Contributed by – Healthians Team
Have sleepless nights, dark circles, tiredness, restlessness become your reality? Insomnia can be a real nightmare when it comes to health. But, the real question is what is insomnia? What causes insomnia? Why has insomnia become so common?
Sleep is the basic of existence. All of us need proper rest for proper functioning of the body. But, unfortunately many of us fall prey to insomnia. Losing sleep or unable to fall asleep can be termed as the disturbing phenomenon, insomnia.
To understand insomnia it is important to discuss about is at length. So, let us start with solving the big puzzle. What is insomnia? Insomnia is basically a sleep disorder where the affected person finds it difficult to fall asleep. Several people seek solace in sleeping drugs, which can give a temporary solution but bring with harmful long term effects.
People suffering from insomnia are always tired as their body engine is unable to rejuvenate. This often leads to irritability, fatigue etc. There are tons of question associated with insomnia and people suffering from it find it difficult to get the right answers. Let us together attempt to understand insomnia and everything related with it.
What Is Insomnia?
Insomnia can be defined as a sleep disorder where the person suffering from it finds it difficult to fall asleep or suffers from broken sleep during the night. Each person follows a different body clock of sleeping pattern; the hours of sleep and the time of going to bed can vary from individual to individual. But, if an individual is unable to asleep or suffers from disturbed sleep on a regular basis is known as insomnia. Insomnia can be caused due to several reasons which can include environmental, physical or emotional factors.
The causes of insomnia are listed below:
- Medical condition with physical pain can make falling asleep difficult
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Pregnancy
- Sedentary lifestyle
Symptoms Of Insomnia
Most of just ignore the symptoms and signs of insomnia as nothing or not think of it much. The symptoms of insomnia include:
- Inability to fall asleep despite of being tired
- Getting up frequently at night
- Restlessness during sleep
- Inability to fall asleep again after waking up
- Waking up in the middle of the night
- Lethargy and drowsiness during the day
Home Remedies For Insomnia
Home made recipes have the magic touch, they can help soothe several health problems. Similarly, few things that we can do on our own to treat insomnia and help us sleep better are:
- A glass of warm milk before bed helps the brain produce melatonin (hormone that regulates sleep) which shall restore and improve the sleeping pattern
- A small and quick massage helps your body muscles to relax which helps in falling asleep
- Intake of foods rich in magnesium like banana, green leafy vegetables, pumpkin seeds, almonds also help with sleep
- Lavender oil calms your senses. Keeping an oil burner of lavender oil in the bedroom or taking a hot water bath with the oil just before bed helps. A lot of night gels with lavender oil are also available in the market
- Having a hot cup of green tea reduces anxiety and even relaxes the brain
- Exercising each morning for atleast 30 minutes helps a lot. Include any regime of your choice like yoga, swimming, pilates, aerobics or gym training in your daily routine
- Use ergonomic pillow and mattress
- Make sure to dim lights, maintain an optimum temperature and use clean bedsheet
- Having sex helps with good and peaceful sleep as it releases happy hormone which relaxes the body
Insomnia And Internet : The Relation
The younger generation today is involved in never ending list of activities. Always on the go, trying to prove themselves, achieve more at fast pace. Various factors and the busy lifestyle together add to the problems like anxiety, tension which often leads to insomnia. The unhealthy lifestyle choices with no physical activity, log sedentary working hours, unhealthy eating habits adds to the trouble.
The wide use of gadgets, spending hours on the phones, binge watching on the net makes the younger generation an easy prey. Most of us wait for the end of the day when we can put on those earphones and get lost in the world of addictive series. Binge watching has become the latest fad among the young generation.
Man is a social animal. Everyone owns a smartphone these days and so does the entire social experience these days. Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Snapchat etc. are the platforms how we interact with each other nowadays. These social interface have sure made life easier and staying in contact with everybody all the time has become a reality.
With the facility of high speed internet and technologically advanced gadgets, life sure seems sweet. But, have you ever wondered about the ill effects of binge watching or staying glued to the phone screen for hours. We are paying with our health. Insomnia is one of the many side effects of the new era addiction of the internet. Insomnia can seem like not so serious problem at the beginning but persistent sleep disorder can have major affect on the health.
It is best to go old school when it comes to good night’s sleep. Early to bed, early to rise should be your mantra to healthier life. Insomnia is a major sleep disorder that needs attention right away. Seek proper medical assistance if you experience sleep problems or insomnia.
