Up All Night? Six Ways to Treat Your Insomnia

Sleep is essential to the human body’s ability to function, yet there are millions of people who struggle to fall asleep every night due to insomnia. There are few things more frustrating than lying in bed, exhausted, without being able to fall asleep. While there are many different insomnia treatments out there for sufferers of the condition to try, these are six of the most effective:

 

Melatonin Supplements

Melatonin is a natural hormone your body produces at night to make you fall asleep easier. Inadequate production of melatonin often manifests in difficulty getting to sleep and insomnia. This problem is easily treatable with a melatonin supplement. The normalized levels of melatonin in the body help sufferers of low melatonin-induced insomnia fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.

 

Sleeping Pills

While sleeping pills are not a long-term solution to insomnia, they can be used to provide sleep during your worst nights. There are prescription sleeping pills specifically made to treat insomnia, but prolonged used of these drugs can result in dependency and worsen the insomniac’s condition.

 

Proper Sleep Hygiene

Designating a specific time and place to go to sleep—and sticking to your designations—is one of the best ways to practice good sleep habits. When you go to bed at different times, or in different locations, your body’s sleep schedule and recognition response get confused. A sleep systems expert from Crowley Furniture Mattress Store often advises people to set aside their bed for sleeping purposes only, as reading, eating, etc. on your bed causes your body to respond to it as it would an active place, rather than a restful place. Only use your bed when you go to sleep at night, and be sure to keep roughly the same sleeping hours every night. This will restore your body’s natural sleep-recognition cycle and help you get to sleep faster.

 

Avoiding Alcohol

Many people think that a drink or two will actually word as a sleep aid, since it relaxes and tires the drinker out. While a drink will make you sleepy, alcohol actually prevents the body from sleeping properly by blocking the REM cycle. Since this cycle is necessary for deep sleep and a sense of restfulness, those who drink before bed will usually wake up feeling as if they did not sleep at all.

 

Getting Out of Bed

A common habit of many insomniacs is rolling around in bed for hours, trying to fall asleep. Doing this, however, raises stress levels, making it even harder to get to sleep. If you are having trouble sleeping, try getting out of bed and participating in a relaxing activity until you feel tired. Read a book, take a bath, or drink a cup of tea—do whatever you find works to lower your stress levels and allow you to get back to sleep.

 

Abdominal Breathing Exercises

 

Relaxation techniques are a great way to prepare the body sleep. Deep breathing with your chest, stomach and back will slowly help you become more relaxed. Breathing exercises like this clear the mind and send calming signals through the body, stopping the release of the stress hormones which are often responsible for insomnia.

 

There are many possible causes of insomnia, so it may require a lot of trial-and-error with treatments to determine what, exactly, works for your insomnia.

Categories: body, breathing exercises, fall asleep, insomnia, nbsp, night, sleep, Sleeping, sleeping pills, Stress Levels, treat

How to Prevent Your Partner from Talking in Their Sleep

You may love your partner more than life itself, but when you wake up in the middle of the night because of their incessant sleep talking; loving your partner becomes a little bit harder. Sleep has a very close connection to your wellbeing, being related to your physical and mental health. Plus, if your partner is keeping you from your much-needed eight hours a night, the wellness of your relationship could also be at stake! So, how do you get your partner to keep sch-tum when you’re sleeping?

 

When your partner suffers from somniloquy, or sleep talking, they have no control over what they say and can say things they wouldn’t otherwise when conscious. When you tell you partner about it, or the things they’ve said, they can often be quite shocked as they don’t remember doing it, may have used different voices or language to that which they usually use. This sleep talking may have been spontaneous, or induced by something you’ve said. Though it does no harm to your partner, you may be at risk of sleep deprivation, as well as the emotional impact of having someone you love say unusual things, or even yell out during the night.

 

Sleep talking can be caused by a number of factors, including stress, depression, fever, sleep deprivation, daytime drowsiness, medications and alcohol. There may be a hereditary element involved, but often it’s external factors that seem to stimulate the behaviour. Underlying sleep conditions, such as sleep apnoea, make your partner more prone to talk in their sleep because they often fail to sleep soundly. Sleep talking rarely requires treatment, but your partner should seek medical attention if the episodes become very frequent, emotional, aggressive, abusive or dramatic. Your partner should keep a sleep diary, so that the doctor can see their sleep patterns over the course of two weeks. The diary should include bedtimes, the approximate time your partner fell asleep and woke up, any medicines your partner takes and when they’re taken, working hours, stress levels, exercise undertaken, and any drinks consumed.

 

Here are a few techniques that can keep your partner’s lips zipped after bedtime:

 

1. Get enough sleep. Your partner is more likely to sleep talk if they’re sleep-deprived.

 

2. Develop a relaxing pre-sleep habit. Your partner could try having a warm bath or a light bedtime snack before bed, drinking warm milk, listening to soft music or reading for 10 minutes.

 

3. Listen to your body. Your partner should only go to bed when they feel sleepy.

 

4. Avoid things that will interrupt your sleep. Your partner should avoid TV, smoking, heavy meals, caffeine and alcohol at bedtime.

 

5. Create the right environment. Your bedroom needs to be set up in a way that endorses sleep, so make sure it’s as quiet and cosy as possible.

 

6. Reduce stress. Practising simple exercises, stretches or yoga poses on a regular basis can help your partner to reduce daily stress levels, and sleep better as a result.

 

7. Stick to a routine. Your partner should maintain a regular schedule for meals, medications, chores, and other activities.

 

8. Eat the right foods. Tryptophan increases your body’s level of serotonin, which helps you to feel good and get to sleep more easily. Therefore, your partner should eat plenty of tryptophan-fuelled foods, such as wheat germ, cottage cheese, milk, eggs, and almonds.

 

9. Avoid taking sleeping pills. While sleeping pills may help with the odd episode of restless sleep, most doctors avoid prescribing them for periods longer than three weeks.

 

10. Block out the distractions. You can help your partner sleep better and talk less by getting them some earplugs, or something to create white noise, such as a fan. Just in case these tips don’t work, you might want to invest in some ear plugs for yourself too!

Categories: bedtime nbsp, Causes, nbsp, partner, prevention, sleep, sleep deprivation, Sleep Talking, sleeping pills, Stress Levels, talking

Sleep Drugs: Can They Cause harm?

Sleeping pills may seem like a tempting thought when you’re struggling to sleep each night, but have you really considered the effects they could have on your health? Have you thought about how you’ll feel the next day, the risk of addiction, or the effects it may have when combined with your other medication? When used correctly, prescription sleeping pills can be effective in helping to treat insomnia, but there are risks attached which aren’t commonly discussed and therefore often ignored. For starters, the side effects of how you’ll feel the next day could be a reason to give these pills a second thought. A lot of people worry that they’ll feel dizzy, fuzzy-headed or still tired – these are risks with sleeping pills. However, there are ways to avoid this. If your GP has prescribed the right dosage you shouldn’t feel this way the following morning. Newer drugs for this problem are less likely to cause drowsiness and dizziness, as the effects take less time to wear off compared to older medications.

 

Studies show that 40 percent of people taking sleeping pills may also suffer from mild heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The damage caused by this problem could affect the cells lining the throat, potentially increasing the risk of esophageal cancer. There is, of course, also a risk of addiction with sleeping pills. This is decreasing with newer medications being released, but is still something to consider when beginning a course of this treatment. Researchers have found that the side effects of new drug Rozerem are the lowest of all the sleeping drugs, and appear to be non-habit forming. Taking these pills over a long period of time can lead to you masking the real cause of your insomnia, such as stress or poor sleep habits. Patients often become dependent on the pills but don’t really need them in reality.

 

One common side effect is a chemical taste in the mouth – a study in 2004 found that of 300 adults with insomnia, 34 percent experienced an unpleasant taste in the mouth after taking the tablets. It’s possible that it could also affect your hormones, which could have a less than desirable effect on your sex drive. The increase of melatonin in the body after taking certain sleep medications could put you to sleep as desired, but it could also alter the testosterone levels and upset the menstrual cycle as well. Some people report that they undertake automatic behaviours, such as walking, eating and even driving during your sleep and not realising until you’ve woken up. This, understandably, could have terrible side effects – GPs have stated that some people get up to cook in the middle of the night and leave the gas on, as they aren’t awake to remember to switch it off. Although this is extremely rare, it is something to consider with the use of sleep pills – you may wish to speak to your GP about the risks of this.

 

When you begin taking any medication, the most important thing to know is when to stop taking it and how to do so. Just stopping the pills abruptly because you feel better could lead to rebound insomnia, meaning you have a worse bout of symptoms from your sleep disorder. You should always consult your GP when you want to come off the medication, and they will advise how to do so safely and without the risk of rebounding. Most experts recommend taking lower doses gradually until you’re ready to sleep on your own without the use of tablets.

Categories: Effects, feel, ll feel, Pills, sleep, Sleeping, sleeping pills, treatment