The sad truth is, most people experience sleeplessness at some point during their lives. But what is the difference between a restless night and insomnia?
Insomnia is a sleep disorder, where the sufferer regularly has problems falling asleep, or remaining asleep throughout the night. Symptoms of insomnia include finding it hard to fall asleep even though you’re feeling tired and unexplained waking during the night or early in the morning. This in turn makes it hard to function properly during the day.
Causes of insomnia:
There are many possible reasons people get insomnia. These can include:
- Many people find it hard to cope with stress and insomnia is their body’s response to a stressful situation. Worrying about things can affect your ability to ‘switch off’ and fall asleep
- Certain health conditions or psychiatric problems can also interrupt your sleep, especially mental health or anxiety based conditions such as depression or post-traumatic stress disorder.
- Some medications, both over the counter and prescribed, can affect sleep too.
- There is no magic ‘cure’ for insomnia, but sticking to regular sleeping and waking hours will help to re-programs your body and mind
- Certain foods such as cherry juice, turkey and nuts have been shown to improve mild cases of insomnia if eaten as part of a healthy diet, and over time
- Make sure your bedroom is dark and quiet and that your bed is comfy and inviting.
- For those with extreme cases of insomnia there are medications that can help
- Avoid caffeine, alcohol, or eating large meals just before bed and relax your body and mind by taking a warm bath or listening to music.
- Alternative therapies such as mindfulness, acupuncture and yoga have been shown to have a big impact
- You may be overheating during the night without even realising. Our bodies need to cool down for sleep, so this may be the cause of being unable to fall or stay asleep. Invest in a cooling pillow like our Cool Touch, and a breathable duvet such as Breathe – which also wicks away humidity for a fresher night’s sleep