What is Insomnia? Type-Cause & Cure
What is Insomnia? Type-Cause & Cure-Millions of people suffer from insomnia, and it negatively affects their everyday life. What you need is a set of proven strategies to hack your way to better sleep and cure insomnia. This checklist will run you through the simplified steps and strategies to BEAT insomnia at last!
1: The Science Behind Insomnia
Have you ever suffered from insomnia? In other words, do you face the difficulty of falling asleep and staying asleep at night? So what causes it? Oftentimes, insomnia is caused by multiple reasons, such as not enough rest, hunger, psychological trauma, and so on. No matter what the reason is, millions of human
beings suffer from the devil called insomnia. It robs you of getting enough rest, saps your energy, and destroys your productivity the next day. Not to mention the detrimental effect on your own physical and mental health.
What is Insomnia?
Insomnia by definition is the difficulty of falling asleep and staying asleep. It refers to the types of restlessness a person suffers at different points of his or her sleep cycle. A simple indication to diagnose insomnia is when a person is not satisfied with the amount of sleep that he or she has been getting.
The Two Types of Insomnia
1. Acute Insomnia
There are two main types of insomnia. The first type is the kind of insomnia when you only suffer a couple of restless nights. Oftentimes, you’re able to fall asleep and stay asleep quickly. For many, they might not think that they have insomnia but the fact is, they could be having Acute Insomnia.
So what is Acute Insomnia?
This kind of insomnia comes from the core levels of stress that insomniacs are experiencing at that moment. They will face a short period where they are not able to fall asleep because of the life circumstances they’re facing at that moment. This type of insomnia doesn’t last for a prolonged time. Instead, it only happens due to certain factors or events during a specified period of time.
2. Chronic Insomnia
The second type of insomnia is known as Chronic Insomnia. It is a prolonged kind of insomnia where a person fails to get any sleep for a few nights every week for 2-3 months or more. Usually, this occurs when he’s facing a significant change in his environment, physically or mentally. It could be moving to a new home, losing a loved one, being in a new workplace, facing challenges in school, or having trouble adapting to harsher weather. Perhaps, the reason why they’re having trouble with sleep is that they have an unhealthy sleep habit without a proper sleep routine.
The Causes of Insomnia
Regardless of the types of insomnia, the causes are the same. The difference lies in the intensity of emotions a person experiences for a set amount of time. Besides that, underlying medical conditions can also cause insomnia. The stress on the patient’s body will cause the mind to stay awake for a longer period of
time. Physical pain can also cause insomnia as the body cannot get into a comfortable position to rest. With all of these different causes in mind, we can now move on to the cure.
The Risk Factors Insomnia
The risk factors of insomnia include being a female, being pregnant or in the period of menopause, an older adult above the age of forty, suffering from more stress, suffering from depression, have a nighttime job, travel long distances where there is a time change, or have a family history of insomnia. All of these factors lead a person closer to insomnia. But do you realize that most of these risk factors are the results of your choices? In most cases, people think that they have little to no choice in life, which is not true.
What is Insomnia? Type-Cause & Cure
2: The Brain of an Insomniac
Researchers all around the world are putting their minds together to figure out how the brain of an insomniac works. They continue to look towards the features of all the brainwaves and how the thoughts interact during the day and night.
How The Mind Works
During every hour of the day, the mind can adapt itself to any new situation. Whether you’re trying to get food, get a drink, get out of the car, walking through a door, or just get some rest, the mind will constantly try to find new ways to survive and flourish. It will continue through the cycle of getting enough resources during the day and have enough energy to heal and rest during the night.
Normally, people with a healthy level of brainwaves with satisfactory cognitive stability during,
The day and able to shut down parts of the brain’s thought process during the night. As night falls deeper, the brain will begin to slow down and initiate sleep. Your alertness and focus typically decrease when it’s nighttime. This is the reason why a person finds it harder to complete many tasks at night.
The Mind And The Brainwaves
As for the mind and how the brainwaves respond to the phases of insomnia, there are three different studies to show how the brain reacts during the night. It has proven that the brain’s learning and memory processing functions affect a person’s sleep. The more you learn during the day, the more thoughts and
memories will be processed by the brain during the night.
The Myths
The goal of this experiment is to prove the importance of rest to a person’s focus and memory. As a matter of fact, insomniacs aren’t able to have the same level of concentration as those who had enough rest. Surprisingly, some people believe that they can have an attention span during the day. Just because the
brain is as active at night as it is during the day, it doesn’t mean that the brain can function at the peak level. The experiment done during this research disproves this myth.
The Brain of The Restless Mind
Another research was done to find out how stress and anxiety affect sleep. The goal was to determine whether a person with a stressful lifestyle has insomnia, and how the brain responds at night. And here’s the result: The cognitive function of the brain doesn’t change regardless they have insomnia, or not. However, insomniacs find it more challenging to focus and process information throughout the day.
The Gray Matter
The third and last scientific study that occurred to study insomnia was the idea of the gray matter of the brain. The most important thing to know about the gray matter is that it exists in the frontal lobe and controls the processes of memory and executive function. When insomniacs don’t get enough sleep at
night, they will have a substantial decrease in gray matter. Whether the person is suffering from insomnia or if they are having trouble sleeping overall, they will start to develop symptoms of depression or trauma slowly. Usually, the underlying cause of insomnia is stress. The best way to resolve this issue is to consult a doctor to find out what kind of medicine would be best for you.
What is Insomnia? Type-Cause & Cure
3: Sleepstarved – The Devil
The mind and body both need rest to function well the next day. If there is no rest, then the gray matter, memory, and elaborate duties of the mind will crumble, and insomniacs will have a difficult time getting through the day. Their mind will wander, and they will struggle to stay focused throughout the day.
The 5 Things You Do Every Morning
Here’s a little exercise: Firstly, try to think about all the things you did the moment you wake up today. Reflect on the first five things that you did. You might turn off the alarm clock, check the phone, stand up, switch on the lights, and walk to the bathroom.
No matter what your usual routine is, you tend to execute all your regular activities flawlessly. Believe it or not, you subconsciously perform all these activities without giving much thought, only because it became a daily routine.
Damaging Your Professional Life
After the first night facing insomnia, you might notice a significant drop in your energy level. You might notice that it’s difficult to plan the day, or you might find it more challenging to remember all the information during the day.
Damaging Your Personal Life
When you think about your personal life, think about all that is important to you, things that you hold dearly to your heart. You might think about your wife, husband, children, pets, or any other aspects. Some people might even think about their garden or the remodeling project that they have been working on. There is no right or wrong answer to this. It is your own life, and the key to success in your personal life is to maintain balance.
Most people perform their daily routine without putting much thought into it.
Examples are simple tasks such as preparing breakfast for your kids, getting into the car, or going somewhere to eat. Normally, these aren’t difficult tasks, but insomniacs might feel otherwise.
What is Insomnia? Type-Cause & Cure
4: The Cure: Natural and Artificial Remedy
Sleep is incredibly important for health. We need sleep for our body to heal and rejuvenate from our day’s activities. Unfortunately, many people either have difficulty falling asleep or simply don’t get enough sleep, which is where Insomnia remedies come in.
There are two basic categories when it comes to Insomnia Remedies.
The first is the Artificial Remedy.
This type of remedy or medicine can be found in the pharmacy and clinic. They are usually prescribed to target the sickness at the source. Artificial remedy usually costs a bomb, but it typically delivers fast results. Most medicine today is toxic, filled with harmful chemicals that are not safe to be consumed for a prolonged period of time.
The other kind of remedy is called Natural Remedy.
People have practiced natural medicine for centuries. This type of remedy utilizes the body’s natural healing process for beating insomnia.
This remedy is often less expensive, but what makes them stand out is the fact that they’re not as toxic as Artificial Remedy.
Regardless of which kind of remedy you choose, the goal is to help you fall asleep and stay asleep. These remedies are meant to aid you to get more rest at night.
What is Insomnia? Type-Cause & Cure
5: Lifestyle Modification for Insomniac
So what is the root of insomnia? For many, the primary cause of insomnia is having a poor lifestyle and sleep habits. Simple lifestyle changes can make a world of difference to the quality of your sleep.
Although not all insomnia is caused by stress,
it is undeniable that people who experience ongoing stress are more susceptible to insomnia. In the case of stress-related insomnia, treating or eliminating the stress will alleviate insomnia.
To overcome insomnia, you should stay away from any nicotine, caffeine, and alcohol.
All of these will cause the mind to become restless over time naturally. Having a constant amount o caffeine will force the mind to be more active than it is.
Besides that, setting up a sleep schedule for yourself is one of the best self-help techniques for insomnia.
It is a major step in overcoming insomnia for good. It is so important to go to bed at the same time at night and wake up at the same time every morning because the body needs consistency.
When you have a difficult time falling asleep, try to drink a glass of warm milk.
It is a traditional remedy for insomnia, and there’s real evidence that it can help you to get better quality sleep. Not only does milk help prevent hunger from disturbing your sleep, but it also contains an amino acid called tryptophan, which is converted in the brain into a “relaxing” chemical known as serotonin. Calcium is very pro-metabolic, reducing stress and decreasing levels of parathyroid hormone, which has been known to play a role in insomnia.
Not just that, you can always adjust your own daily schedule to include time for yoga or meditation.
There is an abundance of evidence that yoga and meditation can improve sleep patterns, often dramatically.
Having some relaxation time for yourself is important. These techniques can be done at home for both comfort and privacy. It helps to increase the total flexibility of your body, relax your mind and destress your body. Try to spend at least 30 minutes a day either meditate or do yoga. Typically meditation and yoga are best done in the early morning, in a quiet place, and with exposure to sunlight.
What is Insomnia? Type-Cause & Cure
6: Switching Off
Battling Insomnia
Fighting insomnia is an uphill battle. When you are trying to cure insomnia, you are actually trying to stop your mind from being too active at night. There is no reason to be afraid of staying up for countless nights in a row and wondering if it is all going to end. All that you need to do is ‘Switch Off’ your monkey brain.
Stimulating Night = Bad Sleep
Another reason why people fail to switch off is that they have many activities at night that are overstimulating, causing them to stay awake instead of feeling tired.
How To ‘Switch Off’ At Night
The first thing you should do after you have eaten dinner and cleaned up for the night is turn off any of your electronic devices.
Having your phone or computer switched on when you are getting ready for bed will stimulate your brain and it will eventually hinder your sleep.
The next thing you can do is listen to music and write down any kind of reminders that you will need for the next day.
The music will help you to calm your mind and remove your stress away. Try to listen to music that is smoother and slower in rhythm.
Listening to anything loud or exciting will stimulate the mind, and it will be harder for you to fall asleep.
Another tip is to plan your days before sleep.
Writing down reminders for the next day helps to clear out your mind. Staying awake in bed while constantly reminding yourself that you need to remember something will keep your mind active.
Another thing that you can do is have a relaxation drink such as tea right before bed.
However, make sure that you stay away from caffeine, alcohol, and drinks with a high amount of sugar.
Another way to ensure restful sleep is to bring down your room temperature.
The best way to do this is to set your bedroom thermostat to be a bit cooler. Our body is conditioned in a way that when it enters a cooler environment, it will get a signal that it’s time to rest.
Also, why not take a quick shower right before bed.
Preferably a cold shower to immediately cool down. Otherwise, you can try to get a bed fan, a cooler mattress, or go for a short walk before bed.
All of the things listed above can be a part of your bedtime routine. Go ahead and try them out and figure what works best for you and your schedule. In no time at all, you won’t have any trouble falling asleep and staying asleep again.
