What to take with a bad dream for an adult. Sleep disturbance. Effects of caffeine and alcoholic beverages

General information

They are a fairly common problem. Frequent complaints of poor sleep are made by 8-15% of the adult population of the entire globe, and 9-11% use various sleeping pills. Moreover, this figure is much higher among the elderly. Sleep disorders occur at any age and for every age category specific types of violations. So bedwetting, sleepwalking and night terrors occur in childhood, and pathological drowsiness or insomnia is more common in older people. There are also such sleep disorders that, starting in childhood, accompany a person all his life, for example, narcolepsy.

Sleep disorders are primary - not associated with the pathology of any organs or secondary - arising as a result of other diseases. Sleep disturbance can occur when various diseases central nervous system or mental disorders. With a number of somatic diseases, patients experience problems with sleep due to pain, cough, shortness of breath, angina pectoris or arrhythmias, itching, frequent urination, etc. Intoxications of various origins, including in cancer patients, often cause drowsiness. Sleep disturbances in the form of pathological drowsiness can develop due to hormonal abnormalities, for example, in the pathology of the hypothalamic-mesencephalic region (epidemic encephalitis, tumor, etc.).

Classification of sleep disorders

Insomnia (insomnia, disturbances in the process of falling asleep and sleeping):

• Psychosomatic insomnia - associated with psychological state, can be situational (temporary) or permanent
• Caused by alcohol or medication:

1. long-term use of drugs that activate or depress the central nervous system;
2. withdrawal syndrome of hypnotics, sedatives and other drugs;

• Caused by mental illness
• Caused by breathing disorders during sleep:

1. syndrome of decreased alveolar ventilation;
2. sleep apnea syndrome;

• Caused by restless legs syndrome or nocturnal myoclonus

Hypersomnia (excessive sleepiness):

• Psychophysiological hypersomnia - associated with a psychological condition, may be permanent or temporary
• Caused by alcohol or medication;
• Caused by mental illness;
• Caused by various breathing disorders during sleep;
• Caused by other pathological conditions

Sleep and wake disturbances:

• Temporary sleep disturbances - associated with abrupt change work schedule or time zone
• Permanent sleep disturbances:

1. slow sleep syndrome
2. premature sleep syndrome
3. non-24-hour sleep-wake cycle syndrome

Benzodiazepine preparations are more often used as drug therapy for sleep disorders. Preparations with a short time of action - triazolam and midazolam are prescribed for violations of the process of falling asleep. But when they are taken, there are often adverse reactions: agitation, amnesia, confusion, and impaired morning sleep. sleeping pills with long-term action- diazepam, flurazepam, chlordiazepoxide are used for early morning or frequent night awakenings. However, they often cause daytime sleepiness. In such cases, prescribe drugs with an average time of action - zopiclone and zolpidem. These drugs are less likely to develop dependence or tolerance.

Another group of drugs used for sleep disorders are antidepressants: amitriptyline, mianserin, doxepin. They do not lead to addiction, they are indicated for aged patients, patients with depressive conditions or suffering from chronic pain syndrome. But big number side effects limits their use.

In severe cases of sleep disturbance and in the absence of the result of the use of other drugs in patients with confusion, antipsychotics are used with sedative effect: levomepromazine, promethazine, chlorprothixene. In cases of pathological drowsiness mild degree weak stimulants of the central nervous system are prescribed: glutamine and ascorbic acid, calcium preparations. At severe violations- psychotonic drugs: iproniazid, imipramine.

Treatment of sleep rhythm disorders in elderly patients is carried out in a complex combination vasodilators(nicotinic acid, papaverine, bendazol, vinpocetine), CNS stimulants and light tranquilizers of plant origin (valerian, motherwort). Sleeping pills can only be taken as prescribed by a doctor and under his supervision. After the end of the course of treatment, it is necessary to gradually reduce the dose of the drug and carefully reduce it to nothing.

Forecast and prevention of sleep disorders

Usually, various violations sleep is cured. Difficulties are presented by the therapy of sleep disorders caused by a chronic somatic disease or occurring in old age.

Compliance with sleep and wakefulness, normal physical and mental stress, the correct use of drugs that affect the central nervous system (alcohol, tranquilizers, sedatives, hypnotics) - all this serves to prevent sleep disorders. Prevention of hypersomnia consists in the prevention of traumatic brain injury and neuroinfection, which can lead to excessive sleepiness.

Full sleep without awakening is an indicator of good human health. Why do people wake up at night without obvious reasons, often at the same time, is of interest to sleep specialists - somnologists and people suffering from insomnia. How to return a healthy night's rest to adults, children and the elderly will become clearer with a deeper study of the topic of sleep.

Bad sleep at night

The quality of night rest is one of the main factors full life person. Insomnia, whatever the cause, affects the physical and emotional health of people. It is impossible to cure this disease with medication, because addiction to drugs appears. The person taking sleeping pills becomes addicted to the drug. The lack of medicine frightens a person, makes him nervous.

The main causes of poor sleep for men and women are:

• overwork;
• excitation;
• violation of habitual life biorhythms (work, study, entertainment events at night);
• uncomfortable conditions for a night's rest;
• bad habits (smoking, drinking alcohol);
• mental and physical illnesses.

During pregnancy, women sometimes wake up due to hormonal changes in the body. it natural process although it is inconvenient expectant mother but is temporary. You shouldn't worry about this. General somatic diseases such as osteochondrosis, diabetes mellitus, pathologies of the lungs, gastrointestinal tract and other organs can lead to disruption of night rest due to painful symptoms.

Psychosomatic illnesses: rheumatoid arthritis, bronchial asthma, neurodermatitis, etc. in their nature have both a physical and a mental aspect. Stressful, panic states, psycho-emotional experiences significantly excite the patient's nervous system during wakefulness, which leads to sleep disturbance. These reasons prevent a good night's rest for adults and children.

Some drugs prescribed by a doctor for the treatment of a particular disease have sleep disturbance among the side effects. For example, beta-blockers are a common type medicines for the treatment of diseases of cardio-vascular system, have such side effect. Using medications, you must carefully study the instructions for use. If after using the medicine the patient began to sleep poorly, he should contact his doctor with a request to replace the drug.

In adults

People do not always treat nighttime urination as a disease, but such a disease exists. At night, the process of urine production slows down, healthy man can sleep for 8 hours straight. Nocturia disease causes frequent waking due to a burning desire to urinate. During the aging of the body, the quality of sleep is disturbed: it becomes superficial, intermittent. Old people may wake up several times a night due to physical pain accompanying their chronic diseases.

Alcohol drunk in the evening can quickly plunge a person into a deep sleep. Some men and women use this remedy to relax and fall asleep quickly. The body will have to process alcohol at night, when most of the body's organs are not active. This is how it is created additional load on the liver, which causes internal unconscious anxiety in a person, a state of anxiety. As a result, he may wake up several times a night.

Sleep apnea (stopping breathing reflexes) is another cause of poor sleep. This disease affects about 5% of the world's population. Congenital pathologies, overweight affect the narrowing of the upper respiratory tract at night, which leads to a temporary cessation of breathing. The unconscious instinct of self-preservation makes one wake up with a critical amount of oxygen in the blood. Sleep apnea sufferers often snore, which worsens the quality of sleep at night.

Patients with depression do not sleep well. Constant stress does not give the body the desired relaxation. It is difficult for a person to fall asleep, he often wakes up. Due to lack of sleep, anxiety increases, the disease worsens. With restless legs syndrome, the patient cannot sleep because of an irresistible desire to move his legs. it neurological disease causes discomfort: itching, burning, tingling of the legs. They are so strong that the signals of the nervous system make you wake up.

Nighttime heartburn, coughing fits, pain when swallowing - for these reasons, most people wake up during a night's rest. With gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), these symptoms torment the patient, forcing them to wake up from acid reflux(throwing sour gastric juice into the esophagus). Such emissions can be several times during the night. The patient wakes up every time.

In children

Anxious mothers are alarmed by the fact that babies often wake up at night and cry. By itself, crying babies should not disturb parents. The daytime excitement that the baby receives when awake can cause awakening. This emotional aspect is not pathological, because new experiences naturally excite his fragile nervous system.

Night feeding of a newborn baby is considered normal. If the mother breastfeeds the baby by the hour, it is natural to wake him up for night feeding. Gradually, mothers can increase the time between feedings, then, instead of milk, teach the child to drink water at night. With age, the habit of waking up at night will leave the baby if the parents are consistent and patient.

Babies often suffer from abdominal cramps due to the fact that the metabolism child's body not yet normalized. This can cause nighttime crying. Tummy massage, a warm diaper that warms the abdomen, special teas will help mothers relieve the pain of the child. Colic can disturb a baby up to three months of age. When a baby is teething, he becomes very restless and capricious, often wakes up. This natural process brings suffering to the child. The temperature may rise. Moms should definitely seek help from a pediatrician at this time.

Breasts are very sensitive skin. A full wet diaper worries the baby, and he wakes up. The child does not sleep well with a cold, as he is worried about coughing, snot, and fever. Like adults, children do not sleep well due to uncomfortable beds, unsuitable clothes, uncomfortable air temperature in the nursery. They are scared loud sounds are irritated by strong odors. If the baby is created optimal conditions, it will stop waking up at night.

It happens that older children wake up in the middle of the night and call their mother. This is fine. Perhaps the child had a nightmare. Children often wake up if they are afraid. It is very important to put your baby to sleep properly. When he is laid down by loving parents, the environment is friendly and the child is healthy, he will have no reason to wake up at night and cry.

Why do people wake up at night

Melatonin is a sleep hormone produced by the pineal gland of the brain. It begins to be actively produced after 21 hours. If melatonin is produced normally, the person does not know what insomnia is. Closer to morning pineal gland dopamine receptors are activated, which block the release of melatonin. If the production of these hormones fails, the person sleeps poorly. A polysomnographic examination can identify the causes of a patient’s poor sleep, and a sleep specialist will give necessary recommendations.

Somnologists help to understand why people often wake up at night. In their opinion, there are a number of reasons that affect the quality of night rest. Analyzing them, excluding negative factors, you can stop waking up at night. The temperature of the room where adults sleep should be 17-20°C. In the children's bedroom - 18-21 ° C. Sleeping person's body physiological processes, must cool down a bit to enter the sleep phase. If the child often wakes up sweaty, you need to change his blanket and pajamas for lighter ones.

Frequent waking up

Reasons for frequent waking up at night can be functional disorders organism (parasomnia). It will not be possible to cope with them without the help of a doctor. Parasomnias include:

• sleepwalking (unconscious walking at night);
• unexplained night terrors, nightmares;
• enuresis ( involuntary urination in nighttime);
• sleep paralysis.

At the same time

Why do people wake up at the same time at night can be understood by understanding the anatomy human body and cycles of its operation. In case of poor sleep, do not neglect the help of a doctor, he will select the necessary medication or cognitive-behavioral treatment. The reasons for waking up at certain hours of the night can be as follows:

• Human gallbladder actively working from 23.00 to 1.00 hours. This is the period when the fats consumed during the day are broken down by the bile acids of the body. If awakening falls on these hours, it is worth observing lean diet do not eat before bed. Psychologists say that resentment, judgment, and an inability to forgive are likely causes of sleep loss during this time.
• From 1.00 to 3.00 hours for the liver comes active phase. It recycles harmful toxins. Evening drink alcoholic beverages, fatty food can cause loss of sleep at the specified time due to the fact that the liver is experiencing overload. FROM psychological point vision, anger and guilt are also the cause of insomnia after 1.00 o'clock.
• From 5.00 to 7.00 hours - the active phase of the intestine. All his work is directed towards purification. More often in the morning, a person frees the intestines from processed food residues. If someone thinks that interrupting sleep during this period of time is unacceptable for him, then bowel cleansing procedures should be performed.

Every night

Why you can’t sleep at night, you can understand if you carefully examine the sleeping place. Often, sleep interruptions are caused by an uncomfortable bed, an unusual environment in the room in which you have to spend the night. Stuffy air, pungent odors, coffee drunk before bedtime, emotional discomfort - this is not a complete list of reasons leading to a violation of a good night's rest.

At 3 o'clock in the morning

From 3.00 to 5.00 the lungs are active. During these hours, people suffering from lung diseases wake up. The cough gets worse because the lungs are clearing themselves at this time. If awakening occurs during the specified period, you should take a closer look at lung health - quit smoking, for example. exposed depressive states people often wake up before 5 am.

in a cold sweat

Why a person wakes up at night, drenched in cold sweat for no reason, therapists will help determine by diagnosing diseases with this symptom. Cold perspiration, along with other symptoms, is clinical picture the following diseases:

• In infectious diseases, the patient is thrown into cold sweat, he is feverish. Viral pathologies: influenza, HIV are accompanied by sweating during cold skin.
• Migraine is diagnosed by frequent headaches that even wake the person up. He wakes up covered in a cold sweat.
• withdrawal syndrome characteristic of patients chronic alcoholism accompanied by chills and cold perspiration. An alcoholic sleeps uneasily, waking up often in a cold sweat.
• mental illness characterized constant sweating. Irritants in mental disorders can be situations that a healthy person perceives as normal.
• Anemia is almost always accompanied by a feeling of cold extremities. The patient often wakes up in a cold perspiration.
• Cancer causes sweating and weight loss. bad dream and general physical malaise often torment these patients.
• Hormonal disruptions during menopause often cause cold sweats or hot flashes in women, causing them to suddenly wake up at night.
• At hypertension horse racing blood pressure accompanied by perspiration. The body turns on the protective property of thermoregulation during constriction of blood vessels. Taking diuretics (drugs that increase the rate of urine formation) to lower blood pressure can cause nighttime awakening.
• Disease thyroid gland affects the psycho-emotional state of the patient. The state of the thyroid gland affects physical state the whole organism. Hormonal imbalance can cause cold sweats.

What to do if you wake up at night

If nighttime urination is a problem, fluid intake should be limited after 7 pm. Tea and coffee are natural diuretics, so you should avoid them. evening time. Infectious diseases genitourinary system, nocturia, kidney disease, diabetes can provoke a desire to urinate at night. It is worth taking up the treatment of the root cause, and not the consequence: to review the drugs prescribed by the doctor against the disease. Replace those that are diuretics and have sleep disturbance as contraindications.

Keeping track of your lifestyle can help stop waking up at night. If alcohol was consumed in the evening and awakening at night is associated with this fact, you should give up alcohol in the evening. Napping in front of the TV, like the habit of sleeping during the day, can lead to awakening at night. Sports activities and evening walks will contribute to fast falling asleep.

How not to wake up in the middle of the night

A comfortable bed, high-quality mattress, natural bed linen is the key to a healthy night's rest, which contributes to a person's well-being during the day. A ventilated room, the absence of noise, bright lighting, emotional experiences and others will help not to wake up at night. annoying factors. Those who do not sleep well should follow simple rules, which will help to return a normal night's rest for 7-8 hours without awakening:

• Dinner should be at least 2 hours before bedtime.
• The decision of important matters and their planning should be carried out in the morning and afternoon, making sure that your own nervous system can go into a calm mode by the evening.
• An adult needs to go to bed before 23:00. It is better that this happens at the same time.
• You need to choose for yourself optimal amount hours for a night's rest, in which the morning awakening will be comfortable.
• A quiet walk before going to bed will help to have a good rest at night.
• In the evening, you can take a soothing warm bath of pine extract, with essential oils that have a relaxing effect.
• Shortly before going to bed, have a drink herbal tea from lemon balm, motherwort or warm milk with honey.
• Relaxation, listening to pleasant calm music, reading your favorite book will help you fall asleep naturally.

Video

In this publication, I decided to collect and summarize all the material on folk treatment insomnia, which he published on his website. Well, I made some additions. Based on new information. The world does not stand still. People share their experiences, and this, in turn, helps everyone a lot.

Now briefly about what is insomnia and how it manifests itself

This is a condition in which a person cannot fall asleep at night, it is also possible that awakenings in the middle of the night are frequent. Sleep is shallow and does not bring any rest.

Insomnia is random

That is, some event provoked a temporary disruption of the rhythm of sleep. For example, an upcoming trip, or important meeting. It happens that even a cup of coffee after three in the afternoon causes persistent insomnia at night. Tea works the same way for some people. I had such a case. Friends came, and I gave them a good drink green tea at 7 pm. The next day, they complained to me that at night they didn’t get sleep until two o’clock.

Particular attention is paid to chronic insomnia

A person can suffer for many years. And it doesn't have to be cured. Most often somehow adapts to sleep snatches. This is influenced by stress, constant experiences, and even nutrition. In addition to the lack of a clear sleep schedule, with chronic insomnia, the heart can act up, hands tremble. Nerves are on edge and don't rest properly.

Of course, constant lack of sleep negatively affects the daytime condition of such people. They are often irritated, tired, suffer from loss of attention and memory. Old people often have morning insomnia. They wake up at four in the morning and that's it! There is no sleep. If that's just the point, that's okay. The key is to get at least 6 hours of sleep. Then there is no reason to worry.

How to treat sleep disorder? First, I will give options for herbal preparations.

Gathering #1

3 table. spoons of pharmaceutical chamomile, 3 table. spoons of valerian roots, 2 table. spoons of motherwort grass, 1 table. a spoonful of hawthorn berries. per liter of water. Grind everything in a coffee grinder. Brew 4 tables. spoons of the mixture. It is best to insist in a thermos. Set for six hours, then decant and drink warm half a glass of infusion three times a day before meals. After draining, do not pour into a thermos. Warm up before use. Keep refrigerated.

Gathering #2

3 table. spoons of melissa flowers, 2 table. spoons of calendula flowers, 2 table. spoons of yarrow flowers, 1 table. a spoonful of oregano flowers. per liter of water. We also grind herbs, 3 table. pour spoons of the mixture with boiling water and simmer for 20 minutes on low gas. Next, we filter and cool. Take half a glass before each meal.

What juices to drink?

A mixture of carrot and grapefruit juice has a good effect on sleep

Take two carrots and one grapefruit. Squeeze juice out of them and drink a glass every night half an hour before bedtime. Eating should be stopped at least two hours before bedtime.

Celery, beetroot and cucumber

Take two celery roots, one beet and one cucumber. Squeeze juice and also drink a glass half an hour before bedtime.

Milk for insomnia

Very conducive to good good sleep a glass of warm milk with 1 table. a spoonful of lime or flower honey. Also, you need to drink about half an hour before bedtime. The drink calms the nerves, relieves stress and tension. My brother, after I told him about this method, every night before going to bed he drinks a mug of milk with honey and sleeps perfectly. But before that, every night was like a struggle ...

Bath with herbal decoction

Pour boiling water over 2 table spoons of motherwort herb, 2 table. Spoons of peppermint, 2 table. spoons of chamomile flowers. Take 2 liters of boiling water. Pour and infuse for 6 hours in a dark place or covered with a lid. It is better to wrap in a fur coat or coat.

Before going to bed, take a bath, pour infusion into it. Lie down for twenty minutes and then go straight to bed. Course 10 baths. But you can do at least every evening. If only for the benefit!

Well helps with insomnia bath with the addition of essential oils of frankincense, lavender, bergamot, lemon balm or ylang-ylang. Put 7 drops into the bath aromatic oil and lie down in it for twenty minutes before going to bed.

Massage

Massage the scalp as a rule. Stroking with fingers in the form of rakes is used, rubbing is also used in the same way. Movements during the massage should be measured, unsharp, soothing.

Hop cones

For insomnia, pour two teaspoons of ground hop cones into a glass of boiling water and leave in a thermos for four hours. Then strain and drink the entire infusion in one go. Drink before bed.

Dill seeds

Pour one teaspoon of dill seeds with a glass of boiling water and infuse for one hour in a thermos, then strain and drink the entire infusion at one time. I recommend adding another teaspoon of honey to it for taste and for calming it is also good. It is necessary to drink the infusion before going to bed.

Calming tea

Buy oregano, St. John's wort, valerian, mint, motherwort at the pharmacy. Pour two tablespoons of all herbs into a liter jar and brew with hot water. Brew just like tea. There, in a jar a little later, put three tablespoons of honey.

But place the honey when the infusion is no longer hot.. Otherwise everything useful material kill from honey. Before going to bed, drink the entire can within three hours before bedtime. And you will sleep soundly, deeply and without nightmarish experiences.

I believe that these herbs, together with honey, soften thoughts and consciousness. Make it calm and peaceful. Headaches and neurosis also pass. The course of drinking this infusion is fourteen evenings. I think that you will like it very much and you will not regret that you started drinking it. I wish you strong and restful dreams!

Let's also look at remedies for insomnia without the use of sleeping pills. You can fall asleep. And it is not necessary to drink chemical pills.

For those of you who developed insomnia due to nerves I advise you to take the next collection.

Take in a one to one ratio: cudweed, heather, motherwort and valerian. Mix the herbs thoroughly and brew one tablespoon of the mixture in a glass of boiling water. Infuse the composition for about half an hour, then strain. A glass of infusion should be drunk four times. And for the evening it is desirable to leave the largest part. This infusion remarkably normalizes sleep and calms the nervous system.

Dandelion Root Drink

Dandelion roots are dug up in spring or autumn, dried, roasted until golden and ground in a coffee grinder. The powder is brewed like instant coffee.

Drink from cattail rhizomes

Dry rhizomes are broken and fried until brown in a dry frying pan. It is then ground in a coffee grinder and brewed like instant coffee.

Infusion of lettuce at night

1 tablespoon of finely chopped lettuce leaves is poured with a glass of boiling water and insisted until cool. Take 1 hour before bedtime for insomnia.

Treatment of sleep disorders, especially the falling asleep phase, due to increased nervous excitability

Collection tincture: take 1 part of valerian root, angelica root, peppermint leaves. Drink 100 ml 3 times a day.

Collection infusion: take 2 parts of herb motherwort five-lobed and 1 part of peppermint leaves, valerian root, common hop cones. Drink 100 ml 3 times a day.

Sleep disturbance with nervous excitement and palpitations

Collection tincture: take 1 part of valerian root, five-lobed motherwort herb, common cumin fruit, common fennel fruit. Drink 100 ml 3 times a day 30 minutes before meals. The last dose is 1 hour before bedtime.

Sleep disorder associated with headaches

Collection tincture: take 2 parts of the fireweed herb angustifolia and blood-red hawthorn fruits, 1 part of peppermint leaves and motherwort leaves. Drink 100 ml 3 times a day, the last dose - 30 minutes before a night's sleep.

Infusions are prepared as follows: 1 tbsp. collection spoon for 200 ml of boiling water, leave for 15-20 minutes on the stove (do not boil), then strain.

Herbal pillow

Even kings suffered from insomnia. For example, King George III of England often could not sleep at night. He took a special pillow that was stuffed with medicinal herbs.

I will now declassify the composition of such a pillow. We will fight the tormenting misfortune with soporific herbs. These are hawthorn, valerian, needles, mint, rosehip or rose petals, blackcurrant and cherry leaves. I also advise adding yellow and white sweet clover to the pillow against insomnia. This plant, among other things, also helps with headaches. Wake up refreshed and well-rested in the morning.

Treating insomnia with honey

* 1 tbsp. a spoonful of honey and 30 g of lard mix well and dissolve in a glass of hot cow's (and even better goat's) milk. Take orally 2-3 times a day for insomnia.

* From insomnia, it is recommended to drink a glass of honey water before going to bed (1 tablespoon of honey per 1 cup of boiling water) and apply fresh gruel on the forehead from finely chopped fresh or pickled cucumbers, rye or wheat bread, sour milk and clay. Drink honey water in a warm form, and keep the gruel on your forehead for 15-20 minutes.

* For insomnia (a faithful companion of hypertension) or restless, anxious sleep, take a glass of pumpkin decoction with honey at night. To do this, cut 200 g of pumpkin into pieces, cook over low heat until soft, put on a sieve and cool, then add honey.

* In case of insomnia, grate horseradish and apply to the calves with a compress for 15-20 minutes before going to bed, at the same time drink a pickle brine with honey: 1 tbsp. a spoonful of honey in a glass of brine.

History of insomnia treatment

My sister began to get sick often, and mountains of medicines appeared in the house. But, apparently, they did not help much, because there were more and more of them. All diseases are from the nerves. The nervous system, especially in women, becomes more vulnerable over the years.

Women generally tend to create problems from scratch. Then they themselves suffer because of it. My sister had insomnia three years ago.. As a result - headaches, pressure surges. All this, of course, alerted me, and I decided to find out the reason.

I didn't succeed right away, but then it became just ridiculous. I don't want to go into details family life, I can only say that ridiculous thoughts about her relationship with her husband were constantly spinning in her head.

Women! You can not be silent for years if something is bothering you! This leads to insomnia, migraine, hypertension, and neuralgia and other diseases. And besides, it does not improve relations with loved ones at all. It is harmful to keep in oneself, accumulating year after year, negative emotions: sooner or later they will manifest themselves on the physical plane.

In general, they were able to deal with misunderstandings, but health problems still remained. I started looking for recipes for insomnia with herbs, natural remedies, but it was too late: my sister was thoroughly used to sleeping pills. Yes, and they already acted ineffectively: sleep came for 3-4 hours, and the doses of sleeping pills had to be increased all the time.

Then the doctor wrote more strong drug. What's next, drugs?

I began to read serious literature on medicine and learned a lot of interesting things. It turns out that if a doctor gives a patient the most common syrup or, for example, a lollipop and says that this strong medicine from his illness, the patient often recovers.

I bought multivitamins at the pharmacy (bright ones, different colors) and poured them into an empty bottle with a foreign inscription. I gave it to my sister and said that sleeping pills had not yet been invented stronger than this, that a friend of his had brought me from America. Like, the blue pill must be taken in the morning, the red one in the afternoon, and the yellow one in the evening. I believed!

When the vitamins ran out, I began to sleep like a log, and the pressure returned to normal, and the neuralgia disappeared. My husband, of course, tried all this time to be more attentive, more responsive, and is still trying. After all, this is a person who is very dear to him! But the fact remains: the treatment of any disease should begin with the head. As they say, according to thoughts and illness.

A woman's life contains much more tests, stresses and troubles. Insomnia is especially severe. Only a woman can understand when these obsessive thoughts come into her head and not fall asleep. They press until the morning, cut the soul into pieces. What's the dream?

All these drugs are not helping. They just give me a headache. In the morning feeling of weakness and emptiness after them.

Video - psychological aspects of insomnia

Article content

Sleep disturbance is a problem well known to many. According to statistics, approximately 8-15% of the population of our planet complain of poor sleep, about 9-11% of adults are forced to use sleeping pills. Among the elderly, these figures are much higher.

Sleep problems occur at any age, but each age group has its own set of problems. characteristics. For example, children most often suffer from night terrors and urinary incontinence. Elderly people suffer from pathological drowsiness and insomnia. But it also happens that having arisen in childhood, a sleep disorder is observed in a person throughout his life. So what to do if you can't fall asleep, you don't sleep well? What do experts think about this?

Causes of sleep disorders

Poor sleep, regardless of the duration, causes a feeling of weakness and fatigue, a person does not have a feeling of morning vigor. All this negatively affects performance, mood and well-being in general. If insomnia occurs long time this leads to serious health problems. Do you often ask yourself the question: “Why do I sleep badly?” Experts believe that this is due to a number of reasons, including:

1. Psychotraumatic situations, stress.
2. Diseases of somatic and neurological origin, accompanied by physical discomfort and pain syndromes.
3. Depression and mental illness.
4. Influence of psychoactive substances (alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, drugs, psychostimulants).
5. Some medications cause insomnia or light sleep, such as glucocortioids, decongestants, antitussives, dietary supplements, and others.
6. Malicious smoking.
7. Brief cessation of breathing during sleep (apnea).
8. Violation of the physiological (circadian) biorhythms of sleep and wakefulness.

Among the causes of sleep disturbance, experts call the malfunctioning of the hypothalamus due to injury or after suffering encephalitis. It is noted that restless sleep is observed in workers on the night shift, as well as with a rapid change of time zones. In adults, sleep disturbance is often associated with a disease such as narcolepsy. In most cases, young men are affected.

Depression is the most common cause of insomnia in the world today.

If a child complains that he is afraid to sleep at night, do not brush it off, considering the problem a far-fetched or childish whim. Timely consultation of a competent specialist - a somnologist or a psychotherapist will help eliminate the causes associated with sleep disorders and avoid serious health problems in the future.

Sleep problems

Complaints about poor sleep and insomnia are most often heard by doctors from those who have trouble falling asleep. But the very concept of "insomnia" from the point of view of medicine is much broader. If you notice that you often wake up early or wake up in the middle of the night, feel sleepy or tired in the morning, suffer from shallow and interrupted sleep, all this indicates that you have a sleep disorder.

When the first signs of a change in sleep appear, do not hesitate to consult a doctor. Moreover, you need to sound the alarm in the following cases:

• you have difficulty falling asleep and notice a worsening of sleep several days a week for one month;
• increasingly catch yourself thinking: what to do with a bad dream, how to get enough sleep, concentrate on these issues, returning to them again and again;
• in connection with the unsatisfactory quality and quantity of sleep, you notice deterioration in work and personal life.

Doctors say insomniacs are twice as likely to seek medical care and undergo treatment in hospitals. Therefore, it is not recommended to let the problem take its course. The specialist will quickly identify the causes of poor sleep and insomnia in adults and prescribe effective treatment.

Restless and interrupted sleep

Sleep is a complex physiological act during which the main processes of the nervous system are “rebooted”. Complete daily sleep essential condition normal functioning of the body, health and well-being. Normal sleep of an adult should last 6-8 hours. Deviations, both up and down, are harmful to the body. Unfortunately, sleep problems are as common in our lives as stress, constant haste, endless domestic problems and chronic diseases.

restless sleep - pathological condition that adversely affect human health. Being in this state, a person is not completely immersed in sleep, his brain can actively work due to the presence of non-sleeping areas. A person is tormented by nightmares, in a dream he can make involuntary movements, scream, grind his teeth, etc.

What to do if you do not sleep well at night? Perhaps one of the causes of this problem is restless leg syndrome. This is a neurological disease, accompanied by discomfort in the legs, which increase in calm state. It occurs at any age, but most often in middle-aged and elderly people, women are most often affected.

Sometimes restless legs syndrome is associated with heredity, but mainly occurs due to a deficiency of iron, magnesium, B vitamins, folic acid. Observed in patients with uremia and thyroid diseases, diabetes, with the abuse of alcoholic beverages, chronic diseases lungs.

At night in lower limbs tingling, itching, bursting are observed, sometimes it seems to a person that there are crawling insects under the skin. To get rid of heavy sensations, patients have to rub or massage their legs, shake them, and even walk around the room.

One of the forms of insomnia that often affects residents of megacities is interrupted sleep. Those suffering from this disease are able to fall asleep quite quickly, but the quality of their sleep is very low, because these people sleep sensitively and restlessly. For example, for no apparent reason, a person wakes up in the middle of the night, often at the same time. At the same time, a feeling of anxiety and tension is noted, and several hours spent in a dream are not felt in any way. Such night wakefulness can be short-lived, lasting a few minutes, and can last until the morning.

Repeating from night to night, awakenings are accompanied by excitement, cause negative thoughts. As a result, a person, not getting enough sleep, is forced to get up for work. It is clear that the lack of normal rest causes daytime apathy and chronic fatigue. “I often wake up, what should I do?” - Doctors are often asked this question by those who do not know how to cope with insomnia. Doctors in this case, along with general recommendations can prescribe an individual drug treatment by conducting a diagnostic examination.

Almost completely lost sleep

Sleep problems often occur with spasms of the muscles of the legs. Patients complain of sudden sharp pain in calf muscles. As a result, most of the night a person is forced to fight with an unpleasant condition. These symptoms are observed in adults under the age of 50, 70% of older people are also familiar with this problem. Strong discomfort that disrupts nighttime rest, unlike restless legs syndrome, does not cause an acute desire to move the limbs.

You can alleviate the condition and quickly relieve spasm with the help of massage, hot bath or compress. If for this reason you have lost sleep, it is recommended to consult a doctor. Proper therapy will help prevent night cramps. Usually, a course of vitamin E is prescribed; in case of a serious pathology, the doctor will prescribe a tranquilizer and advise a set of special gymnastic exercises to stretch and strengthen the calf muscles.

Of course, the solution to sleep problems in children and adults should begin with a doctor's consultation. Often a person may not be aware that he has serious health problems, up to oncology or mental disorders, but complains that he does not sleep at night, about partial or complete lack of sleep. So, intoxications of various origins often provoke drowsiness. Pathological drowsiness may develop due to hormonal abnormalities, in particular, the pathology of the hypothalamic-mesencephalic region. Only a doctor can identify these formidable diseases. And having cured the underlying disease, it will be possible to normalize sleep.

Restless nighttime sleep in an adult is often due to behavioral REM sleep disorder. In fact, it is a malfunction in the functioning of the central nervous system and is manifested by the physical activity of the sleeper in the REM phase. In medicine, the phase of rapid eye movement is called the REM phase. She is characterized increased activity of the brain, the onset of dreams, and paralysis of the body (except for the muscles that support breathing and heartbeat).

In REM-phase behavioral disorder, the sleeper's body exhibits an abnormal "freedom" of movement. Mostly older men are affected by this pathology. The disorder is manifested by conversations and screams from the sleeping person, active movements limbs, jumping out of bed. The patient may even unknowingly injure himself or a sleeping person next to him. I am glad that this disease is quite rare.

The fashionable hobby for horror films can lead to sleep loss. Heavy dreams can haunt a person who has survived mental trauma. Often the body thus sends signals about an impending disease. Waking up in the middle of the night in deep despair or with a sense of catastrophe, a person cannot fall asleep for a long time. He tries to understand the reasons for the short sleep, scrolling through the images of a nightmare in his head. Sometimes a person awakened from heavy emotions simply does not remember the dream, but feels a chilling horror and, as a result, suffers from insomnia.

What to do if there is no sleep? Perhaps you need to seriously reconsider your lifestyle. Be sure to visit a doctor, undergo an examination and carefully follow all the prescribed recommendations.

Too sensitive and superficial sleep

Light dream - serious problem, both the sleeper himself and his inner circle. And if a person wakes up from every slightest rustle, it becomes a real disaster for his family. Why sleep is superficial and what to do about it?

There are actually quite a few reasons why a person may have too light sleep. But in general, they can be distinguished into physiological, that is, corresponding to the norm, and pathological.

Superficial sleep - absolutely normal phenomenon for the following categories:

1. Young mothers. In this category, the habit of waking up from the slightest rustle and sniffing of the baby, and even more so his crying, is formed due to the physiological processes that occur in the body of a woman after childbirth.
2. Pregnant women and women in a certain period menstrual cycle. Shallow sleep in these two groups, combined into one, is explained by hormonal fluctuations in the female body.
3. Night shift workers. This group of people is characterized by difficulty falling asleep, lack of sound sleep due to biorhythm failure.
4. Those who spend too much time sleeping. It has been noticed that with a banal excess of sleep, its quality deteriorates, intermittent and sensitive sleep appears. Usually pensioners, the unemployed, vacationers fall into this category.
5. Elderly people. Sensitive in the elderly, sleep becomes not only from oversleeping, but also due to age-related changes in the body. The production of melatonin (sleep hormone) is reduced, which leads to insomnia.

Concerning pathological causes poor sleep, then this can include mental disorders, somatic diseases, exposure to drugs and psychoactive substances.

If we figured out the reasons for the lack of sound sleep, then the question of why a person suddenly falls asleep during the day is also very often asked to specialists. What is the cause of this disease and how to deal with it? In medicine, a pathological condition characterized by sudden and unpredictable bouts of drowsiness that occurs in the middle of the day is called narcolepsy.

For those affected by this disease, and most of them are young men, the REM phase can come unexpectedly and in the most unexpected place - in class, driving, during lunch or conversation. The duration of the attack is from a few seconds to half an hour. A person who suddenly fell asleep wakes up in a strong excitement, which he continues to experience until the next attack. This is the main difference between narcolepsy and excessive daytime sleepiness. It has been observed that even during such sleep attacks, some may continue to perform their usual activities.

Possible consequences of sleep disorders

Why are millions of people unable to sleep at night? There are many reasons leading to sleep disorders. Some devote too much time to work and overwork sets in, others watch too much TV or sit at the computer. But in the end, caused various reasons insomnia leads to a number of negative consequences of chronic sleep deprivation.

• Impaired glucose tolerance

Lack of sleep, lack of sleep adversely affects the central nervous system, making her overexcited and more active. For this reason, the pancreas stops producing the right amount Insulin is a hormone needed to digest glucose. Scientist Van Kauter observed healthy young people who did not sleep for a long time at night during the week. As a result, most of them were in a pre-diabetic state by the end of the week.

• Obesity

In the first phase of deep sleep, growth hormone is released. In people over the age of 40, periods of deep sleep are reduced, hence the secretion of growth hormone is reduced. At a young age, insufficient sleep contributes to a premature decrease in growth hormone, thereby stimulating the accumulation of fat. There are studies confirming that chronic lack of sleep reduces the production of the hormone testosterone. This entails a reduction muscle mass and fat accumulation.

• Increased carbohydrate cravings

Interrupted sleep reduces the production of the hormone leptin, which is responsible for satiety. As a result, there is an increased craving for carbohydrates. The situation is aggravated by the fact that even after receiving a portion of carbohydrates, the body will require more and more calories.

• Weakened immunity

Restless sleep, the lack of a good night's rest has pernicious influence on white blood cells in the human body, reduces resistance to infections.

• The risk of atherosclerosis

Chronic lack of sleep provokes stress, and this in turn increases the amount of cortisol. As a result of this imbalance, hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) is possible. This leads to a heart attack. because of high level cortisol decreases muscle and bone mass fat accumulates. Increases the risk of hypertension, premature death.

• Depression and irritability

Chronic insomnia leads to the depletion of neurotransmitters in the brain responsible for mood. People with sleep disorders are more irritable and more likely to become depressed.

What to do if an adult has bad sleep at night? Here are some simple tips to help you deal with insomnia. First of all, you need to pay attention to your habits and the conditions in which you sleep. Often non-compliance elementary rules becomes an obstacle to good rest. Here are the rules.

• work out good habit go to bed and get up at the same time. Even in one week, following this regimen, you can achieve a significant result - it will be easier to fall asleep, and you will wake up cheerful and rested;
• stop sleeping during the day, unless it is prescribed to you by your doctor;
• time spent in bed should be strictly limited. Namely, as long as your dream lasts. Give up reading, watching TV and working in bed, otherwise you will have interrupted sleep;
• instead of watching TV or lying in bed with a laptop, take walks in the fresh air in the evenings;
• if you have a light sleep, take care of good sound insulation in the bedroom, there should not be any extraneous sounds and noises (such as the sounds of a working refrigerator) in this room;
• organize a quality and comfortable bed. Sleep on cotton linen, use a pillow with a synthetic filler that retains its shape well and is hypoallergenic;
• the light in the bedroom should be dimmed, and while relaxing in the bedroom it should be completely dark;
• a small light dinner 2-3 hours before going to bed will help to improve the process of falling asleep. Refuse plentiful, fatty and high-calorie food in the evening;
• Taking a warm bath with anti-stress oil will help you relax and fall asleep faster. You can add 5-7 drops of lavender or ylang ylang oil and 1 cup of milk to your bath. It is useful to take a hot shower an hour before bedtime;
• refrain from smoking at night, drinking alcohol and coffee. Instead, it is better to drink a glass of warm milk with a spoonful of honey or chamomile tea;
• keep only an alarm clock in the bedroom. Waking up at night, do not try to find out the time;
• the room where you sleep should be ventilated and regularly wet cleaned;
• if you have trouble falling asleep, use meditation or relaxation exercises.

Do not self-medicate for sleep disorders. Pick the right one the right drugs only a doctor can!

Prevention

“I can’t sleep well” - something like this is the complaint of those who are constantly faced with insomnia. Doctors distinguish several types of insomnia.

1. episodic. It lasts 5-7 days, arising as a result of emotional overstrain or stress (an exam, a quarrel in the family, a conflict situation at work, a change in time zone, etc.). Treatment is not required, in most cases it goes away on its own.
2. Short-term. Lasts 1-3 weeks. Develops due to long stressful situations, severe psycho-emotional shocks, as well as due to chronic somatic diseases. Contribute to sleep disturbances skin diseases accompanied by itching, and pain syndromes with arthritis, migraines.
3. Chronic. It lasts more than 3 weeks, often indicating hidden mental and somatic diseases, such as depression, neuroses and anxiety disorders, alcoholism. It is ubiquitous in old age. “I don’t sleep well” - 69% of older people complain, 75% of this age group have difficulty falling asleep.

Taking medications, nootropics, antipsychotics and antidepressants very often provokes poor sleep in adults.

Doctors advise not to go to bed if you do not want to sleep. It is better to occupy yourself with some exciting business: read, listen to calm music. At the same time, it is better not to be in the bedroom, so that associations of this room with insomnia do not arise in the brain.

To prevent sleep disorders, use the following tips:

• learn to bring the psyche into a passive state. Mentally renounce all problems and annoying thoughts;
• if it’s hard for you to concentrate and extraneous noise interferes, use earplugs or cover your ears with cotton wool;
• perform rhythmic breathing, focusing on an extended exhalation;
• you can perform a soothing water treatment. For example, hold your feet in pleasantly hot water for 20 minutes with the addition of a decoction of mint, lemon balm, oregano. Warm coniferous baths help to fall asleep well;
• a heavy blanket helps you fall asleep quickly;
• under the pillow, you can put a linen bag with dry hop cones. By the way, hop tea with honey is also useful for sleep disorders. Cooking like this: brew 1.5 dry hop cones with 1 cup of boiling water, insist, strain, add honey, drink warm;
• can't sleep for a long time? You can undress and lie naked until you freeze. Then wrap yourself in a blanket. Pleasant warming will help you fall asleep faster.

uncomplicated psychological technique It will help you get rid of negative thoughts accumulated during the day.

Mentally write down everything that worries you on separate sheets of paper. Imagine that you are crumpling each leaf in turn and throwing it into a basket or into a fire. Try to remember positive points that happened to you today. Be sure to thank the higher powers for a good day. Now you can perform relaxing techniques: dream about something pleasant, mentally listen to the sound of the surf, remember pleasant events from your life. Rational people can focus on calm breathing and the beating of their heart.

If a desired effect is absent and you can’t fall asleep in any way, most likely you need medical help.

Medicines

If you are constantly tormented by intermittent sleep, the first thing to do is consult a therapist. If necessary, you will be referred for a polysomnographic study, on the basis of which treatment will be prescribed.

In the presence of somatic pathologies, therapy consists in eliminating the underlying disease. In old age, patients most often need the help of a neurologist to normalize sleep. For drug therapy, drugs of the benzodiazepine series are mainly used. If the process of falling asleep is disturbed, drugs are prescribed short action triazolam, midazolam. You can not prescribe these drugs on their own, as they have many side effects.

sleeping pills with lasting effect, for example, diazepam, are prescribed for frequent nocturnal awakenings. Long-term use these medicines may cause daytime sleepiness. In this case, the doctor will adjust the treatment and select drugs with a shorter exposure time. With neurosis and depression, accompanied by sleep disorders, a psychiatrist's consultation is required. In severe cases, neuroleptics or psychotonic drugs are prescribed.

Normalization of sleep rhythm in the elderly should be carried out in a complex manner using vasodilators (papaverine, nicotinic acid) and light herbal tranquilizers - motherwort or valerian. Any medications should be taken only under the supervision of a physician. Usually, a course of treatment is prescribed with a gradual decrease in dosage and its gradual reduction to nothing.

Traditional medicine

Good help to cope with the problem of difficult falling asleep and proven folk remedies.

Milk + honey

• milk - 1 glass;
• honey - 1 teaspoon;
• juice of freshly squeezed dill (can be replaced with a decoction of seeds) - 1 teaspoon.

Heat milk, dissolve honey in it, add dill juice. Take daily in the evening.

pumpkin broth

• pumpkin - 200g;
• water - 250 ml;
• honey - 1 teaspoon.

Pour boiling water over the peeled and diced pumpkin, cook over low heat for 20-25 minutes. Strain, cool until pleasantly warm. Add honey. Drink ½ cup before bed.

Finally

Various sleep disorders are mostly treatable. It is difficult to treat sleep disorders associated with chronic somatic diseases, as well as in elderly people.

Subject to the sleep and wakefulness regimen, the normalization of physical and mental stress, the competent use of drugs that affect the nervous processes, right image sleep problems are completely eliminated. In some cases, consulting a specialist or taking medications will help to cope with the problem. Be healthy!

Sleep is the most important part of human life, because at this time processes occur in the body, due to which the psycho-emotional and physical state of the body is restored. While we sleep, the brain processes the information received and assimilates it, which is why they say that the morning is wiser than the evening.

Sleep disturbances lead to disruptions in various systems body - immunity decreases, mental disorders develop and vascular diseases. Why is bad sleep dangerous at night in adults? What are its reasons? What to do to normalize night rest?

Sleep disorders in adults - varieties

There are over 50 different states and diseases that lead to sleep disorders. Sleep disorders themselves are divided into the following concepts:

Dyssomnia - difficulty falling asleep, daytime sleepiness, a feeling of fatigue after a night's rest persists.

Presomnia - a person cannot fall asleep for 2 or more hours.

Postsomnia - a night's rest does not bring cheerfulness, weakness and apathy are felt.

Hypersomnia is daytime sleepiness that is sometimes uncontrollable.

Causes of poor sleep

It is useful for readers of Popular Health to know that there is a very large list of causes of sleep disorders in adults, but we will now look at the most common ones.

1. Internal violations body systems - vegetative-vascular dystonia (the patient has panic attacks), sleep apnea syndrome. This also includes restless legs syndrome (itching, feeling of crawling insects on the skin, tingling).

2. External causes - stress, overstrain, pain, reception various drugs(psychotropic in particular), alcohol intoxication, excessive smoking, heavy drinking before bedtime, overeating. Due to such reasons, nightmares can occur.

3. Circadian disorders - typical when changing the time zone, as well as when working in shifts. Such sleep disturbances occur in people who are prone to depression. To increase vigor, they take energy drinks in the morning, and drink at night. sedatives, thereby breaking natural rhythm body, and cause even more aggravation of the psycho-emotional state.

People with mental disorders may suffer from sleepwalking (waking during sleep), bruxism (teeth grinding), or narcolepsy (excessive daytime sleepiness).

Any sleep disturbance requires treatment if it lasts longer than three weeks. This issue lies within the competence of a somnologist, however, when neurological or psycho-emotional disorders are detected in a patient, other specialists, such as a neurologist and a psychiatrist, are also involved in the treatment.

What's wrong with an adult having bad sleep?

As small children, few people understand how wonderful this time is. What do parents want from their child? Grow up, get smarter, walk so as not to sit up in front of the monitor, not get sick, eat well, go to bed on time ... Having matured, all people are forced to work in order to be able to provide for themselves and their families. Accordingly, if an adult's sleep is not successful, then this will directly interfere with his work. And if problems with night rest will be repeated again and again?! So this should not be.

What to do if a bad dream?

And first of all, you need to organize yourself in such a way as to establish correct mode sleep. This is very important, because due to the lack of a clear regime in the human body, biological rhythms go astray.

1. Determine for yourself the time at which you will go to bed every day. It is advisable to go to bed before 11 pm, and even better before 10 pm. According to neurologists, the most valuable and important period of sleep is the time interval between 22.00 - 1.00 am. It is at this time that the body is best at restoring activity.

2. Half an hour - an hour before falling asleep, it is advisable to relax - read fiction Or listen to light music.

3. You should not eat at night, it is better to have a light dinner no later than 2 hours before going to bed. Abundant drinking should also be excluded so as not to go to the toilet at night.

4. A walk in the evening will be most welcome.

5. Eliminate the use of invigorating drinks after dinner. At night, it is better to drink weak tea with lemon balm and a spoonful of honey or a glass of warm milk.

6. If you suffer from insomnia or restless leg syndrome, take a relaxing warm bath in the evening. A gentle massage of the limbs will not be superfluous.

8. It is necessary to give up alcoholic beverages if you often use them.

9. Neurologists warn against self-administration of any sedative and psychotropic drugs which may exacerbate the patient's problem.

If no independent actions help to establish a night's rest, it is worth contacting medical assistance. It is especially important to do this if you suffer from nocturnal seizures (panic attacks, nightmares), as well as if you notice signs of narcolepsy or somnambulism. Narcolepsy is especially dangerous for drivers and people working in production with mechanisms and units - uncontrolled daytime sleep can cost them their lives.

In most cases, sleep disorders in adults disappear if the correct mode of wakefulness and rest is organized. Stress is the main cause of insomnia in middle-aged people. The abundance of information, high workloads, conflict situations, lack of annual leave - all these factors contribute to the accumulation negative emotions and fatigue, which often develops into chronic and leads to depressive disorders. healthy image life, sports, walks, as well as the correct daily routine - a pledge normal sleep at night.