Conquering Insomnia, Pharmaceutical and Natural Methods
Conquering Insomnia, Pharmaceutical and Natural Methods
There is an old Chinese proverb that says, "Only when one cannot sleep does one know how long the night is." If you have ever had trouble falling asleep night after night after night, you know how true that is. This condition, known as insomnia affects nearly a quarter of adults in the Unites States. Insomnia not only ruins your night by your difficulty falling asleep, it ruins your day by as you are not physically and mentally prepared to go about and do your normal work and activities. There are many things you can to try to alleviate this problem. Look out for things going on in your life that may causes insomnia and seek help when necessary. There are a lot of treatments, both good sleep hygiene methods and sleep drugs, which can cure insomnia.
First, it is helpful to know what insomnia actually is. It is the most common of all sleep disorders. It is a condition that can be characterized by one or more of these four things (NIH):
• difficulty falling asleep at night
• awaking during the night, and having trouble falling back asleep
• waking up earlier than you should
• getting sleep which is not refreshing to your body
Chronic insomnia is the most unwelcome kind of insomnia. That is when you have difficulty falling asleep or with any of the above symptoms on a near-nightly basis, or having these symptoms for at least several weeks.
Insomnia is a problem because sleep is a very important activity for your body. Why, then, is sleep such a vital thing for your body to get? When you sleep, your body is not just shutting down and completely resting. In the 1950s, much research was done on sleepers and they found that there are actually two major phases of sleep (U. of Mich.). The four-stage non-rapid eye movement sleep is where people gradually drift from mild, relaxing sleep, to a very deep slumber. Rapid eye movement sleep, or REM sleep, alternates with non-REM sleep in 90-minute cycles. This phase is where your eyes move quickly back and forth under your eyelids, and much of your dreaming occurs during REM sleep (U. of Mich)
Without getting the sleep you need, you suffer during the day. You may feel tired or lazy. Your concentration is not at the level that you need. Your performance at work or school may suffer. Theoretically, if you...