Insomnia

"Insomnia is the inability to obtain adequate amount or quality of sleep. The difficulty can be with falling asleep, remaining asleep, or both" ("Insomnia Encyclopedia"). Sleeping is a major point in physically and mentally restoring yourself for the tasks ahead. Most people say that about eight hours of sleep is an adequate amount, however it differs from person to person depending on their sex, age, and health conditions. An estimated one-third of the population suffers from some form of insomnia. "In recent studies, a survey reported that 30% of American women and 20% of American men took medication to help them sleep during the course of a year" ("Insomnia"). The medications these people took are called hypnotics. The causes of insomnia vary for different situations.

"Transient insomnia can be caused by temporary situations like arguments, medical illness and jet lag. On the other hand chronic insomnia has many causes. Sleep apnea, over use of caffeine, anxiety disorders, stress and several other factors. The symptoms of insomnia can be noticed right in the morning. When you wake up and are not feeling refreshed from a nights sleep. A person may have difficulty sleeping, toss and turn for hours or fall asleep easily but are awakened very early in the morning. To diagnose a person with insomnia, a patient may keep a record for two weeks of their sleeping patterns, food intake, exercise, etc., and then a physician can base their diagnosis by the reported signs and symptoms. If an insomnia patient does not respond to treatments then they may have a sleeping disorder that requires a specialist" ("Insomnia Encyclopedia").

Before insomnia even occurs, there are ways that a person can prevent or lessen the effects of it. Exercising regularly would be something a person should do, but not close to bedtime because exercising stimulates arousal. Avoiding caffeine and nicotine, such as coffee, tea, or soda, also helps to prevent insomnia. Going out into the late afternoon sun helps release the melatonin that helps regulate circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythm is a daily cycle of activity that is performed. For example, going to the gym, school, and then work, is a daily cycle, whereas sitting on the couch all day and occasionally driving to the store and back is not. It is doing something with your body, but not over doing it. Stress reduction techniques such as yoga and meditation helps to release energy. And treating insomnia in its early stages helps prevent psychiatric disorders such as depression. The longer you wait to try to cure insomnia the longer and harder it is going to be.

According to different resources, there are many different kinds of treatments for insomnia. The first is a change in behavior. This therapy is used to re-establish healthy sleep patterns by helping an individual deal with his/her sleep problem. For this method a physician is not needed. A patient can try this on his/her own.

The first step is a change in daily routine. Only go to bed when sleepy and use the bedroom for sleep only. Snacking, watching television and reading should be done in another part of the house. Watching the television before going to sleep should be avoided because it has an arousing effect on the body. Another thing that should be avoided is napping. This interferes with your sleeping pattern at night ("Insomnia Encyclopedia").

More than half of insomnia patients improve from the behavioral approach. There are several behavioral remedies for insomnia. Avoiding stimulants before sleep can help prepare a person for going to bed. Also something as simple as writing down worries or concerns before sleep can help alleviate stress. For example, some people like to keep a diary or journal. Doing this allows the person to write down all the things from their day that were both good and bad, let them all out, and then the person can focus on something else, such as sleep. They no longer have those stressful thoughts running through their head.

Before insomnia has the chance to disrupt your sleep, there are "seven steps to getting a good night's sleep" (Morin 62).

To get started you have to keep a log and set realistic goals for oneself. Next, change poor sleep habits that a patient might have such as maintain a consistent sleep-wake rhythm and reduce the time spent in bed. Third, is to think your way out of sleeplessness. Another is managing daytime stress in everyday life. Fifth is the basics of sleep hygiene. Do not over consume food or beverages that contain caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol. Next is if a patient has already been on sleeping pills is to get rid of the habit of taking those pills. And last is to maintain progress over time to prevent from relapses and to deal with setbacks (Morin 62).

According to Charles M. Morin, PH.D., there are also eight effective strategies for beating insomnia. Another name for theses strategies is called sleep hygiene measures.

The first step is to allow one hour before bedtime to unwind. Second is to develop a pre-sleep ritual. Third is to go to bed only when you are sleepy. Fourth, if you can not sleep, leave the bedroom. Fifth is to maintain a regular awakening time in the morning. Sixth, reserve the bed for sleep and sexual intercourse only. Seventh is to not nap during the day. And eighth, restrict the amount of time you spend in bed to the estimated sleep time (Morin 69).

The next treatment is drug therapy. Sleeping medications are generally prescribed for transient and short-term insomnia. The three main types of medications that doctors will prescribe are "sedatives, tranquilizers, and ant anxiety drugs" ("Insomnia Encyclopedia"). "Long acting hypnotics include Dalmane, Klonopin, and Doral. Some medium acting prescription drugs are Halcion, Ativan, Xanax, and Restoril" ("Insomnia"). "There are also short-acting nonbenzodianzepine hypnotics called Sonata and Ambien. These types are still sleep inducing but with less side effects then the long and medium acting benzodianzepines" ("Insomnia"). Although drug therapy can be effective, there are several risks and side effects to this type of treatment. As with the long and medium acting hypnotics, the prescription can become habit-forming and reduces your alertness during the day. The drugs may increase depression, which may have been the cause of a person's insomnia in the first place. In some case studies, memory loss and sleepwalking have occurred after taking Halcion. In other cases due to dependency, overdoses have been fatal. So if a patient is using drug therapy, he/she will need to pay close attention to anything that may seem abnormal due to the medication. The patient