Here is a great article I found on just that....
We are a nation of insomniacs. One in four people is dissatisfied with their sleep and one in 10 suffers from a sleep disorder. Yet despite decades of research we still do not understand why we sleep, and many insomniacs go unrecognised and untreated.Click HERE to view insomnia graphic
More than 10 million prescriptions for sleeping pills were doled out in England in 2010. Yet drugs are not the answer to our insomnia epidemic, according to researchers writing in The Lancet. Their sometimes severe side effects mean they can create more problems than they solve.
The best treatment, the researchers argue, is with behavioural and psychological techniques – collectively known as cognitive behaviour therapy – to help people drop off at the appropriate time and stay asleep through the night. But a shortage of therapists able to provide the treatment means that many people are
forced to rely on drugs, over-the-counter treatments and herbal remedies. Insomnia is now so common that doctors say the preoccupation with it is in itself a medical problem – the greatest enemy of sleep is worry about not getting enough of it.
Most people who lose sleep will be able to recover it the next night, and will be able to cope in the meantime. Prolonged sleeplessness, however, is crippling. Sufferers are more than five times as likely to be anxious and depressed, have double the incidence of heart failure and diabetes and a higher risk of dying early.
Insomnia also imposes a heavy economic and social burden on communities through lost productivity, absence from work and deterioration in quality of life.
The damaging effects of sleeplessness can be catastrophic. Tiredness is known to be a key cause of motorway accidents and has been been blamed for the Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster in Ukraine, the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor breakdown in the US and the Challenger space shuttle accident that claimed the lives of its seven astronauts.
Successful treatments for insomnia begin with a warm drink before bedtime, that can soothe and relax – avoiding tea and coffee which contain caffeine. The herbs valerian, lemon balm and hops are all reputed to induce sleep and may hold more appeal than conventional sleeping pills. Alcohol helps people drift off but fragments sleep during the second half of the night.
Behavioural treatments include stimulus control (no working in bed), sleep restriction, relaxation techniques and education about "sleep hygiene" including diet and exercise.
The stuff of nightmares: Insomniacs' story
Arifa Akbar
I can't pinpoint when or how my insomnia began, but I don't remember living without it. It was there in my childhood and carried on into my teenage years and beyond. It would take me four, five, sometimes six hours to get to sleep, if sleep came at all, but it didn't begin to affect my life until my mid-20s.
There is very little I didn't try when I still believed there to be a cure. Getting to bed early and at the same night each time, exercise, no exercise, yoga, ear plugs, eye masks, light-blocking curtains, no coffee, endless cups of camomile tea. They didn't even take the edge off.
I would find myself lying in bed, my head throbbing with life. At its worst, I felt as if I was taking part in some terrible thought experiment or trialling a new hallucinatory drug; there were random, repetitive images, conversations and lines from annoying 1980s pop songs ranging through my mind.
Still thinking I could beat it, I tried New Age remedies. They would work for a few nights, but ultimately, it was as if the insomnia was a superbug, mutating to overpower everything I tried. I felt rundown and prone to illness. The one thing that worked in my most traumatic years was a technique called Autogenic Training, a cross between meditation and self-hypnosis, which relaxed me, at least, and even sent me to sleep at times.
Nowadays, it comes and goes, and I've found that the greatest remedy of all is simply to give in, and let it takes it course.
Top tips: How to sleep better
Stimulus control
* Go to bed only when sleepy
* Get out of bed when unable to sleep (i.e. get up and read a book)
* Get up at the same time every morning, and avoid napping
Sleep restriction therapy
* Go to bed later and get up earlier
* Limit the time spent in bed to induce mild sleep deprivation
* Then expand the "sleep window" till the optimum duration is achieved
Cognitive therapy
* Don't worry about losing sleep – you will still be able to function next day
* Avoid watching the clock in the night
* Banish unrealistic expectations
Sleep hygiene
* Avoid caffeinated drinks – tea and coffee – and nicotine before bed
* Avoid alcohol – it fragments sleep in the second half of the night
* Exercise regularly
Relaxation training
* Practise progressive muscle relaxation
* Use imagery training or meditation to banish intrusive thoughts
Original Article Here
*******
Nathan says: I know for many years I kept wondering what I should do and who could I talk with. The good news is that there is more and more research on the subject, and we are finally starting to get some very useful information and answers!
Here's to a great night's sleep!
Be sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter!
*******
No comments:
Post a Comment