Overcoming Insomnia

Getting enough sleep is important to preserve your health. The task seems easy enough, right? Unfortunately, falling and staying asleep does not come easily to everyone. There are many people who struggle with sleep.

Insomnia

Why are there people who have troubles with falling and staying asleep? What are the causes of the problem? It is important to understand that insomnia affects people in different ways. What you are experiencing now may not be true to all insomniacs.

Insomnia can be caused or triggered by different reasons. It could be because of a medical condition or a medication, unhealthy sleeping habits or simple environmental factors. It is important for you to discover and understand the cause of your sleep disorder in order for you to overcome it.

There are two types of insomnia based on its regularity and duration. Short-term insomnia is brief which usually lasts up to six months while chronic insomnia lasts at least six months and occurs almost every other day.

A physician diagnoses chronic insomnia. To learn which type of insomnia you are dealing with and what causes it, schedule an appointment with a sleep specialist in Nevada.

Overcoming the Sleeping Disorder

Fortunately, there are easy and effective ways to overcome insomnia. The following are simple interventions you can do all by yourself. These are small lifestyle changes recommend for patients with short-term insomnia:

• Avoid naps.
  Short naps, especially in the afternoon, make it difficult for the body to fall asleep at night. This irregular sleeping time can confuse the body’s natural clock.
• Control screen time.
  The blue light that comes from the screen of a computer, laptop, or mobile phone makes the brain more alert. Minimize screen time before bedtime.
• Regulate caffeine and nicotine.
  These substances are stimulants that can cause insomnia. It can make falling asleep more difficult. Avoid drinking coffee and smoking close to bedtime. Caffeine stays in the body for as long as eight hours. If you are a coffee drinker, avoid drinking one after noontime.
• Eat light.
  A heavy meal close to bedtime also disrupts sleep. The best practice is to eat lightly in the evening.
• Relax.
  A racing or worried mind does little help. Take control over your thoughts by practicing relaxation techniques. This can be done by meditating, deep breathing, or simply by listening to calming music.

As for chronic insomnia, the treatment of choice recommended by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the National Institute of Health is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT helps a patient overcome negative thoughts which make relaxing and sleeping nearly impossible. It focuses on providing insomniacs with techniques and tactics to help fall asleep. This includes relaxation techniques and good sleep hygiene along with small lifestyle changes.

There are also medications available for the condition. For prescriptions, consult a sleep expert. For a sleep specialist and cardiologist in Las Vegas, Nevada, you may contact Dr. Ejaz Kamboj, M.D., FACC, FSCI.

Source: www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/overcoming-insomnia