What Is Insomnia
One sure way to spoil your day is to have a spolt sleep. You have a big day planned and the night before, you cannot sleep at all. Why? Why can’t I fall asleep? Before this happens, it’s time to answer the question, what is insomnia?
Clinically, the question, what is insomnia, is answered like this. It’s a condition where you either have troubles falling asleep, staying asleep or when you wake, your sleep is of poor quality, so you are still very tired. In all cases, you will suffer much the same results. If you’ve suffered from long term insomnia, it can cause you to feel depressed and irritable. You could have trouble concentrating, learning and remembering. Your energy levels will definitely be down.
What is insomnia and Who Does It Affect?
Don’t ever think that you are alone when it comes to insomnia. There is an estimated forty million Americans that experience insomnia in one form or another, but about 95% go untreated and undiagnosed. Most of the time, they don’t realize that they have a problem or don’t think that anything can be done for them to figure out what is insomnia and how is it affecting them.
If you find that your insomnia is lasting longer then a few weeks, it’s time to consult with your family doctor. Otherwise, it will start to affect your mood, your relationships and definitely your ability to function properly.
What is Insomnia and how can it be treated?
Insomnia in many cases is a problem with larger causes, so treating the other causes can help to cure insomnia. Some of these causes can be as simple as:
- Diet.
Avoid caffeine or other stimulants later in the day. This depends on the individual as each of us have a different tolerance for dietary stimulants. Tobacco or other products with nicotine. I can vouch for this. I had smoked for about ten years and whenever I smoked more then I normally did, I did have troubles sleeping. Certain asthma, cold and allergy mediciations can definitely cause problems getting proper sleep. - Exercise.
Lack of regular exercise or pain caused by improper or over exercising can cause insomnia. The latter seems self evident but the former is not. Our bodies are built to require a degree of exercise every day. The body will actually become healthier with regular use! Sounds simple enough, but if you are not giving your body a proper amount of exercise each and every day, you will be asking yourself what is insomnia doing to me?Since I’ve instituted a regular routine of exercise, my problems with insomnia have definitely reduced. Even if I suffer from insomnia, I find that the sleep that I get seems to go a lot further then it did before. To give you some idea, my exercise is simply going out for a brisk one hour walk every day. Simple is easy and I do find that I’ve stopped asking myself the question, what is insomnia doing with me in bed! - Mental Anxiety and Stress.
When your mind is feverishly working on the day’s problems and worries, you will not be able to sleep properly. It is not unusual to suffer from insomnia when you are under excessive mental stress or anxiety. My only personal recommendation to this is to sit down and decide what battles you can handle in life and what battle you will have to pull away from. I had to take a step back once in my career and decide that the job I was working was causing too much mental stress and I quit. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do or how I was going to care for my family financially, it in the end turned out to be a great decision. What is insomnia doing to me was a question that I stopped asking. - Numerous other diseases and physical conditions.
You will need to consult with your family doctor or specialist. Complex conditions such as chronic pain, arthritis and headache disorders require medical guidance. Sleep discomforts such as excessive snoring or sleep apnea, (condition where a person either stops breathing while sleeping or breathing passages get blocked during sleeping), can cause one to have unrestful sleep. I personally suffer from mild sleep apnea and my sleep is unterrupted quite often by it at times.
What is Insomnia and How To Cure Insomnia
Being there are several causes for lack of peaceful sleep, you will have to look at your situation individually. I would recommend looking at the simple things first.
- Are you eating properly?
- Are you exercising regularly?
- Are you on a good schedule? In other words do you try to go to sleep and wake at the same times every day?
- Are you under excessive stress in your personal or professional life? You may have to make hard decisions to cure insomnia.
After that you will definitely need to consult with your family doctor or specialist.
Conclusion
The question, what is insomnia, is answered as a condition where you either have troubles falling asleep, staying asleep or when you wake, your sleep is of poor quality, so you are still very tired.
It can be caused by a number of things, but always look for lifestyle remedies before you look to purchase over the counter sleep aids to remedy the problem.
