Causes of insomnia

Insomnia

Insomnia affects millions of people around the world and can be defined as sleep disorder, which makes a person sleep, or difficulty staying, or waking up early and being unable to go back to sleep , Sometimes accompanied by feeling tired after waking up. Insomnia can affect people of any age, and between adults is more common in females than males. Insomnia greatly affects the lives of those who suffer from it. Their performance at work or school is disrupted, obesity may also cause anxiety, depression, and concentration problems. Memory problems, and poor Immune System Function. It should be noted that the number of sleep hours of individuals in general, but it can be said that most adults need seven to eight hours of sleep every night.

Insomnia

Insomnia is divided into two types depending on the length of time:

Acute Insomnia: This type is short-lived and lasts for a few days or a week, usually due to stress or traumatic events such as the thinnest night of the exam or after hearing bad news. Many people experience this kind of transient sleep disorder, and the problem is solved without the need for treatment.
Chronic insomnia: Sleep disturbance means at least three nights a week and lasts for at least three months. Insomnia may be the underlying problem, or it may be related to a health condition, psychological problem or medication.

There are many conditions and habits that cause insomnia, including:

Tension: Stress about work, school, health, or family keeps the mind active during the night; it is difficult to sleep. And the problems of life and crises experienced by the human being may cause insomnia such as the death of loved ones, divorce, loss of work and others.
Traveling or working schedule: The body has an internal clock that regulates human sleep and wake up, metabolic processes in its body and temperature. This clock is called Circadian Rhythms, and any malfunction in these systems can lead to insomnia As is the difference in timing due to jet lag, shift work, and more.
Bad sleep habits: Unhealthy sleep habits may cause insomnia without a major health or psychological problem, and may make the problem of insomnia already worse than before. Examples of these habits include unorganized sleep times and afternoon nap, Short, and activities that increase human activity before bed, as well as the uncomfortable sleep environment and the use of bedding for the needs of sleep, such as work, eating, watching television and others may also cause insomnia.
Eat a lot of food at night: Eating too much food or eating fatty foods in the near future causes you to feel uncomfortable and uncomfortable, and therefore have trouble sleeping. Late dinner and food may cause some people to return acid from the stomach to the esophagus, or so-called heartburn, which will also hinder sleep.
Mental health disorders: Many people are concerned about past and future events, which can cause insomnia. Depression and insomnia are closely linked; depression can cause insomnia, and each worsens the other.
pharmaceutical: Some types of painkillers, sedatives and caffeine-containing sedatives may cause sleep problems as well as some antidepressants, asthma medications, blood pressure medications, and others.
Medical Cases: Sometimes, certain medical conditions or conditions – either alone or with the resulting symptoms – cause insomnia, for example: chronic pain, gastrointestinal problems, cancer, asthma, hyperthyroidism : Overactive thyroid), low back pain, and some neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
Sleep Disorders: There are some disorders that negatively affect a person’s sleep, such as sleep apnea, due to obstruction of his airways, and Restless Leg Syndrom, a state of neurotic origin that gives a feeling An irresistible desire to move the legs.
Caffeine, nicotine and alcohol: Drinking caffeine in reasonable amounts and in the morning may increase the individual’s energy and productivity, but eating caffeine-containing beverages in large amounts or late in the day may cause insomnia, because caffeine is a stimulant that stays in the body for eight hours, Nicotine is also a stimulant and forms the main part of smoking products that are destructive to health. As for alcohol consumption, it helps sleep at first, but prevents sleep and deep sleep.

Symptoms of insomnia

There are many symptoms associated with insomnia, including:

Difficulty sleeping at night.
Waking up at night.
Waking early despite the desire to sleep.
Feeling tired and sleepy despite sleeping at night.
Irritability, irritability or anxiety.
Weak focus.
Increase in errors and accidents.
Tension Headaches.
Difficulty of social interaction.
Gastrointestinal symptoms.
Anxiety about sleep.

Treating insomnia

Insomnia is treated on the basis of its cause; many cases are treated after the underlying cause has been treated correctly. There are two types of treatments for insomnia, behavioral therapy and medical treatment.

Behavioral cognitive therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is the first line of therapy; the cognitive part helps to identify and change beliefs that affect sleep ability, and control the thoughts and fears that keep a person awake. The behavioral part helps to develop good sleep habits, and avoid behaviors that affect sleep negatively.

Measures of behavioral therapy include:

Control of the alarm clock: (Stimulus control therapy). This method helps to eliminate the factors that adapt the brain to sleep resistance. For example, the patient is trained to set regular dates for sleep and wake up, and advises the patient to avoid siesta, and use of bed to sleep. And leave the bedroom if the patient can not sleep within twenty minutes.
Relaxation techniques: Relaxation techniques; progressive muscle relaxation and breathing exercises reduce anxiety at bedtime; the practice of these techniques helps control breathing, heart rate, muscle tension and mood and thus helps sleep.
Restriction of sleep: (Sleep deprivation); this treatment reduces sleep time during the day and avoids siesta; and reduces bedtime.
Stay awake in an ineffective way (Remaining passively awake); also called Paradoxical Intention; this method aims to reduce anxiety and fear of being unable to sleep by going to bed and trying to stay awake rather than sleep.

Drug therapy

Sleeping pills prescribed by a doctor can help you sleep or continue, or both, some of which are not recommended for more than a few weeks because of side effects such as daytime Grogginess, increased risk of falls . Even those over-the-counter drugs that help sleep can not be taken without a doctor’s advice, such as antihistamines, for side effects such as drowsiness during the day, dizziness, confusion, cognitive impairment, and difficulty urinating.