Decode sleep and sleepless nights

About a third of the population complains about a period of insomnia in life, half of which do not require treatment, and 10% of the disorder actually requires treatment.

>>>The secret to "surviving" after a sleepless night

Tran Duy Tam, MD, Ho Chi Minh City Psychiatric Hospital, said that insomnia is a common disorder that may be related to physical and mental diseases or to appear as a primary disorder. Insomnia requires accurate diagnosis and specific treatment. The health consequences as well as fatal accidents caused by lack of sleep are quite common.

According to Dr. Tam, a normal person will fall asleep after 15-20 minutes. In the next 45 minutes they were in a slow sleep stage, having to shake the province. The next 45 minutes begin to have irregular sleep patterns, which can be observed through rapid eye movement. During the sleep process, deep sleep cycles will gradually decrease, the periods of sleepless sleep will often increase gradually, the more people eventually have poor sleep and dream.

The criteria to consider insomnia include complaints about sleep through dissatisfaction with sleep duration or quality with the following signs:

- Difficult to sleep.

- Difficulty maintaining sleep, waking up many times or having trouble returning to sleep.

- Wake up too early and go back to sleep.

Sleep disorders usually appear several nights a week and last long.(Artwork: whywesuffer)

Common causes of insomnia

Secondary insomnia after body disease

- Difficult to go to sleep due to diseases causing pain or discomfort, central nervous system damage.

- Difficulty maintaining sleep due to conditions such as sleep apnea syndrome, night muscle jerky and restless leg syndrome, nutritional factors, sleep diseases, substance use (including alcohol), withdrawal syndrome, interaction between many different substances. Endocrine or metabolic diseases, inflammatory diseases, tumors, all pathologies that cause pain or discomfort, pathology of brain stem injury or hypothalamus, aging . are also causes.

Secondary insomnia after mental illness or environmental changes.

- Difficulty falling asleep due to anxiety, stress, muscle tension, changing living environment, sleep disturbance rhythm, not obeying sleep hygiene.

- Difficulty maintaining sleep due to primary depression, changing living environment, sleep disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia.

Some other factors cause insomnia

There are some sites that are susceptible to insomnia or stressful events. Sensitive sites such as anxiety, anxiety, excessive defense, and psychological inhibition increase the risk of anxiety.

Environmental factors are too noisy, too bright, inappropriate temperature, too cold or hot, high altitude lack of oxygen .

Family factors are also worth noting, it is found that in families with insomnia, the rate of insomnia is higher than the general population, especially the immediate relatives. Family factors include both biological and psychological factors.

Poor sleep hygiene such as using stimulants, not creating sleep habits, abuse of bed to rest outside sleep .

The consequences of prolonged insomnia

- Disorders and decline in social activities, employment, study .

- In the working day is often ineffective, difficult to concentrate, frustrating, easy to cause accidents in work and move.

- In the long term, health risks such as depression, high blood pressure, myocardial infarction . together with the risk of reducing the quality of life and affecting the family economy.

Treatment of insomnia

- Search and manage common causes of insomnia, which are common mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, adaptive disorders.

- Benzodiapine anti-anxiety drugs (group Z) or groups of mildly antidepressant drugs are prescribed by the physician.

- Pay attention to good hygiene for good sleep such as airy bedrooms, quiet, limited lighting. Exercise regularly, regularly.

- Appropriate nutrition, balance. Avoid stimulants, choose foods that facilitate sleep.

- Limit sleep day, use hammock.

- Control sleep itself to maximize sleep performance. For people with sleep problems, pre-sleep moments and environmental characteristics often cause them to inhibit, super-sensitive, stress, obsessive (fear of bed, fear of night .) thereby leading to a more severe condition of insomnia. Therefore, it is necessary to exclude the effect of awakening effects, not watching television, reading, living in the bed area as well as not sleeping in the living area .

- Do not go to bed too early when the sleep rhythm has not arrived, causing anxiety.

- If you can't sleep after 30 minutes, don't linger in bed.