Today we are going to learn something on sleeplessness (Insomnia).This is one of the problems current generation is facing,we going to what it is, symptoms,and the causes.
What it is;;;
INSOMNIA, also known as sleeplessness , is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, irritability, and a depressed mood. It may result in an increased risk of motor vehicle collisions, as well as problems focusing and learning. Insomnia can be short term, lasting for days or weeks, or long term, lasting more than a month.
Insomnia can occur independently or as a result of another problem. Conditions that can result in insomnia include psychological stress, chronic pain, heart failure, hyperthyroidism, heartburn, restless leg syndrome, menopause, certain medications, and drugs such as caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol. Other risk factors include working night shifts and sleep apnea. Diagnosis is based on sleep habits and an examination to look for underlying causes. A sleep study may be done to look for underlying sleep disorders. Screening may be done with two questions: "do you experience difficulty sleeping?" and "do you have difficulty falling or staying asleep?"
Sleep hygiene and lifestyle changes are typically the first treatment for insomnia. Sleep hygiene includes a consistent bedtime, exposure to sunlight, a quiet and dark room, and regular exercise. Cognitive behavioral therapy may be added to this. While sleeping pills may help, they are associated with injuries, dementia, and addiction. These medications are not recommended for more than four or five weeks. The effectiveness and safety of alternative medicine is unclear.
Between 10% and 30% of adults have insomnia at any given point in time and up to half of people have insomnia in a given year. About 6% of people have insomnia that is not due to another problem and lasts for more than a month. People over the age of 65 are affected more often than younger people. Females are more often affected than males. Descriptions of insomnia occur at least as far back as ancient Greece.
Potential complications of insomnia.
Symptoms of insomnia:
- Difficulty falling asleep, including difficulty finding a comfortable sleeping position
- Waking during the night, being unable to return to sleep and waking up early
- Not able to focus on daily tasks, difficulty in remembering
- daytime sleepiness, irritability, depression or anxiety
- Feeling tired or having low energy during the day
- Trouble concentrating
- Being irritable, acting aggressive or impulsive
Sleep onset insomnia is difficulty falling asleep at the beginning of the night, often a symptom of anxiety disorders. Delayed sleep phase disorder can be misdiagnosed as insomnia, as sleep onset is delayed to much later than normal while awakening spills over into daylight hours.
It is common for patients who have difficulty falling asleep to also have nocturnal awakenings with difficulty returning to sleep. Two-thirds of these patients wake up in the middle of the night, with more than half having trouble falling back to sleep after a middle-of-the-night awakening.
Early morning awakening is an awakening occurring earlier (more than 30 minutes) than desired with an inability to go back to sleep, and before total sleep time reaches 6.5 hours. Early morning awakening is often a characteristic of depression. Anxiety symptoms may well lead to Insomnia. Some of these symptoms include tension, compulsive worrying about the future, feeling overstimulated, and overanalyzing past
Causes;;;;
Symptoms of insomnia can be caused by or be associated with:
- Use of psychoactive drugs (such as stimulants), including certain medications,or excessive alcohol intake.
- Use of or withdrawal from alcohol and other sedatives, such as anti-anxiety and sleep drugs.
- Use of or withdrawal from pain-relievers such as opioids.
- Previous thoracic surgery.
- Heart disease.
- Deviated nasal septum and nocturnal breathing disorders.
- Restless legs syndrome, which can cause sleep onset insomnia due to the discomforting sensations felt and the need to move the legs or other body parts to relieve these sensations.
- Periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD), which occurs during sleep and can cause arousals of which the sleeper is unaware.
- Pain, an injury or condition that causes pain can preclude an individual from finding a comfortable position in which to fall asleep, and can in addition cause awakening.
- Hormone shifts such as those that precede menstruation and those during menopause.
- Life events such as fear, stress, anxiety, emotional or mental tension, work problems, financial stress, birth of a child, and bereavement.
- Gastrointestinal issues such as heartburn or constipation.
- Mental disorders such as bipolar disorder, clinical depression, generalized anxiety disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, dementia, and ADHD.
- Disturbances of the circadian rhythm, such as shift work and jet lag, can cause an inability to sleep at some times of the day and excessive sleepiness at other times of the day. Chronic circadian rhythm disorders are characterized by similar symptoms.
- Certain neurological disorders, brain lesions, or a history of traumatic brain injury.
- Medical conditions such as hyperthyroidism and rheumatoid arthritis.
- Abuse of over-the counter or prescription sleep aids (sedativeor depressant drugs) can produce rebound insomnia.
- Poor sleep hygiene, e.g., noise.
- A rare genetic condition can cause a prion-based, permanent and eventually fatal form of insomnia called fatal familial insomnia.
- Physical exercise. Exercise-induced insomnia is common in athletes in the form of prolonged sleep onset latency.
- Increased exposure to the blue light from artificial sources, such as phones or computers
- Chronic pain
- Lower back pain
- Asthma
Sleep studies using polysomnography have suggested that people who have sleep disruption have elevated nighttime levels of circulating cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone. They also have an elevated metabolic rate, which does not occur in people who do not have insomnia but whose sleep is intentionally disrupted during a sleep study. Studies of brain metabolism using positron emission tomography (PET) scans indicate that people with insomnia have higher metabolic rates by night and by day. The question remains whether these changes are the causes or consequences of long-term insomnia.
This is the end of today's section of our mental health..
Tommorow we will looking at the types and management of Insomnia.
Have a great day🥰🤗
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