For sure, each of us at least once in his life suffered from insomnia (insomnia). Perhaps it was the night before the exam or before an important meeting, when you tried to go to bed early and get a good night's sleep. And instead, spent hours without sleep, painfully scrolling options for the upcoming events. Or, coming after a busy day, literally "falling asleep on the move," you went to bed in dreams of the desired rest, but, alas, the bed is uncomfortable, then some barely distinguishable sounds interfere, and the desire to sleep irretrievably evaporates. Similar problems regularly occur in 30-45% of people, and half of them become chronic.
By itself, insomnia is only a syndrome - not a disease, but its sign. That is, when talking about the treatment of insomnia, we mean the elimination of its cause. Common causes of insomnia in everyday life can be: chronic nedosyp, work with a variable schedule, stressful situations during the day, the change of time zones. For example, according to doctors, 5-hour sleep is a necessary minimum, not reaching which for three consecutive nights, a person receives the same disturbances of a night's sleep, as after one sleepless night. However, there are other causes of sleep disorders associated with various diseases - for example, with neuroses, depression, metabolic disorders, etc. Insomnia is a frequent companion of elderly people, although according to research, the total sleep time does not increase with age.
In the course of insomnia, three stages are distinguished. The first is the difficulty of starting a sleep (presumptive disorders), i.e. Problems with falling asleep. And gradually a person forms whole rituals "going to sleep," there may be "fear of bed" or fear of "non-occurrence of sleep." Disorders of the second stage (intrasomnicheskimi) are frequent nocturnal awakenings from sounds or from heavy sleep, a nightmare, a feeling of pain, a violation of breathing, sudden movements, after which a person can not sleep for a long time. And finally, at the third stage (the post-somnical) there is the problem of a heavy morning ascent, a decreased capacity for work, a sense of weakness, drowsiness. There are also cases when a person complains that he "did not sleep a wink during the night," and when examined by a doctor, it is revealed that he is sleeping, and at least 5 hours a day. This situation is called a distorted perception of sleep (sleep agnosia).
To find out the causes of insomnia, you should consult a doctor-somnologist - a "dream specialist". When the diagnosis is made, the characteristics of your profession are taken into account (night and shift work, possibly changes in time zones), the manifestation of sleep disorders, a polysomnographic examination (a method that assesses the functioning of the body in a dream).
So, if you have insomnia, it may very well be that the problem is solved simply - learn to sleep properly! Try to organize your schedule of work and rest, take as a rule to take a warm, relaxing bath before going to bed, perhaps you should take an auto-training course. In cases where insomnia is caused by severe fatigue, stress, you can take sleeping pills, but remember that, firstly, you must strictly follow the rules for taking this drug, and secondly, that the duration of use of any hypnotics should not exceed 10 -14 days. During this period, as a rule, addiction and dependence are not formed, and also there is no problem of drug withdrawal. It is quite difficult to observe this principle, since most people prefer to use drugs, rather than painfully endure sleep disorders. If, after all the measures you have taken, you still suffer from insomnia, then you need to turn to a somnologist. You may also need an additional examination from a neurologist. For treatment of insomnia, you can be prescribed physiotherapy procedures, phototherapy, a course of acupuncture, a course of psychotherapy.
