Severe Insomnia

One of the most common medical conditions suffered by most is associated with having proper 8 or 9 hours of sound sleep everyday. This condition, as mentioned, is known as insomnia; a common medical complaint. The most severe effect of this condition is lack of vitality during the whole day's work, as the affected person stays tired and unrefreshed in the morning hours. Symptoms which are indicative of this condition include the person having difficulty in falling asleep at night, awaking frequently during the night and inability to remain asleep for longer hours. These symptoms result in others such as feeling fatigued or sleepy during the day, irritability, depression and anxiety, poor performance at work due to reduced level of focus and attention, and increased errors and accidents.

Headaches, gastrointestinal symptoms and worrying too much about not getting proper sleep are the other symptoms of insomnia. These symptoms, if persist for more than four weeks, may indicate a case of severe insomnia and hence, demands immediate medical attention.

What Leads to Severe Insomnia?

Severe insomnia, technically speaking, is not an illness in itself, but a manifestation of underlying medical problems. Mostly, psychological factors happen to be the major causes of insomnia. Tensions or worries regarding work, home, or family are some of the common factors which may deprive some people of proper sleep. People may undergo events which may have very stressful effects on their mental health. Some of these include divorce, financial issues, loss or death of someone dear, unemployment and many other factors.

With stress comes along depression and anxiety. These two factors are also one of the major reasons of people suffering from insomnia. Apart from these, improper work timings such as working in night shifts, irregular sleep schedule, too much intake of stimulants such as coffee, tea, cola and other caffeine-containing drinks and having too heavy a meal before going to bed can keep a person from getting a good night sleep.

Certain medications such as those used for heart problems, blood pressure, pain, weight-loss, etc., can also interfere with sleep and so do many medical conditions such as arthritis, cancer, congestive heart failure, diabetes, lung disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), overactive thyroid, stroke, Parkinson disease and Alzheimer's disease. Some people have the tendency to worry too much about not getting enough sleep at night and what would be its repercussions. So these people try too hard to fall asleep, which further aggravates the condition. However, such people tend to sleep better in their non-sleeping hours, like during watching TV, reading, etc.

Aging is a natural cause of severe insomnia. With age, there are several changes in the body which may make sleep less restful. Moreover, older people tend to suffer from many health conditions which may again, interfere with their sleep. For example, people suffering from enlargement of the prostate gland, develop the need to urinate frequently at night, thus, interrupting with their sleep.

Insomnia during pregnancy is also common with expecting mothers. This is obvious as with pregnancy there occur frequent urination, an unquiet mind, stress, leg cramps or the inability to get into a comfortable position. So, all these, also result in insomnia.

Remedies

Apart from what your doctor may prescribe for the treatment, simple changes in the daily habits can help you to counter the problem of sleeplessness. Set up a conducive sleep environment in your bedroom like switching off all the lights before going to bed, keeping the room cool and airy, getting rid of noises and having comfortable bedding materials to sleep on. Maintaining a fixed sleeping schedule helps the biological clock of the body to develop a healthy sleeping pattern. So, if you follow a regular sleep and waking up time, it aids the brain to 'lull' your body to sleep without much effort.

Avoid caffeine or nicotine in late evenings or before going to bed. As mentioned, these are stimulants which disrupt sleep. Instead, take a glass of warm milk or hot chocolate before bed time. It is also important to understand that bedroom is a place where you can rest and relax. So, other than sleep, do not indulge in other activities like watching TV, eating, working, reading, etc. This method will actually help you limit the time you spend awake in your bed.

Go for meditation, yoga and other relaxation techniques. These would help you in coping up with your stress and anxiety that you may be facing. People may also benefit from using light therapy. Here, through the use of natural light or the one from a medical-grade box, is used to push back the internal clock of the body. This method helps people who tend to fall asleep too early and then wake up too early.

Do not try hard to fall asleep when you know that you are actually not feeling sleepy. Instead, read some books or watch TV until you feel drowsy enough to fall asleep. Avoid naps during the day, as this interferes with the required amount of sleep during the night. If there is any condition such as painful legs or the like, get them addressed, so that they don't disrupt your sleep.

Another natural method that may help you sleep is hiding all clocks in your bedroom before going to bed. Set the alarms if you need to wake up at a certain hour, but while you are sleeping don't bother looking at your watch. Most experts believe that the less someone is aware about what time it is, the better he/she will sleep.