Insomnia: how to regain a healthy sleep

Anyone from time to time has difficulty falling asleep or even spends the night without sleep. If the next morning you have a responsible performance, an exam or the delivery of an annual report, poor sleep the night before will be quite natural.

Such conditions are associated with overexcitation of the brain and are not a violation of its work - usually after a day or two, sleep is restored without any negative consequences. However, if insomnia begins to recur time after time, if sleep disturbances become systematic, then you need to sound the alarm. After all, sleep is a mirror of human mental health, and thus the brain signals: “Help me! I feel bad! Pay attention to me!”. Unfortunately, this call is not always heard.

Many people treat sleep disorders carelessly. Insomnia and nightmares, which gradually reduce the quality of life, are perceived as something interfering, but not as significant as, for example, dandruff, which is visible on clothes and spoil the appearance. And it is more likely that it is dandruff that will force to take urgent measures and even go to the doctor. And people prefer to cope with insomnia on their own. They start taking various sleeping pills or sedatives, buy up advertised on TV dietary supplements or just act on the principle of “One Baba Said” - there are many folk recipes. And they do not realize that such self-medication can end badly.

Insomnia can be divided into two main groups: difficulty falling asleep and frequent awakenings. Normally, a healthy person falls asleep for about 15-30 minutes and during the night can wake up once or twice, immediately falling asleep again. If difficulties in falling asleep are repeated at least once a week or become regular, associated with some event or state of the body (for example, in women during menstruation), it is worth thinking about the state of your brain.

The main organ that suffers most from insomnia is the brain itself. For normal work it needs rest and time to process the day's information - night, the period from 9-10 pm to 5-6 am. Due to sleep disorders, the brain does not have enough time to recover, metabolic disorders begin, which leads to the development of various mental disorders. Over time, they progress and manifest themselves in persistent, chronic sleep disorders, and further, developing, lead to more serious mental health disorders.

The main causes of insomnia include the use of alcohol, psychoactive substances, drugs, tranquilizers and sleeping pills, physiological predisposition, frequent violation of the daily routine, mental overload, prolonged stress, psychotraumatic situations, neurosis, depression, the consequences of head injuries and intoxication. Insomnia is primarily a disease of large cities. Paradoxically, but despite the frantic pace of life, we lack motor activity. We catastrophically little move, and sometimes we find it difficult to fall asleep only because our muscles banal did not have time to get tired for the day.

At the first stage of the development of sleep disorders can independently cope with this scourge. To do this is to normalize the time of work and rest, eliminate completely the use of alcohol, drugs and other psychostimulants, increase the consumption of vegetables, fruits and greens. It is necessary to make a habit of evening exercise or a walk in the park, physical activity (for example, evening or morning jogging). You should sleep in a well-ventilated room and as much as you need - not less, but not more. Understanding your sleep norm is very important, as constant sleep deprivation or, on the contrary, excessive sleep duration can be a trigger for insomnia.

If, despite the measures taken, insomnia does not go away, it is necessary to seek help from a doctor. Disorders of brain function are dealt with by a psychiatrist-psychotherapist. Only this specialist can competently understand the true causes of sleep disorders and prescribe adequate therapy.