Archive for the 'Insomnia' Category

Are you getting sufficient sleep at night? No body exactly knows exactly how much sleep is required it varies from individual to individual.

The matter of consideration here is the way you feel, when you wake up in the morning.

Do you feel refreshed when wake up in the morning? Do you feel energetic? Are you able to concentrate on your everyday task?

If it is the case then you may have no problem sleeping at all. However, you may be having trouble either falling asleep or staying asleep if you identify with the following statements:

• Waking up feeling tired.
• Feeling drowsy and always needing a nap.
• Cannot fully concentrate.
• Lacking energy throughout the day.
• Nodding off while driving or eating.
• Experiencing memory loss.

Sleep Clinic

Talk to your health care provider if you feel you need help. Your healthcare provider may refer you to a sleep clinic. Sleep clinic is a place where your sleep patterns will be monitored.

This is the most correct way to ascertain the type and quality of your sleep. It can also quantify how much sleep you are getting.

One of the most common sleep disorders is Insomnia.

Insomnia is the inability to get to sleep and stay asleep night after night.

It also involves irregular wakefulness and early morning awakening.

Actually, insomnia is not considered as a disease, but insomnia can be very annoying to the individual suffering from it.

Insomnia if left untreated can lead to sleep deprivation which can wreck havoc in an otherwise healthy adult’s life. People of both sexes and all age groups are affected by insomnia, even though it is most common in women and senior citizens.

Insomnia affects about one-third of senior adults and up to two-thirds of individuals over the age of fifty have one type of sleep problem or another according to the International Longevity Center.

The average senior citizen requires around 6  to 7  hours of sleep per night for proper functioning during the daytime.

Types of Insomnia

Insomnia can either be short-term (transient) or long-term (chronic). Long-term insomnia means that both the body and brain are not getting an adequate amount of rest which can usher in a host of other problems for the person.

More than 1.6 million U.S. adults are estimated to use complementary and alternative therapies to treat insomnia or trouble sleeping, according to the results of a national survey published in the September 18 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, a theme issue on sleep.

Approximately 10 to 34 percent of Americans regularly experience difficulty sleeping, also known as insomnia, according to background information in the article.

Insomnia Treatment options include prescription and non-prescription medications, antidepressants and cognitive behavioral therapy.

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies, defined as those practices that are not scientifically proven and are not currently considered part of conventional medicine, also are used to treat insomnia. Such therapies include herbal medicines and relaxation techniques.

Nancy J. Pearson, Ph.D., and colleagues at the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md., analyzed data from a national survey of 31,044 adults conducted in 2002.

Respondents answered one question about whether they regularly had insomnia or trouble sleeping in the past 12 months and completed a 10-minute supplemental survey on the use of 27 types of CAM therapies.

Brief behavioral treatment for insomnia (BBTI) appears to be a promising intervention for older adults who suffer from insomnia.

The study, conducted by Anne Germain, PhD, and colleagues of the University Of Pittsburgh School Of Medicine, focused on 17 older adults who were randomly assigned to receive BBTI, and 18 selected to receive an information-only control (IC) condition.

All participants completed clinician-administered and self-report measures of sleep quality, as well as a sleep diary.

Interventions were delivered in a single individual session with a booster session administered two weeks later. Post intervention assessments were completed after four weeks.

The results showed significant improvements in sleep measures and in daytime symptoms of anxiety and depression in 71 percent of those individuals who received BBTI, compared to 39 percent favorable response among IC participants.

Furthermore, 53 percent of BBTI participants met criteria for remission, while 17 percent of those in the IC group met the same criteria.

“These preliminary findings are consistent with previous studies that have shown that brief behavioral insomnia interventions can be efficacious and remain efficacious in older adults who present with the typical psychiatric and medical co morbidities associated with aging,” the authors wrote.

This interesting article addresses some of the key issues regarding relaxation tips.

A careful reading of this material could make a big difference in how you think about relaxation tips.

Chill out. Relax. Does anyone ever tell you this as a way to get to sleep?

Better said than done! You probably have tried practically anything and everything to catch a restful snooze, if you have problems sleeping.

The thing of it is you may not know how to relax appropriately.

Oh, you along with many others may think you do, but relaxation is almost an art form, something that you have to really focus on to get right. And because everyone has their own styles, tastes and interests, one relaxation method may work for one person but not you.

Benefits of Relaxation Tips

First of all, let’s talk a little about what relaxation tips might do for you, generally speaking. If you are relaxed, sleep might come more quickly. And your mood improves and your energy level is higher, when you sleep.

The following article lists some simple, informative tips that will help you have a better experience with relaxation medication techniques that will help you to have a sound sleep.

Try a relaxation meditation if you can’t sleep because of stress. This can help distress you and relax you so you can sleep.

Here is a technique of relaxation meditation that can help you have a sound sleep. Lay in bed to do this. Make sure that you are comfortable and that you will not be disturbed. If you fall asleep this is fine.

Relaxation Meditation Technique 1

Lay there and relax for just a moment. Tighten up the muscles in your feet. Count to three and let go. Tighten up your calves. Count to three and let go.

Now tighten up your thighs. Count to three and let go. Tighten up the muscles in your buttocks. Count to three and let go. Your feet are very relaxed.

Your legs and lower body are very relaxed. They feel as though they are made of lead. They are very, very, very relaxed. Now tighten up your abdomen. Count to three and let go. Tighten your chest. Count to three and let go. Tighten your lower back Count to three and let go.

This article explains a few things about nighttime routines, and if you’re interested, then this is worth reading, because you can never tell what you don’t know.

By developing a nighttime routine and sticking to it can make the transition from daytime to nighttime sleep easily.

Nighttime Routines - Definition

A nighttime routine is defined as, “A prescribed, detailed course of action to be followed regularly; a standard procedure. Do the same activities night after night before going to bed in order to improve upon your ability to have a restful night’s sleep.

This pattern will help quiet and calm both the body and mind and prepare it for sleep. Knowing what to expect is comforting to most individuals and nighttime routine fulfills this need. Bedtime needs to be a time for quiet as it is the winding down period of the day.

Suggestions for routine activities to do just before bedtime include taking a bath, listening to soothing music, doing some deep breathing exercises, meditating, doing some light stretches, or reading a book.