Insomnia

Insomnia                                                                                                                                          

Insomnia                                                                                                                                          

Insomnia

Every night millions of people on the planet turn in their beds. Healthy dreams are very important for us, but unfortunately one of five people have a problem known as insomnia. The sleeplessness often thought of a total loss of sleep, but actually this term has a wider definition. According to Stone (1996), “Insomnia can mean a superficial, faltering sleep or awakening during the night.” (p.1) Mike was suffering from insomnia for a years, not getting enough sleep, he became irritate, easily stress and depress. Running for a good sleep he decided to find what causes his bad sleep. Insomnia is a influence of environment on our brain and body. Simple changes in lifestyle, not keeping up with a diet and illnesses can cause Mike to experience insomnia, and right changes can help exclude it from his life.

One of the main reasons for sleepless nights is Mike’s lifestyle. For example, stress to which he permanently are exposed. It is fear to lose work, and fear to remain without money which so necessary for family, fears not succeed in a private life and spend the rest of days in loneliness. Under influence of stress the organism develops a different hormones which acts on organism, as adrenaline, causing shortage of a dream. Jan Stone (1992) says, “Many researchers contend that the personality trails of certain individuals contribute insomnia. This includes people who are high strung and who react more negatively to disappointments and problems.”( p.1) Find the reason for stress and try to consult with it if wish to sleep easy again at night. The insomnia is maybe caused by depression too. Sad, hopeless feeling, which he might have, can effect a sleep. The people, suffering from depression, often wake up early in the morning and cannot fall asleep again.

Not only stress can cause insomnia. Also very important to have comfortable place to sleep.  Too soft or too hard mattress, change furniture in a bedroom or moving in new place can also disturb a sleep. Meeting a lot of lights and noise during the day, our body needs absolute quite and dark at night for the rest.  Mike has a computer and TV in his bedroom and always trying to fall a sleep watching something. It is absolutely wrong. Better not to watch anything at night at all, especially the programs or movies that cause a lot of emotion either positive or negative. His brain will not be able to relax, and instead of sleeping, will handle the information. Therefore, the best solution would be to find the correct and proper place, which is right for sleep.

Comfort is important in fight with insomnia, but what if Mike needs to be in place with five hours time change. The difference in time zones directly affects a night dream. When Mike had a fly from one time zone in another, for example, from California to Maine his internal rhythm got under threat of failure. In state of Maine hours show that it is time to sleep, but body lives by Californian time and brain needs few days to understand this changes. That’s why people who is traveling a lot and changing time zones have a problems living in one time later, because body lives by biological clocks and needs to match actual time we have, brain and body confused from different schedules and trying to get the rest when biological clocks tell them and sometimes it doesn’t match actual clocks.

While lifestyle change contribute to insomnia, so does a change in a diet. Mike usually has a irregular time for daily meals and often eats right before goes to bed.  Actively working stomach will not let sink into sweet peaceful sleep until morning. At night, the whole body is ready for rest, including all organs. Load of food, gets stomach working as usual and there is no time for sleep. But it is a very hard to fall a sleep with empty stomach too. Eating few hours before go to bad is the best solution. Also, reasons for waking up during the night are food and drinks he is taking: coffee, tea and some soft drinks, like coke, contain a stimulator caffeine which gives a lot of energy. And one more surprising remark: alcohol  is cause of insomnia, even a glass of wine. Yes, alcohol does people sleepy, but in a same time it can be cause of waking up during the night.

Mike concentrated on his diet forget about diet for the drugs, which can cause a hard falling a sleep too: pills for weight loss, like amphetamines, aerosols from the cold and flu, strong vitamins, antidepressants and other drugs can effect his mood and get the stress for the body.  According to the article “Solving your sleep problems...” (2006), “A number of medication act as stimulants, making it difficult to get to sleep, and others - such us diuretics - can lead to frequent awakenings.” (p.2)

Actually drugs not only destroy Mike’s sleep but also help to exclude another cause of insomnia - illnesses. It can be anything, from a running nose up to an asthma, from cough to an epilepsy. And if a teeth hurt... Solving only one - treatment. Some of the illnesses doesn’t give any pain but organism is fighting with it and it makes all organs including brain working.

People can live for a years suffering from this such a problem as insomnia, thinking that it will leave by itself.  When Mike organized his bedroom right, exclude stress and had a lunch only five hours before sleep his nightlife has changed, he started easily fall a sleep and doesn’t wake up during the night anymore. With a good sleep his day life changed too. Sometimes solution is very close to us, we only need to find the causes.

References

Solving your sleep problems: knowing the causes of sleeplessness and learning possible  remedies may help you get better. (2006). Mind, Mood & Memory, 2(6), 3+. Retrieved  from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE

Stone, J. (1992, September-October). Wide awake? Insomnia may or may not be stress-related.  Vibrant Life, 8(5), 24+. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE