Nighttime insomnia: causes and how to get rid of it with the help of treatment methods

But one night without sleep is nothing to worry about, much worse when they begin to repeat themselves with frightening regularity.

So, who is at risk for developing insomnia:

• You are a woman – women suffer from insomnia much more often than men. Hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle and menopause can play a negative role. During menopause, night sweats and hot flashes often interfere with normal sleep.
• You are over the age of sixty – due to changes in sleep patterns, the risk of insomnia increases with age.
• You suffer from a mental disorder – many disorders, including depression, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder, interfere with normal sleep patterns. Waking up too early in the morning is a classic symptom of depression.
• You experience a lot of workload and stress – experiences can cause both temporary and long-term insomnia. The death of a loved one or divorce can lead to the development of a chronic condition. The risk is even greater among low-income populations.
• You work nights or shifts – Working nights or shifts also increases your risk of developing the disease.
• Traveling long distances – the difference in time when crossing time zones very often contributes to insomnia.

Causes of insomnia

Common causes of insomnia include:

Stress – worries and worries about work, school, health, or family can take over your mind at night, making it difficult to sleep. Tragic events in your personal life, such as the death or illness of loved ones, divorce, or job loss, can also lead to insomnia.

Anxiety – the cause of normal sleep disturbance can be daily worries and serious mental health disorders – anxiety neuroses.

Depression – When you are depressed, you either sleep constantly or you have very poor and insufficient sleep. The reason for this may be either a chemical imbalance in the brain, or anxiety and anxiety that prevent you from relaxing and falling asleep. Insomnia often accompanies other mental disorders.

Medications – Prescription medications, including some antidepressants, stimulants, corticosteroids, and medicines used for allergies, blood pressure, and heart disease, can cause sleep disturbance. Many over-the-counter medications, including pain relievers, antihistamines, and weight loss products that contain caffeine and other stimulants. Antihistamines cause drowsiness in the first stage, but lead to more frequent urination, forcing you to wake up at night to go to the toilet.

Caffeine, nicotine and alcohol. Coffee, tea, cola and other caffeinated drinks are well known stimulants. If you drink coffee late in the evening, there is a high chance that you will find it difficult to fall asleep at night. Nicotine, present in tobacco products, is another stimulant that contributes to the development of insomnia. Alcohol is a sedative, but it interferes with deep sleep, so it often happens that after drinking alcohol, some people wake up in the middle of the night and cannot fall asleep.

Health problems. If you suffer from chronic pain, difficulty breathing, or frequent urination, you are at risk for developing insomnia. Diseases that cause sleep disturbance include arthritis, cancer, heart failure, pneumonia, hyperthyroidism, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease. Proper treatment of an existing condition will help you get rid of insomnia. For example, for arthritis, you might try taking a pain reliever before going to bed.

Changes in the environment or work schedule. Traveling, getting up early, or working late can disrupt your body's circadian rhythms, making it difficult to sleep at night. The circadian rhythms work like an internal clock that governs things like the sleep-wake cycle, metabolism, and body temperature.

Poor sleep hygiene – includes irregular sleep patterns, stimulating activities before bed, turning on the TV, and using the bedroom for anything other than sleep and sex.

Acquired nocturnal insomnia – It may be that you are overly worried about not being able to sleep and are trying too hard to fall asleep as soon as possible. Most people with this condition fall asleep more easily when they are not in their usual bedroom setting or when they are not trying to sleep but are reading a book or watching TV.

Too heavy dinner late at night. It's okay to have a light snack before heading to bed, but eating too much can make your stomach feel full and uncomfortable, making it difficult to fall asleep. Many people experience belching and heartburn after eating, which also leads to difficulty sleeping properly.

Negative effects of insomnia

Sleep is as important to your health as proper nutrition and regular exercise. No matter what the cause of sleep disturbance is, insomnia itself is a very dangerous phenomenon and can negatively affect your physical and mental health. People suffering from this disease complain of feeling unwell and depressed.

The pathological consequences of insomnia include:

• Poor performance at school or poor performance at work.
• Slow driving response and increased risk of accidents.
• Mental health problems such as depression or anxiety.
• Overweight or obesity.
• Weakened immune system.
• Increased risk or worsening of chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, heart failure and diabetes.

How to get rid of insomnia at home?

In most cases, insomnia is treated well enough, and your age, in this case, does not matter.

Below we present you some tips:

Keep a sleep schedule. Try to get up and go to bed at the same time every day, including weekends.

If you are already awake, get up and go to breakfast, no need to lie in bed. You need to sleep exactly as much as you need in order to feel rested. If in the evening, you didn't manage to fall asleep within the first twenty minutes, and you are tired of rolling over from side to side, you need to get up and do something relaxing – read, for example?

You don't have to try your hardest to fall asleep. The more you try to sleep, the more aroused you become. Try reading or watching TV in another room, and only go back to bed when you feel your eyes popping.

Your bedroom is a place to sleep or have sex. Do not read, eat, work or watch TV in bed.

Find ways to help you relax. A bath with warm water before going to bed, a relaxing massage, quiet soothing music that distracts from bad thoughts and sets you in a positive mood. You can come up with a relaxing evening ritual – bedtime reading, breathing exercises, yoga or prayer.

If you suffer from insomnia – then try not to sleep during the daytime. Daytime naps can keep you from falling asleep at night. If you really need to take a short nap, naps should not be longer than 30 minutes and no later than 3 p.m.

Create comfortable sleeping conditions in your bedroom. Close the door to the room or turn on the fan, the smooth, quiet noise of which will help drown out all other extraneous sounds. The room should be dark and cool. A computer or TV in the bedroom is a bad idea.

In the daytime, be sure to devote some time to active physical activities. You will need at least 20-30 minutes of good physical activity, in the form of exercise or active cleaning around the house, but no later than five to six hours before bedtime.

Avoid or limit caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine intake. Smoking and drinking coffee in the afternoon can prevent you from falling asleep at night. Alcoholic drinks will make you sleepy at first, but your sleep will be restless, you may wake up in the middle of the night and not be able to sleep for two to three hours.

It is better to exclude a large amount of drinking and a heavy dinner before bedtime. It's okay to have a light snack before bed, but be aware that eating too much late at night can lead to problems sleeping at night. Too much drinking in the evening – frequent trips to the toilet at night.

It is worth paying attention to the medications you are taking. Check with your doctor – some medications can contribute to the development of insomnia. If you are taking any over-the-counter medications, it's a good idea to check the ingredients for caffeine or other stimulants such as pseudoephedrine.

You don't have to endure pain. If you are in pain, try taking a pain reliever before bed.

Hide all the clocks in the bedroom. You need to hide all watches from yourself, including wristwatches and mobile phones. The less you look at the clock at night to find out what time it is, the better you will sleep.

If these tips do not help you, the treatment of insomnia should be started under the guidance of a doctor. To do this, you need to contact a neurologist, who, if necessary, can appoint a psychiatrist's consultation in order to eliminate depressive conditions. If you have been suffering from insomnia for a long time and you do not know what to do, do not hesitate and go to the doctor.