Do you suffer from Insomnia?

What is Insomnia?

An extremely common occurrence of not being able to actually stay asleep or to fall asleep initially. 

Attributes such as stress and anxiety, even lighting, temperature and noise all contribute to playing a part in an inactive sleep pattern, cultivating such a vital importance to our brain function, mental health and overall well being.

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Our sleep doctors can help diagnose and cure Insomnia conditions.

Insomnia is measured differently depending how long the sleep pattern is disrupted for, over a period of time.

Transient Insomnia – Less than a week, related to minor stress at the time

Acute Insomnia – Short term (less than 3 months)

• Primarily common with women

• Caused by a very stressful situation, death, change of job

• Being diagnosed with a serious medical problem

Chronic Insomnia – Long term sleep problems, not being able to sleep for 3 nights or more.

• Over 3 months or longer

• Affected mainly with women

• Partner in bed could be causing Insomnia due to stresses in relationship

• Underlying medical prognosis such as neurological problems

• Poor quality of Sleep hygiene

• Recurring Nightmares

We would normally assume that irregular sleep such as Insomnia is caused by sleep being eluded at bedtime hours. In fact it is more than often connected to our bodies and minds not being able to relax properly during the day. We have difficulty falling asleep as we are wired from physical and mental activities, stress and work.

When and if we do fall asleep the pattern is generally disturbed by constant waking, often leading to fatigue the following day. A forgetful, Irritable and anxious mood is more than familiar. Our self esteem, poor memory and focus can result in a decreased motivation and generally have an impact on our professional performance at school and work.

We are more than likely to make mistakes, lack errors of judgment and more seriously cause accidents whilst suffering from Insomnia or a sleep disorder.

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The Facts

• Exercise during your day, endorphins will relax the body and mind but NOT within a few hours of going to bed

• Ensure your sleeping area is dark and quiet

• Adults should have between 7 and 9 hours of sleep

• If tiredness occurs the next day its likely your not getting enough sleep

• Shift work and jet lag can cause Insomnia

• Drinking alcohol and caffeine before bedtime can keep you awake

• Being comfortable in bed, wearing loose clothing, clean bed sheets

• Use earplugs and wear a comfortable blindfold to bed

• A well ventilated room

• Stick to a structured sleep plan, do not sleep in after a bad night’s sleep

• Avoid bright lights on smartphones, television and devices before bedtime

• Not Eating large quantities of food before going to bed

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What happens during Insomnia?

The tick tocking of the clock, the white noise infringing on faint distractions whilst we count away the hours, minutes and seconds of the night. A blanket of darkness magnified by flickering images as we shut our eyes to concentrate so hard to lose consciousness. The partner that lays sound asleep next to us, whilst our minds wander in despair.

In travelling through turbulent waves of mental torture, adventure and excitement we journey through emotion and elope with fearless conclusions. We plan and develop strategic opportunities for our future. We conduct brilliant lyrics for songs, write masterpieces and endorse pragmatic solutions to our problems.

Our Anxious thoughts of financial hardship, working out mathematical equations to be able to afford that holiday which is far too much money! ‘Role playing ‘in professional discussions at work, revisiting the past and changing the outcome of life learnt situations. What to make for tea at the dinner party in 2 months time, who to invite, the dress code… endless thoughts that will not switch off and go away our minds are wired.

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The desire to drift into a long peaceful sleep

Finally the mind and body can float into a place of complete tranquility. The short lived insight of a minute’s sleep is clouded with a dreaded feeling of next day fatigue and complete self obstruction. That 8 am important meeting to address, the kids school run, the corporate dinner that evening.!!

Endless thoughts upon thoughts turn into an array of emotions swimming through the brain again until finally it happens, the noise that we were anticipating for such a long time has finally arrived, the alarm…

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Full Diagnostic & Therapy Service 

SleepDoctor provides a full diagnostic and therapy service. The diagnostic assessment uses standardised tools such as compilation of a sleep diary to assess for chronic insomnia. The assessment session will cover symptoms, symptom frequency, possible triggers, thoughts and behaviours associated with sleep, and how these interfere with sleep. The Home Sleep Test provides an objective determination of sleep stages, arousals and sleep fragmentation and provides valuable additional insights into the condition.

The CBTi service is a multicomponent treatment approach that addresses both mental and physical factors that affect sleep, and is highly effective in the treatment of insomnia. Therapy sessions are individualised to the client’s needs and will cover sleep health and regulation, sleep restriction therapy, stimulus control, cognitive therapies and relaxation techniques.

 

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