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Ways to Cure Insomnia from your Doctor’s Office

February 4th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

If you suffer from insomnia, you know how debilitating this condition can become. Long term sleep deprivation can lead to irritability during the day, an inability to concentrate and focus on tasks and an increased susceptibility to illness. If you have experienced insomnia over a period of weeks or even months, you may already be familiar with the recommendations and home remedies that are touted as ways to cure insomnia. Go to bed at the same time every night. Begin your nighttime routine with something relaxing, like a warm bath. Make sure that your room is comfortable for sleeping. Perhaps you have tried all of these methods, and many more, all to no avail. It may be time to see your doctor about additional ways to cure insomnia. But what can your doctor do?

Behavior Therapies

There are a number of ways to cure insomnia that your doctor may want you to try. One of the first methods that has been used effectively is a number of behavior therapies that will show you more effective ways to get asleep and stay asleep. While you may have tried a number of these steps already, keep in mind that your medical professional may have additional tricks up his sleeve that can help you with your insomnia issues. Listen to the options he lays out for you, and give them a try. You never know which behavior therapy might turn out to be an effective way to cure your insomnia.

Medications

Most doctors will not encourage patients suffering from insomnia to take over the counter sleep aids. These medicines are generally not terribly effective, and they can actually be harmful in terms of side effects and an addictive tendency. If your doctor determines that medication is a possible way to cure your insomnia, he will probably prescribe a sleep aid. These medications can be effective if your insomnia is caused by a stressful event that will eventually end, or to get you back on a regular nighttime routine quickly until your behavior therapies begin to take effect. Most of these medications can be addictive and are designed to be taken for a short period of time only.

Counseling

If your insomnia is caused by a particularly stressful event or time of life, your doctor may recommend counseling to help you work through your anxieties and discover a more relaxing, healthy lifestyle. For some, dealing with life’s issues can be the most effective way to cure insomnia, although it may take some time to see results. In these situations, your doctor may prescribe a medication for use over the short term, until you begin to see an improvement as a result of the counseling sessions.

The Various Types of Insomnia and Treatment Options

February 2nd, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

Sleep is an important component to our health and well-being. It stands to reason that if sleep is interrupted for any reason, that our life will be affected as well. Sleep deprivation can affect us in negative ways physically, mentally and emotionally. Because of this, it is important to pinpoint the reasons behind insomnia, so that the problem can be treated as quickly and effectively as possible. However, in order to treat insomnia issues properly, it is important to understand what the different types of insomnia are and exactly why they occur in the first place.

Primary vs. Secondary

The first distinction between the different types of insomnia is primary insomnia vs. secondary insomnia. Insomnia that is considered to be primary is a sleep problem that is not directly linked to another physical issue like depression, arthritis or cancer. This type of insomnia generally has a psychological cause, and must be treated by dealing with the underlying emotional issue. The second type of insomnia is known as secondary insomnia. This sleep disorder is directly related to a health condition, medication or substance that they are using – like alcohol. This type of insomnia is often treated by dealing with the health issue, switching medications or avoiding the substance that is identified as the culprit in the sleep disturbance.

Acute vs. Chronic

Another way of categorizing insomnia is by determining whether it is acute or chronic in nature. Acute insomnia is a sleep problem over the short term, which may mean a single night or a few weeks. This type of insomnia may be the result of a particular life event and often will resolve itself on its own within a short period of time. On the other hand, chronic insomnia goes on at least three nights a week for a month or longer. This is the type of insomnia that might be linked to a health problem or an ongoing stressful situation in life. This is the type of insomnia that is most likely to need your doctor’s help in getting it under control.

The type of insomnia that you are suffering from can give your doctor clues as to what the cause of the insomnia is and what the best treatment plan will be. If you are unsure of what type of insomnia you are experiencing, you can keep a sleep journal for a few weeks that will track which nights you had trouble sleeping and what you might attribute to the problem. A journal like this can help your doctor to determine what type of insomnia you have so that he can offer an accurate diagnosis and an effective treatment.

Treatment Of Insomnia: Finding An Effective Cure For Your Sleep Disorder

January 31st, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

Not being able to sleep at night can really be annoying. Yes, nobody has been reported of dying because of lack of sleep but lack of sleep has been identified as one of the primary causes of reduced productivity of people during the day. If you are one of those people who have been suffering from lack of sleep that you cannot function well during the day, it would be a good idea for you to seek treatment of insomnia.

Finding an effective treatment of insomnia is very important especially if you have been losing sleep for more than a week. According to experts, losing a lot of sleep can weaken the immune system of our bodies. Once the defense system of our body is weakened, we become prone to different types of illnesses.

Getting Help

The best way to find an effective treatment of insomnia is to consult an expert. Find an expert on sleep disorders. Ask for an appointed with the expert to discuss your sleep disorder. When meeting with the expert, make sure that you ask questions regarding your situation and explore your options with the help of the expert. Note that there are man types of treatment of insomnia so you need to pick out the one that is suitable for you.

When picking out the type of treatment of insomnia, consider the effects of this treatment to your body. Do not just opt for a sleeping pill right away. Yes, taking that pill will be easier but that may not be the best that you can do. Always remember that treating a disorder with drugs is not always favorable. If you can find some natural ways to treat you insomnia, why not take that option instead? A natural treatment of insomnia does have a lot of advantages over those drugs. For one thing, natural treatment processes do not have side effects and they cost even lesser compared to those drugs.

What Is A Natural Treatment Of Insomnia?

Natural treatments of insomnia include simple and practical activities that you can do to help you relax before bedtime. A good example of a natural treatment for sleep disorder is a change in lifestyle. For instance, if you are fond of drinking coffee throughout the day and even before bedtime, cut back on that habit.

Do not drink coffee or any other types of beverages that has caffeine in it at least three hours before bedtime. Note that caffeine in your blood will keep you awake longer so if you remove the source of caffeine in your blood hours before bedtime, you will have better chances of getting some sleep easily.

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Sleep Terror Disorder Not Related To Nightmares

January 29th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

If your child wakes up in the middle of the night screaming in sheer terror, they may be suffering from pavor nocturmus, better known as sleep terror disorder. Often this is confused with nightmares, but there is a major difference in that the child often remembers what caused their nightmare while they may not wake up at all during an episode of sleep terror disorder and will not remember being awake.

Episodes of sleep terror disorder are prevalent in children between about three and eight years of age, although they can be experienced by older children as well as adults. The exact cause of sleep terror disorder is unknown, however it is often attributed to stress or lack of sleep. During an episode, which can be frightening to the parents, typically the episode will last between 10 and 20 minutes, after which the child will return to sleep and have no memory of the event the next morning.

Determining the difference between sleep terror disorder and the child waking up during a bad dream should be easy enough, as the child may be able to explain about monsters under the bed of falling through space when they have a nightmare. While these scary dreams occur during the REM sleep stage, the memory of the event is usually vivid when the child wakes up. They will also be awake immediately after the dream while being comforted by a parent.

Sleep Terror Memory Remains Elusive

Rarely will a child suffering from sleep terror disorder have any idea the next day of what scared them awake. While a parent is holding the child during an episode, the child will remain asleep, completely unaware they are having a problem. Despite repeated attempts by the parent to calm the child they will not be consciously awake and will be unable to talk about what caused the fear.

If a child continues to suffer from sleep terror disorder, eliminating the environmental causes of the stress and making sure the child is getting appropriate sleep most evenings can help reduce the number of sleep terror disorder episodes. In some severe and long-lasting cases the doctor may prescribe sedatives to remove the stress and help the child sleep throughout the night.

Parents, however should not attempt to self-diagnose or medicate the child without consulting with the physician. There may be some hidden causes stress for the child that the doctor can diagnose and help eliminate. Typically, after the age of eight the sleep terror disorder will disappear on its own.

Sleep Insomnia: When You Just Can’t Seem To Get To Sleep

January 27th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

You lie awake, staring at the ceiling and you just can’t seem to get to sleep. You’ve tried counting sheep, you’ve tried sleeping pills and still nothing works. You just can’t seem to get the sleep you need. Then, during the day, you have no energy and you can’t seem to concentrate, which causes your work life and your personal life to suffer. So how can you finally get some sleep? First, you have to find out why you can’t sleep. You can do this by looking at your life. Your lifestyle may be the reason for your sleep insomnia. It could be what you eat, what you drink, the cigarettes or alcohol you use, or it could be something a little more serious. By looking at your lifestyle, you could find the reason for your sleep insomnia and you could end up curing it yourself. If nothing works, however, it may be time to see a sleep specialist so that you can find out what’s really going on.

Substance Abuse

When examining your lifestyle to determine the reason for your sleep insomnia, you should first look at what substances you are putting into your body. When people hear the term substance abuse, they typically think of illegal drugs, but that could also describe cigarettes, alcohol and even prescription, legal, drugs. Do you smoke? Do you drink? Do you use drugs? If the answer is yes to any of the above, then by all means quit. If quitting sounds too hard, then at least quit for a while to see if that cures your sleep insomnia. You may find that just by quitting something like cigarettes, you can cure your sleep insomnia and then you’ll know that it was just your substance abuse that was causing your lack of sleep.

Nutrition

It may also be due to what you eat that’s causing your sleep insomnia. If you drink a lot of coffee, eat a lot of sugary foods, and just eat a lot of junk, this can also be a main cause of your inability to sleep. If you’re not sure of the proper foods to eat, consult a dietitian, or take a nutrition class. You can also just look up nutrition facts on the internet. Also, learn to read food labels as most of the foods you eat do have labels. By watching what you eat, you can ensure you are giving your food the proper fuel it needs so that you can finally get the adequate sleep you need.

You never know, your sleep insomnia could be caused by something other than a sleep disorder. It could be due to substances, nutrition or something else that has to do with your lifestyle. If none of that works, however, then it will be time to see a sleep specialist so that he or she can find out what’s really causing your problem. Lack of sleep is a big problem but by taking the proper precautions and by learning what’s really going on, you’ll be one step closer to getting the rest your body badly needs.

A Sleep Disorder Clinic May Be Your Answer To A Great Night’s Sleep

January 25th, 2008    Subscribe To Our Feed

Do you have trouble sleeping at night? Do you frequently find yourself waking up several times during the night for no apparent reason? Does this lack of sleep leave you tired and sluggish all day long causing your work and personal lives to suffer? If you answered yes to any of the above questions, it might be time to visit a sleep disorder clinic. Sleep disorders affect many people so the important thing to realize is that you’re not alone. You may suffer from Narcolepsy, sleep apnea, insomnia, or any other sleep disorder. The only way to know for sure is to visit a sleep disorder clinic in your area. Once there, you will be examined by sleep specialists who know how to diagnose and treat sleep disorders so that you can finally get a good night’s rest.

Finding A Clinic

To find a sleep disorder clinic in your area, ask your doctor or simply search the local yellow pages. Call them up and tell them what’s going on. It could be that they can find the problem simply by talking to you on the phone. For instance, you may not be able to sleep because you abuse cigarettes, drugs or alcohol. However, if the problem seems more serious than that, they may want you to come in for a consultation. Schedule one and let them see you in person. The problem may be bigger than you originally thought.

Your Visit

When you visit a sleep disorder clinic, you will be seen by a sleep specialist. The specialist will want to know what you eat, drink, how you spend your waking time and will ask other questions about your lifestyle. These questions are designed to determine if your lifestyle is the reason of your lack of sleep. Then, if your sleep specialist deems it necessary, they may tell you to take a little nap while they watch.

For this test, they will generally strap you to a bed and hook you up to a series of machines. The machines will monitor your heartbeat and your brain waves so that your specialist can see what’s really going on while you sleep. Then, they will watch you while you doze off. You really won’t have any idea what’s going on while you sleep but the entire time they will watch you to see if you constantly wake up, if you have debilitating nightmares, if you stop breathing, such as happens with sleep apnea, and they will watch to see why you just can’t seem to get adequate rest. This test that’s completed in the sleep disorder clinic is the best way to see if you have a sleep disorder and it’s the best way to get treated so that you can finally get the rest you need.

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Credits: Work From Home | Matteo Turchetto | Andreas Viklund