Archive for the ‘Insomnia’ Category

Insomnia

Thursday, August 16th, 2007

Here at Bedstar.com, not only do we offer you cheap beds and discounted mattresses online, but we also like to share our expert advice on getting a great nights sleep. After you looked through our medical articles, why not browse through our catalogue of cheap beds online!

Insomnia is classed as a sleep disorder brought on by an inability to sleep or the inability to remain asleep for a prolonged period of time. Insomniacs typically complain of being unable to close their eyes for more than a few minutes at a time. Both types of insomnia constitute as a sleep disorder. Insomnia is often caused by fear, stress, anxiety, medications, herbs, caffeine, depression, Bipolar disorder or sometimes for no apparent reason - it can also be linked to a poor quality or cheap bed. An overactive mind or physical pain may also be causes. Finding the underlying cause of insomnia is usually necessary to cure it.

Insomnia can be a symptom as a well a cause of general difficulties. Like a fever, it suggests something is amiss, but in itself does not indicate what the problem is. In 80% of insomnia cases seen by GPs, the most common cause is a range of psychological problems such as anxiety and depression.

There are two types of Insomnia-

Short term insomnia is characterised by poor sleep spanning two/three weeks. This can be caused by ongoing stress as well as medical or psychiatric problems. Alleviating the source will usually return sleep to normal. Sleeping pills may help if the problem is comes on suddenly for short periods. To avoid habit forming, maximum recommended use of sleeping pills is for 21 days, and even within that period, they are best taken on a non-consecutive basis.

Chronic insomnia lasting more than a month can be related to underlying medical, behavioural or psychiatric problems such as depression. Taking anti-depressant medication can help improve sleep. Transient insomnia lasting only a few nights, is usually brought on by stress, excitement, a change in sleeping time, or your environment. Generally, the advice is don’t treat it, but if it’s distressing or affecting your daily life, try aromatherapy, reflexology, massage, or a herbal remedy such as valerian. It is available in pharmacies and health food stores.

Within these broad categories insomnia usually takes one or more of the following forms:

Difficulty falling asleep - This is usually more common among young people

Sleeping lightly and restlessly, waking often, lying awake in the middle of the night - more common in people over 40. In younger people it may be associated with depression.

Waking early and being unable to get back to sleep - this is more common in older people and anyone worrying about something in particular.

Common Symptoms of insomnia:

  • Feeling tired during the day
  • Frequent headaches, easily irritated or lack concentration
  • Tired and not refreshed on waking
  • Sleep better away from home
  • Take longer than 30-40 minutes to fall asleep
  • Wake repeatedly during the night
  • Wake far too early and are unable to get back to sleep
  • Only get to sleep with the aid of sleeping pills or alcohol

Main Causes:

Insomnia is a condition that is caused by something else! Sometimes it won’t be immediately obvious what the causes are in your own case, but the following list might give clues:

  • States of mind - anxiety, depression, worry, anger, grief, anticipating a difficult event
  • Change - moving house/city, starting university,starting a new job
  • Environment - noise, discomfort, time zone change, poor quality or cheap bed
  • Pain - a common cause of insomnia
  • Medical conditions - heart, breathing, stomach, digestive, high blood pressure, arthritis, anorexia.
  • Recreational drugs - including nicotine, caffeine, heroin, cocaine, amphetamines, LSD, cannabis
  • Sleeping pills and tranquillisers - can actually cause sleep disturbance
  • Other prescription drugs - including some contraceptives, diuretics, slimming pills, beta-blockers, stimulants.

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Improve The Quality Of Your Sleep

Thursday, August 16th, 2007

One of the biggest health complaints in the 21st Century is sleep - or lack of it! Only 1 in 10 people regularly sleep well and 1 in 5 of us suffer from lack of sleep. There has been a rise in the number of people suffering from lack of sleep due to busier lifestyles.

On average, two thirds of people are currently getting 90 minutes less sleep than they did a few years ago. Many sleep experts have speculated on the amount of sleep needed in a night, the common figure usually quoted is 8 hours.

Some of us need more and others less, so realistically the sensible answer is get enough sleep until you feel refreshed in the morning and can stay alert throughout the day.

If lack of sleep is a problem then there are simple changes to your lifestyles or sleep environments that can help. Take a look at our basic sleep guide below to see if there are any changes you can make that could improve your quality of sleep.

Always try to keep a regular sleep pattern by going to bed and getting up at roughly the same time, this will help program your body for sleep.

Make sure the environment you sleep in is restful, external noise should be kept to a minimum, the room should be dark and kept at a suitable temperature.

Make sure your bed is comfortable, sleeping on a bed that is too hard or soft will make it more difficult to get to sleep.

Regular exercise will help moderate stresses and strains on the body and help you sleep better, exercise done too close to bedtime could have the opposite effect.

Cut down any stimulants like caffeine before going to bed. This can cause interference with sleeping and will certainly prevent deep sleep. Try a hot milky drink instead!

Over indulgence in food or alcohol close to going to bed will cause havoc with your sleep patterns, although excess alcohol may help with sleep initially, it will disrupt your sleep further on in the night.

Smoking can have a negative effect on sleep, it has been proven smokers take longer to fall asleep, wake more often and have more disrupted sleep.

Try to relax before bed, this can be achieved by having a bath, listening to some soft music or even trying some yoga! The more relaxed you feel before going to bed, the better nights sleep you will get.

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