a little thing about "insomnia"

I share this..because sometimes I got insomnia too..

And honestly, it sucks!

Furthermore, if i have a class on early morning..

Let's check it out! :)

INSOMNIA

Most adults have experienced insomnia or sleeplessness at one time or another in their lives. An estimated 30%-50% of the general population are affected by insomnia, and 10% have chronic insomnia.

Insomnia is a symptom, not a stand-alone diagnosis or a disease. By definition, insomnia is "difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, or both" or the perception of poor quality sleep. Insomnia may therefore be due to inadequate quality or quantity of sleep. Insomnia is not defined by a specific number of hours of sleep that one gets, since individuals vary widely in their sleep needs and practices. Although most of us know what insomnia is and how we feel and perform after one or more sleepless nights, few seek medical advice. Many people remain unaware of the behavioral and medical options available to treat insomnia.
Insomnia may be caused by a host of different reasons. These causes may be divided into situational factors, medical or psychiatric conditions, or primary sleep problems. Insomnia could also be classified by the duration of the symptoms into transient, short-term, or chronic. Transient insomnia generally last less than seven days; short-term insomnia usually lasts for about one to three weeks, and chronic insomnia lasts for more than three weeks.

In general, transient insomnia resolves when the underlying trigger is removed or corrected. Most people seek medical attention when their insomnia becomes chronic.

The main focus of treatment for insomnia should be directed towards finding the cause. Once a cause is identified, it is important to manage and control the underlying problem, as this alone may eliminate the insomnia all together. Treating the symptoms of insomnia without addressing the main cause is rarely successful. In the majority of cases, chronic insomnia can be cured if its medical or psychiatric causes are evaluated and treated properly.

Insomnia Non-Medical treatment and Behavioral Therapy

Non-pharmacologic or non-medical therapies are sleep hygiene, relaxation therapy, stimulus control, and sleep restriction. These also are referred to as cognitive behavioral therapies.

Sleep Hygiene

Sleep hygiene is one of the components of behavioral therapy for insomnia. Several simple steps can be taken to improve a patient's sleep quality and quantity. These steps include:

• Sleep as much as you need to feel rested; do not oversleep.
  
• Exercise regularly at least 20 minutes daily, ideally 4-5 hours before your bedtime.
  
• Avoid forcing yourself to sleep.
  
• Keep a regular sleep and awakening schedule.
  
• Do not drink caffeinated beverages later than the afternoon (tea, coffee, soft drinks etc.) Avoid "night caps," (alcoholic drinks prior to going to bed).
  
• Do not smoke, especially in the evening.
  
• Do not go to bed hungry.
  
• Adjust the environment in the room (lights, temperature, noise, etc.)
  
• Do not go to bed with your worries; try to resolve them before going to bed.

Relaxation Therapy

Relaxation therapy involves measures such as meditation and muscle relaxation or dimming the lights and playing soothing music prior to going to bed.

Stimulus Control

Stimulus control therapy also consists of a few simple steps that may help patients with chronic insomnia.

• Go to bed when you feel sleepy.
  
• Do not watch TV, read, eat, or worry in bed. Your bed should be used only for sleep and sexual activity.
  
• If you do not fall asleep 30 minutes after going to bed, get up and go to another room and resume your relaxation techniques.
  
• Set your alarm clock to get up at a certain time each morning, even on weekends. Do not oversleep.
  
• Avoid taking long naps in the daytime.

Sleep Restriction

Restricting your time in bed only to sleep may improve your quality of sleep. This therapy is called sleep restriction. It is achieved by averaging the time in bed that the patient spends only sleeping. Rigid bedtime and rise time are set, and the patient is forced to get up at the rising time even if they feel sleepy. This may help the patient sleep better the next night because of the sleep deprivation from the previous night. Sleep restriction has been helpful in some cases.

Other simple measures that can be helpful to treat insomnia include:

• Avoid large meals and excessive fluids before bedtime
  
• Control your environment.
  
• Light, noise, and undesirable room temperature can disrupt sleep. Shift workers and night workers especially must address these factors. Dimming the lights in the bedroom, relaxation, limiting the noise, and avoiding stressful tasks before going to bed may be beneficial. (Refer to sleep hygiene and relaxation therapy above.)
  
• Avoid doing work in the bedroom that should be done somewhere else. For example, do not work or operate your business out of your bedroom and avoid watching TV, reading books, and eating in your bed

Insomnia Medications and Medical Therapies

There are numerous prescription medications to treat insomnia. Generally, it is advised that they should not be used as the only therapy and that treatment is more successful if combined with non-medical therapies. In a study, it was noted that when sedatives were combined with behavioral therapy, more patients were likely to wean off the sedatives than if sedatives were used alone. The most commonly used sleeping pills are listed in the following sections including over-the-counter medications and natural sleep aids.

Prescription Sleep Aids

• Benzodiazepine sedatives: Six of these sedative drugs have been used to treat insomnia. There are reports of subjective improvement of quality and quantity of sleep when using these medications. Examples include, temazepam (Restoril),flurazepam (Dalmane), triazolam (Halcion),estazolam (ProSom, Eurodin), lorazepam(Ativan), and clonazepam (Klonopin).
  
• Nonbenzodiazepine sedatives:Examples include, eszopiclone (Lunesta),zaleplon (Sonata), and zolpidem (Ambien).
  
• Ramelteon (Rozerem) is a prescription drug that stimulates melatonin receptors. Ramelteon promotes the onset of sleep and helps normalize circadian rhythm disorders. Ramelteon is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of insomnia characterized by difficulty falling asleep.
  
• Some antidepressants (for example, amitriptyline [Elavil, Endep] andtrazodone [Desyrel]) have been used for the treatment of insomnia in patients with co-existing depression because of some sedative properties. Generally, they may not be helpful for insomnia in people without depression.

Over-the-Counter (OTC) Medications

• Antihistamines with sedative properties [for example, diphenhydramine(Benadryl) or doxylamine] have also been used in treating insomnia as they may induce drowsiness, but they do not improve sleep and should not be used to treat chronic insomnia.
  
• Melatonin: Melatonin is secreted by the pineal gland, a pea-sized structure at the center of the brain. Melatonin is produced during the dark hours of the day-night cycle (circadian rhythm). Melatonin levels in the body are low during daylight hours. The pineal gland responds to darkness by increasing melatonin levels in the body. This process is thought to be integral to maintaining circadian rhythm. At night, melatonin is produced to help your body regulate your sleep-wake cycles. The amount of melatonin produced by your body seems to decrease as you get older. Melatonin supplements may be beneficial in patients with circadian rhythm problems.

Herbal Remedies for Insomnia

• Valeriana officinalis (Valerian) is a popular herbal medication used in the United States for treating insomnia with possibly some benefit in some patients with chronic insomnia.
  
• St. Johns Wort and chamomile have not shown any real benefit in treating insomnia.
  
• Other natural herbal sleeping aids such as, dogwood, kava kava, and L-tryptophan, may be associated with potential adverse effect when used for insomnia.

This information i took from this site

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/insomnia/article_em.htm

You can visit that site, so you will get fully information from there :)

Enjoy yourrself!

And enjoy your sleep!

Regards :)