Sleep Disorder

Insomnia is one of the most common health problems brought to the attention of family doctors. Not being able to sleep is, however not just a single complaint, it is several subtly interwoven problems. In many cases insomnia is no more than persistent dissatisfaction with the quality of sleep; in a few cases, however, it is a symptom of some underlying illness which may need medical investigation. Insomnia has been extensively investigated by researchers, not so much through scientific curiosity about a condition that is familiar to a greater or lesser extent to nearly all of us, but rather as part of the pharmacological hunt to find better hypnotic drugs to help people sleep. Curiously, at a time when one might have expected people to complain much more than usual about not being able to sleep-that is, during wartime-there is evidence that the complaints appeared to decrease rather than rise.



What causes insomnia?
We know little about what actually makes us sleep so this question is a difficult one to answer.  However, we do know that one of the earliest signs of impending sleep is a reduction of muscular tension followed by a sensation of drowsiness. It follows that something which prevents muscle relaxation, or prolongs or induces muscular tension, will stop sleep. One obvious cause is pain, but a much more common cause of muscular tension is simply anxiety.
Eating certain foods that cause indigestion or simply eating a large meal not long before bedtime is likely to keep you awake for obvious reasons.
Even though it can seem to make you feel drowsy, alcohol can have much the same effect as indigestible food. It can also cause added complications and problems in sleeping soundly because it usually becomes necessary to get up in the night to empty the bladder.

Solutions to Insomnia
People's desire for a good night's sleep has been an enormous incentive to pharmatologists in their search for reliable hypnotic drugs.
After a time, however, the sleeping pattern will become normal again. Unfortunately, such withdrawal symptoms tend to lead to a renewed use of sleeping pills and it can be difficult to break this vicious circle.
Doctors now try to avoid prescribing sleeping pills, and review any prescriptions critically and often.
Many people-doctors included- now recognize that hi tech and drug-based solutions to insomnia are not the best answers. As alternatives, the insomniac should consider first whether the sleeping problem us a symptom of something, such as emotional stress, pain or itching disorders. If it is, then the underlying problem must be resolved and this should in turn remove the cause of the insomnia.

Next the insomniac should seriously consider age-old, practical remedies to the problem of getting a good night's sleep:
-is the bed too hard or soft?
-are the covers too heavy, or of the wrong thickness so that you are too hot or too cold?
-is the bedroom too hot or cold, or too noisy?( for most people an ideal temperature is 16 degrees Celsius to 18 degrees Celsius).
-do you relax before turning in, instead of going straight from a business problem or an exciting film to bed, when you lie awake thinking or worrying?