnia by disturbing the cycles awakening-sleep.

The barbiturates which were used by several generations of insomniacs are to be avoided and are not prescribed practically any more.

Benzodiazepines to calm a momentary anxiety can be prescribed during a very short time. Sometimes antidepressants with negligible amounts go perfectly on insomnia of the 2nd ½ of night and are without side effects.

The hypnotic ones of third generation are interesting drugs respecting the cycles of sleep, they give a refreshing sleep, without diurnal somnolence

The regulation must be discontinuous

Whatever the sleeping pill, the regulation must be limited to a few days to avoid habituation and weaning will be progressive. The doctors will avoid the regulation of these drugs in the children.

When insomnia becomes chronic, with an ineffective treatment and a climbing in the regulation, the consultation in a specialist is justified.

To retain

It is true that at the end of a few nights without sleep, insomnia resounds on the day laborers activities and mood; sometimes the cause is obvious. One should not therefore dramatizing. It is necessary to pass the calm evenings, not to lie down too early, to find the ritual ones of drowsiness and a rate/rhythm of sleep. It is necessary to try to include/understand the cause, and to give to the organization time to be accustomed. Hypnotic can help to pass a difficult momentary situation but it must be prescribed during a few days only. It must be an exceptional regulation.