How to treat insomnia? Top tips from a doctor.

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What is insomnia?

We all have one or two sleepless nights once in a while. It is not unusual. But if you have poor sleep quality for more than one month then you may be suffering from insomnia. By definition, insomnia is a condition characterized by difficulty falling asleep or breaking of sleep in the middle of the night and then difficulty falling asleep again or poor overall sleep quality or quantity. On average, every adult human needs seven hours of continuous sleep.

What happens if you have insomnia?

Insomnia can be devastating for your studies, career, and relationship. Here are some of the symptoms you may have if you have insomnia.

Unrefreshing day: After the sleepless night when you eventually get up from the bed you don’t feel good. Your body feels tired, and your mind feels unfresh. Your thoughts become floaty and superficial. You have difficulty memorizing and concentrating. Your mind becomes restless and agitated.
Headache: You may experience generalized headaches as if a band is constricting your head. This is called tension-type headache which occurs due to stress. If you have migraines then you can also experience migraine attacks. If you have epilepsy then you may experience fits.
Constipation: Your bowel works best when you are asleep. Poor sleep quality will create many gut problems, for example bloating, tummy pain, and constipation.
Heart problem: If you have chronic insomnia then you may experience racing and pacing of your heart. Various types of heart rhythm problems and high blood pressure is associated with insomnia.
High level of stress: You may experience excessive stress as insomnia causes increased secretion of stress hormones in your blood. These stress hormones make you more tired and overweight. Excessive stress hormone can also cause infertility.

What are the causes of insomnia?

The causes of insomnia are endless. Here the author mentioned a few common causes.

Use of digital devices at night: When you use a mobile phone or PC at night, especially in a dark room the light rays from the screen confuses your brain. Your brain considers these lights as daylight. It fails to create a proper hormonal environment for a good night’s sleep. In contrast, it continues to produce stress hormone which keeps you more alert and awake.
Lack of physical exercise: If you don’t exercise then your body doesn’t get tired easily. At least 30 minutes of fast walking every day is recommended to all adults. Exercise also helps to reduce street hormone levels. A tired and less stressed body falls asleep sooner.
Lack of mindfulness: We all are racing towards earning more and more money. There is nothing called more money. Money is an endless number that ends in infinity. Now the question is if you have an infinite amount of money would you be infinitely happy? The answer is no. Money can bring you delight, prestige, and short-term happiness. But true happiness comes from inner peace. Nothing but a healthy body and mindfulness can bring you inner peace. You can practice yoga or meditation to increase your mindfulness.
Caffeinated drinks: Tea, coffee, and other caffeinated beverages keep our brain alert during the nighttime.
Medicines and addictions: Overuse of sleeping pills and alcohol can cause you sleepless nights. Insomnia is common during the withdrawal period of alcohol and sleeping pill addiction. Some other illicit drug usage can also cause insomnia.
Chronic disease: Some people may have a chronic disease for example ‘chronic obstructive pulmonary disease‘. Some may have chronic pain, especially in cancer patients. These problems can cause insomnia.
Improper environment: If there are disturbing elements in your external environment for example bright light or high amplitude sounds then you would not fall asleep easily. The source of loud sound in your bedroom may be your partner snoring.

A person with insomnia