Every so often we all have problems either getting to sleep or staying asleep at night. This can be caused by a multitude of reasons and our first reaction maybe to treat the problem with sleeping pills. It could even be caused by a partner if they are having problems snoring, for which there is stop snoring treatment available. However, assessing our day to day (and night to night) patterns may help find the actual root of the problem, rather than covering it up with sleeping medication. The common term for a sleeping problem is insomnia and there are many different types a person can suffer from.
- Transient Insomnia: this form of sleeping disorder is usually only short term, lasting no more than a week. It can be caused by a number of things, such as a change in your environment (including being in a different time zone), a change in your sleeping pattern, depression and stress.
- Acute Insomnia: similar to Transient Insomnia, Acute Insomnia lasts around a month and can be brought on by similar reasons, but more commonly is caused by stress and depression.
- Chronic Insomnia: this is a more long term disorder and lasts for anything more than a month. It can be caused by a number of things and usually brings about serious fatigue, hallucinations and double vision.
It is not uncommon for people to have what is known as Subjective Insomnia. This sleeping disorder is when you believe yourself to have been trying to get to sleep for a longer period of time, when in reality only a short time has passed. You therefore convince yourself that you have had less sleep than you’ve actually had. For example a person may believe they have spent half the night trying to get to sleep, when in fact they have only been awake for an hour or two.
Self Help Treatment
Before you take the dive and go and visit The Private Clinic for help regarding your sleeping problems, such as ways to stop snoring, there are a number of self help treatments that can and should be tried and many doctors are now urging people to try these.
- Set a regular sleeping pattern: setting a time to go to sleep and wake up every day of the week and weekend will help your body fall into a pattern of sleeping, making the transition from being awake to asleep and vice versa that little bit easier
- Get enough sleep: Many people sleep too much or not enough. Believe it or not having too much sleep can make you just as tired as not having enough. A healthy amount of sleep to stay productive during the day should be between 6 and 8 hours per night.
- Don’t use electrical devices before going to sleep: Electrical equipment such as a TV or computers can stimulate the brain and make it much harder to fall asleep. Reading a book or magazine just before going to sleep is a commonly recommended way of unwinding before sleep.
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