Insomnia
INSOMNIA
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Insomnia
is the inability to fall asleep, or the inability to get enough sleep. The
amount of sleep a person requires is age related. Babies and children need
more sleep than the elderly. The amount of sleep needed by the aged varies
from 4-5 hours compared to a younger person who needs about 8 hours.
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Symptoms
Causes
What You Can Do
What the Doctor Can Do
Symptoms
v Difficulty
in falling asleep.
v Broken
or restless sleep.
v Waking
up many times during the night.
v Getting
up during the early hours of the morning and being unable to go back to sleep.
v Being
tired, drowsy and irritable during the day.
Causes
v Stress
and worry
v Uncomfortable
environment not conducive to sleep – e.g. noisy and dirty, cold or hot.
v New
environment – e.g. shifting to new house.
v Nocturia
– common in older person due to illness like prostate gland disease or weakness
of the bladder muscles.
v Pain
in certain types of illness.
v Drug
induced e.g. alcohol will quickly induce short sleep, but there is rebound insomnia.
v Withdrawal
of certain drugs e.g. hypnotics.
What You Can Do
v Make
the sleeping environment more comfortable.
v Have
a regular time for sleeping.
v Avoid
too much excitement before sleeping.
v Avoid
catnaps during the day.
v Avoid
alcohol or caffeine containing drinks before going to bed. Instead, take a milky
drink.
v Exercise
regularly during the day 3-5 times a week but avoid exercise before bedtime.
v If
you do not sleep in 20 minutes, get out of bed and sit in another room till you
feel sleepy.
v Read
a boring book.
v Listen
to soft music.
v Consult
your doctor, if this problem lasts for many days or affects your daily activities.
v Take
medication, such as hypnotics, for insomnia only as and when prescribed by a doctor
What the Doctor Can Do
v Examine you and
identify the cause of the problem.
v Treat according
to the findings.
v Prescribe medication
– sleeping tablets, if necessary.
v Refer for further
investigation, if necessary, to a psychiatrist.
Live
a healthy lifestyle and do not lose sleep over not being able to sleep!
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