Insomnia is a sleep disorder that is characterized by difficulty falling, and/or staying asleep.

WHAT IS INSOMNIA

Insomnia is a sleep disorder that is characterized by difficulty falling, and/or staying asleep.

 INITIAL INSOMNIA is inability or difficulty falling asleep, which can be due to neuropathic or musculoskeletal pains, or due to certain medications.

MIDDLE INSOMNIA is waking during the night and being unable to fall asleep, which may be caused by daytime fatigue, muscular pains or nocturnal urination.

TYPES OF INSOMNIA

There are two types of insomnia depending on the cause

PRIMARY INSOMNIA

Primary insomnia usually means that a person is having problems with his sleep that are not directly associated with any other health condition or problem.

SECONDARY INSOMNIA  

Secondary insomnia means a person is having sleep problems due to an underlying health condition like asthma, depression, arthritis, cancer or heartburn, due to pain,due to some medications, or substances that they are having (like alcohol or caffeine)

ACUTE INSOMNIA

Short term insomnia can last from few hours to few days.

CHRONIC INSOMNIA

Long term insomnia when a person has insomnia at least three nights a week for three months or longer.

 

CAUSES OF ACUTE INSOMNIA

• STRESS ( life stress, job loss, death of loved one, anxiety tc)
• Factors in surroundings like noise, light, extreme temperatures.
• Emotional or physical discomfort
• Certain medications may cause disturbance  in sleep

 

CAUSES OF CHRONIC DEPRESSION

• Chronic stress
• Chronic illnesses
• Long standing depression and anxiety
• Habit of smoking, drinking alcohol or coffee before bed.
• Age related disorders
• Certain medication if taken for long periods can cause insomnia.

 

SYMPTOMS OF INSOMNIA

• Headaches
• Inability to focus
• Intestinal distress
• Dizziness
• Lethargy

 

DIAGNOSIS OF INSOMNIA

If you feel you are suffering from insomnia you can consult your health care provider about it, a detailed physical, mental and sleep history will be taken for same to arrive at a diagnosis.

TREATMENT FOR INSOMNIA

Acute insomnia usually needs no treatment. Changes in lifestyle, eating habits can help in getting normal sleep patterns.

Some tips are

• Take time to identify your stressors try to correct them.
• Break your stressful projects into manageable chunks.
• Spend atleast 30 minutes decompressing before bed.
• Avoid using cell phones and other electronics before bed.
• Try relaxing techniques like breathing exercises

 

Chronic insomnia

Treatment for chronic insomnia includes treating the underlying cause or health problems first.

Cognitive behavioural therapy can help in changing your sleep patterns.

 

HOMEOPATHY AND INSOMNIA

Homoeopathic medicines can help in a great way to insomniacs.

The approach usually is to consider the overall clinical picture and then by treating the underlying physical or psychological condition causing the sleep disorder with homoeopathic medicines. There is no such thing as sleeping pills in homeopathy. Thus homoeopathic medicines do not cause any psychological or physical dependency. Once the problem is solved one can gradually stop the medicines or take it intermittently.