Sleeping Problems
Sleep is one of the most important functions of the body and one of the earliest to get disturbed in any psychiatric or any physical issues.Not having a restful sleep, for days together, leads to many physical and psychiatric problems. The quality of your sleep at night has a direct effect on the way your body functions the following day. Having irregular sleep patterns can leave you feeling irritable, short-tempered and anxious. Similarly, when you are sleep deprived your body goes into survival mode and this can affect the way you manage stress and can also cause you to develop hypertension/ diabetes/ lowered immunity. To ensure that your body has time to recover and heal overnight, the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep should be an integral part of your overall wellbeing. Many people search for sleeping problem treatments near them and eventually end up taking sleeping pills over the counter or as prescribed by a local doctor. These can be highly addictive and dangerous. Whether you are looking for sleeping problems treatment in Mumbai, or sleeping problem treatment in Vashi, sleep disorders can be of various types. They are treated with medicines appropriate for that particular sleep disorder. Medicines are given for a short course and correcting measures and lifestyle modifications are advised.
Some simple sleeping tips for people seeking help for sleeping problem treatment or for people googling for treatment for insomnia
- Try going to sleeping and waking up at the same time every day. This helps your body reset its biological clock and improve the quality of your sleep
- Maintain good temperature, no noise or light
- 1 hour prior to bed, wind down and try reading or music.
- Don’t use the laptop, TV or phone 1 hour prior. (avoid all screens)
- Avoid caffeine, alcohol or tobacco 2 hours prior to sleeping
- Avoid exercises 3 hours before sleeping
- Take warm milk at bedtime
- Go to bed only when sleepy and avoid other activities on bed.
- Use bed only for sleeping
- If you don’t get sleep, don’t toss and turn, get up, go to another room, walk about for 10-15 min and come and lie down. See for 10 min, if not sleepy go out again.
- Try deep breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation techniques, or yoga or meditation.
- Sleep is disturbed in almost all psychiatric disorders, or it can also be an underlying cause for many disorders. If sleep has been disturbed regularly for more than 2 weeks, please consult a psychiatrist and don’t self-medicate with sleeping pills.
1. Taking sleep for granted
Many people do not realize how important sleep is. Instead, they may think of it as a waste of time. Time spent in bed asleep is time well spent. There are many very important things that the brain needs to do while asleep. These include forming memories and going through the day’s events. Give it a chance to do these things, make sure that you spend enough time in bed.
2. Too much caffeine, alcohol and sleeping tablets
The caffeine in tea and coffee is a stimulant that prevents you sleeping well. Alcohol may make you drowsy, but your sleep will be very restless. Sleeping tablets are OK to use occasionally, but not regularly. They stop working well and you may become addicted.
3. Shift work
Many workers have shifts that keep changing. This makes it harder to get into a regular sleep pattern. Some people adjust to shift work better than others.
4. Jet lag
Changing time zones can disturb the sleep pattern a lot. The internal body clock will readjust to the new zone, but will take a few days.
5. Eating and drinking Late
Eating too close to bedtime can cause heartburn and discomfort in the chest. Avoid late meals. Any snack before bedtime should be small and light. Try to limit your fluids before bedtime so that you don’t have to get up to go to the toilet during the night.
6. Failing to wind down before bed
Exercising, computer games and TV can disturb sleep if too close to bedtime.
7. Stress
Day to day living can be stressful. This can interfere with sleep. Give yourself a chance to relax and unwind before going to bed. Look at ways to make your life less stressful.
8. Sleep disorders
Sleep disorders such as insomnia, sleep apnoea and restless legs can be very bad for your sleep. They may not be recognized for years. See our separate brochures on each of these at www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au
9. Other medical conditions and pregnancy
There are many other things that can disturb sleep. It could be a medical condition such as asthma or painful arthritis. Or it could be something psychological. The key here is find the causes and deal with them. Pregnancy can disturb for your sleep, especially in the final months. Leg cramps, discomfort in the chest and having to go to the toilet often all play a part in this.
10. Drug side effects
Many over the counter and prescription drugs can disturb sleep. If you feel this may be the case, talk to your doctor. There may be other options for you.
