Insomnia And How To Cure It

June 10, 2008 · 73 views · Filed Under Personal Health

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I recently read some articles and books on the subject of insomnia, improving my understanding and knowledge of how to tackle the problem. These are my tips!Â

In my own case it generally lasts from a few nights to a few weeks - Transient (a few days) or Short Term (up to about three weeks) and is Primary Insomnia (no underlying medical cause, versus Secondary which does have an underlying medical cause). My insomnia seems to be caused by temporary worry or by behavior, including my sleep environment, stimulants, medication and other behavior such as late nights.

30-40% of people report insomnia each year; 10-15% of people reporting insomnia say they have chronic insomnia (i.e. lasting more than three week or a month).

Statistics about Insomnia causes: 50% Psychological, 40% Behavioral: sleep environment (30%) stimulants or medication (10%), 10% Physical (pain, illness etc.) So my own case is not at all unusual, which is reassuring!

One factor which affected me was my mistaken belief that I needed to get seven or eight hours of sleep each night, and if I missed some then I should try and make it up the next night! The amount of sleep needed by people varies: Babies need about 17 hours sleep a day, a child nine to ten hours per night, and an adult seven to eight hours each night, though that typically decreases as you get older.

Many adults are happy with five or six hours, or even less. I have discovered that I can manage well on about five hours of sleep a night.

If you don’t need much sleep then get up early - spending too long in bed can help trigger insomnia. It is easy to mistake the amount of sleep you are actually getting, because you tend to remember waking up as a longer period than it actually was. Getting up earlier can cause you to sleep better while you are in bed.

After failing to sleep for a few nights, I became anxious that I wouldn’t sleep - This is called Fear or Anxiety Insomnia. One major step towards treating anxiety insomnia is acceptance that you can cope with the effects - reducing the fear of not sleeping.

I eventually accepted that I might not sleep and could cope with the tiredness and poor concentration, so I stopped worrying

The sleep environment should be a quiet, dark bedroom with the right temperature etc. - so I fitted a roller blind to my bedroom window!

For sleep conditioning I began to follow a routine, going to bed and getting up at the same time. I still find that going to bed early (before midnight) is not productive, but I do get up earlier than I used to.

I also improved my sleep discipline (using your bed only for sleep or sex) - though I still usually read for a few minutes before turning off the light, which seems to work for me.

I have previously drunk as much as ten cups of coffee during a day, which kept me awake, but also led to withdrawal headaches at the week-end, when I didn’t drink coffee. So now I usually drink decaffeinated coffee except on special occasions and this has helped. I do drink socially, which usually includes late night drinking, so I now try and stay up for a while after getting home and before going to bed, and this also helps with reducing the instance of acid stomach, which used to wake me up anyway! I have also cut down on spicy food, though it’s still a temptation after a few drinks!

I have found that writing down any ideas going around in your head usually helps to relax my mind - and they are there for the next morning if I need them!

Regular physical exercise helps control stress physically and psychologically by breaking up the day after work to distance you from work problems. The best time for exercise to aid sleep is the early evening. I took up kickboxing twice a week, with an additional exercise session between, which all occur in the evening, and this also seems to help with getting to sleep.

Remember that the results of behavioral therapy may take effect slowly but are long term - the creation of good habits which make you less prone to insomnia. They are slower than chemical solutions, but healthier, less dangerous and a lot cheaper!

Andrew Jones is an insomnia sufferer who has assembled information on the disorder and behavioral treatments. Check the insomnia category on his blog at: http://www.andrew-p-jones.com or his eBook at http://www.SimplyInsomnia.com

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