What is Insomnia?
Insomnia is one of the anxiety symptoms which are common in various kinds of psychiatric, medical and sleep disorders. Insomnia is characterized by symptoms like continuous difficulty in sleeping or staying asleep even in the most suitable environment.
On the other hand, while awake, anxiety symptoms of Insomnia feature serious functional impairment. Irrespective of nature and kind, both non-organic and organic insomnia constitute the common factor of continual and discomforting sleep disorder.
According to research conducted by the United States Department of Health and Human Services in 2007, it was found that as many as 64 million Americans either suffer or are diagnosed with Insomnia every year. Moreover, Insomnia and the associated anxiety symptoms are a lot more common in women than men in general.
Kinds of Insomnia…
Insomnia, other than sleep disorder also characterizes anxiety and depression. Insomnia exists in several variant forms depending upon the degree and extent of the disorder and the anxiety symptoms. Nonetheless, three basic kinds of Insomnia are identified at large by physicians. These are,
- Transient Insomnia: Transient insomnia is the most common and lasts for numerous days or weeks at a stretch. Some of the other potential factors that may cause transient insomnia are drastic changes in the sleeping environment, some other physical or psychological disorders, changes in sleep timings, severe anxiety and depression, stress, etc.
The common consequences of transient insomnia are impairment of various psychomotor activities along with continued sleepiness due to regular deprivation of sound sleep and solid rest.
- Acute Insomnia: Acute insomnia characterizes a complete inability to sleep at all, let alone a consistent amount of sleep regularly. These anxiety symptoms may continue for a prolonged period extending over three weeks to six months at a stretch.
- Chronic Insomnia: Chronic insomnia is one of the worst kinds of insomnia and may continue to last for years at a stretch. Chronic insomnia is often the result of another physical or mental disorder or maybe a primary disorder in itself. Anxiety symptoms that cause chronic insomnia are hallucinations, muscular fatigue, mental fatigue, and continued sleepiness. On the other hand, individuals suffering from chronic insomnia may also show symptoms of an increased amount of alertness. Often people suffering from chronic insomnia may envision scenes where things seem to happen in slow motion and moving objects appear as if blended. Chronic insomnia also tends to cause double vision.
Insomnia Treatment: How to treat Insomnia naturally?
As far as Insomnia Treatment is concerned, the most important aspect is to practice certain good sleeping habits which can play an instrumental role in dealing with anxiety insomnia and the related anxiety symptoms.
Here is a list of some of the good sleeping habits that you need to practice to ensure the reduction of the anxiety symptoms associated with Insomnia. Take a look,
- In case you have the habit of taking afternoon naps, see to it that they are not more than an hour long.
- To do away with Insomnia one very effective way can be to exercise regularly. This is also an effective way of treating depression.
- For effective insomnia treatment, the bed should not be used for any other purposes other than sleeping.
- Patients suffering from insomnia should avoid the consumption of coffee, alcohol, tea or smoking at night which may hinder sleep.
- For effectual insomnia treatment, one should never go to bed hungry, a proper meal at night is more than necessary.
- One should never take sleeping pills if not suggested by the doctor. Sleeping pills are often dangerous and can have grave side effects rather than focusing on insomnia treatment. Moreover, sleeping pills tend to lose their effect only within a few weeks of use which can lead to further loss of sleep, anxiety and depression.
- Finally, before going to sleep one needs to relax or meditate for at least an hour which helps in sleeping.
Corresponding treatments and medicines for fighting anxiety insomnia and treating depression
Within the corpus of Insomnia treatment, hypnotherapy and various relaxation techniques tend to work well. Research conducted with insomnia sufferers did reveal the positive advantages of these insomnia treatment methods. Hence most doctors these days suggest their insomniac patients learn relaxation techniques for sleep improvement rather than taking medicines.
On the other hand, there are several herbal cures available as well that lend a helping hand in natural depression treatment and doing away with insomnia.
One such element is Chamomile which can be used for insomnia treatment as it has huge relaxing capabilities. Doctors suggest patients take a cup of Chamomile before going to bed as it has huge effects on the anxiety and depression caused due to insomnia.
Some of the other effective herbs that also help in insomnia treatment are valerian and hops which bring about a calmness in the nerves and help treat depression that accompanies insomnia. For cases of mild to moderate insomnia, intake of herbal tea can prove to be very effective.
Aromatherapy is also an effective method that contributes positively to insomnia treatment. The use of lavender oil can bring about a serene and calm effect, it is also a sedative that helps deal with anxiety and depression. So patients suffering from insomnia can add a few drops of lavender oil to the water before bathing or take a lavender oil massage for relief from insomnia. But no matter what, for effective insomnia treatment people should always consult a doctor first who will be able to guide a proper process for treating depression.