Insomnia

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Insomnia

We spend one third of our lives in bed! Yet, 25% of adults suffer from insomnia! Good quality sleep is essential to stay healthy in body and mind. During sleep, body tissues are repaired after the wear and tear of the previous day. Certain hormones such as growth hormone are released which help bones and muscles to grow, whilst the immune system is boosted ready for the next day's onslaught!

Babies need 17 hours of sleep, whereas some adults can survive on 4 hours a night, e.g Napolean and Winston Churchill! However, older people need less sleep, often getting up early each morning, though catnapping during the day!

The early hours of night time sleep are the deepest and the most important. Once we get off to sleep, we rapidly enter a deep sleep phase for about 90 minutes, then sleep lightens as we enter the dreaming phase. Throughout the night we continue through these different phases.

Sleep disturbance may be due to an uncomfortable bed, noisy neighbours, eating too late, especially spicy foods, or exercising too close to bedtime.

Major reasons for not sleeping are stress and worry. Whilst about 1 in 6 people can't sleep because of overactive minds! If you are suffering real sleep disturbance then you will find that you fall asleep during the following day and may be nodding off several times a day!

Tips for a restful nighty night!!

1. Always go to bed at a regular time each night.

2. Get up at the same time each morning even at weekends!

3. Never sleep during the day.

4. Use your bedroom only as a place for sleep. Don't use it for eating, working or watching television.

5. On going to bed, ensure the bedroom is dark, quiet and well ventilated.

6. Your bed should be comfortable. Fresh sheets and pillow cases may also help.

7. Every night before bedtime, relax and take your mind off the stresses of the day (and the next day!). Take a relaxing hot bath, listen to relaxing music or read an enjoyable book.

8. Avoid stimulants which interfere with sleep, such as coffee, tea, cola, cocoa and tobacco. Drink hot milk, or Horlicks or Ovaltine. Alcohol, spicy meals and rich food should also be avoided late at night.

9. If you have woken up and can't go back to sleep, don't lie in bed worrying about not sleeping. Get up, go to another room, make a hot drink (tea, coffee etc). Sit in a comfortable chair, maybe with a cosy rug over your legs, relax and read a book or magazine. When you feel sleepy, go back to bed, relax and think of some pleasant tranquil scene as you breathe in and out slowly and deeply. If you don't fall asleep after 10 to 15 minutes, repeat the process again. Don't worry about not sleeping, just relax, and sleep will come to you.

If you awaken in the early hours of the morning about 4 to 5 o'clock, and you've also been feeling a bit low and weepy, you may have depression. Your sleep problem would then be cured by anti depressants which are non addictive and very effective.

If you are unable to overcome your sleep problem by yourself, then see your doctor. He may prescribe a short course of sleeping tablets, but try not to take such medication long term.

Sleep Apnoea

Sleep apnoea (pronounced app nee ah) is a disorder in which there are recurrent episodes of stopping breathing during sleep. It is caused by obstruction to the intake of air through the respiratory passages, which results from collapse of the walls of the throat, stopping air from entering the lungs. After about 20 to 30 seconds of not breathing, the body responds by awakening slightly, so that the affected muscles regain their normal tone and air is suddenly inhaled with a resultant `almighty snore'! The sufferer does not awaken totally, but reaches a lighter level of sleep, so that normal breathing can occur. The cycle continues again and again throughout the night, so that they rarely reach the deeper levels of restorative sleep necessary for normal functioning the next day.

Sufferers of sleep apnoea, therefore, complain of excessive sleepiness throughout the next day. Their partner is badly disturbed by the extremely loud snoring. Sufferers may also complain of headaches and dryness of the throat in the mornings. It is more common in overweight men, especially with neck sizes over 16", and in those those who smoke and drink generous amounts of alcohol.

Men with sleep apnoea are twenty three times more likely to have heart attacks, and anyone who complains of daytime sleepiness, snores, and has a large neck size should report to their GP.

Sleep apnoea can be cured by loosing weight, stopping alcohol and cigarettes. If these measures do not work, the patient has to wear a mask over the nose and mouth, which delivers air under pressure into the air passages to stop them from collapsing. This is usually very effective. Surgical measures have not been very successful to date.
IMPORTANT NOTICE : This content is from the Dr Chris Steele personal archive and is provided for convenience only. Information contained here may no longer agree with the most up to date medical advice. Please check with a medical professional before taking any action.

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