Insomnia

What is insomnia?
Insomnia is a kind of sleep disorder and those who suffer from this condition have to spend a long time to fall asleep, wake up earlier than usual and have disturbed dreams. Each of these conditions is painful and in addition to destroying the quality of sleep, it also destroys the process of peaceful and carefree life.

According to the definition of the American Psychiatric Association, insomnia is characterized by the following two main symptoms.

Sleep problems occur at least three times a week for at least three months.
Sleep problems disrupt the normal activities of a person's life and cause distress.
What are the symptoms of insomnia?
Adults should have seven hours of restful sleep a day, although individual differences can affect the number of hours of sleep. But it should not affect its quality. Those who observe the following signs and symptoms in their sleep patterns are suffering from insomnia.

Daily fatigue and sleepiness
Concentration problems
Mood problems
poor memory

What are the types of insomnia?
Insomnia has several types and includes the following.

Acute insomnia
Acute insomnia is a sleep disorder that lasts for several weeks to several months, and its main feature is that it is temporary. This disorder is caused by certain activities in a person's lifestyle and does not require any special treatment. For example, people who bear work pressure or stress for a short period of time suffer from insomnia, and after that problem is solved, their sleep pattern returns to normal.

Chronic insomnia
Insomnia can cause concern when it becomes chronic and prolonged. For this reason, it should be taken seriously. People who suffer from chronic insomnia are always dealing with this problem.

Primary insomnia
Primary insomnia has no established medical background and is caused by reasons other than medical conditions. This type of insomnia develops over time.

Secondary insomnia
Secondary insomnia has a specific cause. This type of insomnia, which is also called concomitant insomnia, is caused by secondary problems such as medical problems or the use of certain drugs. For this reason, one of the most important treatment measures is to treat the disease or stop taking the drug that caused insomnia.

What is fatal insomnia?
Fatal insomnia is a genetic disorder that is characterized by symptoms such as muscle spasms, impaired memory function, and affects the quality of a person's life. In order to treat this disorder, medical measures must be taken on time, because its side effects are severe and if neglected, it causes damage to the structure and function of the brain and may even lead to the death of the patient.

The exact cause of this disease is not known, but it is in the group of prion disorders, and the natural protein of the cell membrane of brain neurons is destroyed as a result.

What are the causes of insomnia?
Insomnia due to lifestyle
One of the main causes of insomnia is lifestyle. Those who do not have enough physical activity and their diet does not contain all the food groups, they do not consume enough protein and water, instead they consume a lot of caffeine, they cannot experience restful and comfortable sleep. Also, overeating at night is one of the causes of insomnia.

The occurrence of insomnia due to illness
Some physical problems such as chronic body pains, lung and stomach problems, and heart diseases cause insomnia. Also, those who are involved in hormonal disorders such as thyroid diseases may also suffer from insomnia. Of course, physiological and hormonal changes in pregnancy can also cause problems such as struggling to sleep or experiencing interrupted sleep.

Psychological disorders and insomnia
Those who are involved in mental and nervous problems such as depression, anxiety and stress, bipolar disorders are involved in insomnia problems.
What are the effects of insomnia?
Night sleep cleans toxins from the brain and helps brain cells to store energy. Therefore, disturbance in the experience of adequate and peaceful sleep can cause physical problems and disturbances in hormones and appetite or obesity or make it difficult for a person to regulate emotions.
Finally, sleep problems cause chronic pains and weaken the body's immune system, and can increase pregnancy complications in women.

How to prevent insomnia?
The first basic principle to experience peaceful and comfortable sleep is to be relaxed. If a person is exposed to bad news and information before going to sleep and has anxiety, we cannot expect him to experience quality sleep and prepare for the next day.
So, before anything else, you should leave inappropriate and anxiety-inducing habits and try to observe sleep hygiene completely. The following are the most important recommendations for maintaining sleep hygiene.
Have a specific time to go to sleep and wake up so that the body gets used to it.
Get regular physical activity, such as walking, stretching, or aerobic exercise.
Limit alcohol and caffeine intake.
Do not smoke because nicotine disrupts sleep patterns.
Sleep in a quiet and dimly lit place.
Do not eat heavy food before going to bed.
Frequent naps during the day can lead to insomnia at night.

When should we see a doctor?
Quality sleep is one of the important factors that make you have enough energy to do daily tasks. So, if you feel sleepy and sleepy during the day, or it takes a long time to fall asleep, and you wake up several times during the night, or if you have nightmares, you should see a doctor.