Transitional age. What diseases cause insomnia. How does insomnia manifest?

In order to function normally during the day, everyone needs to get a good night's sleep. For teenagers, this means they need about nine hours of sleep each night. But practice shows that in reality this is far from the case - teenagers sleep much less than they should. Hence - inattention in the classroom, absent-mindedness, gaps in memory, a general weakening of the body, frequent colds. According to the National Poll Foundation, only about one-fifth of teens (20%) get enough sleep each night for their age.

Teenager's internal clock

Adolescence is always to blame when we are talking about sleep. The body's internal clock, officially called circadian rhythms, change with puberty. Melatonin, a sleep-related brain hormone, is released late in the evening in adolescents. Therefore, if more youngest child falls asleep quite early without difficulty, teenagers still do not get tired, and after a few hours they need to have a good sleep, longer than it should be - after all, at about seven in the morning they have to get up for school or lyceum. So it turns out that at night a teenager cannot fall asleep for a long time, and in the morning he cannot wake up, but he is forced to do this because of a tough social schedule.

This becomes a serious problem for teenagers with a lot of academic work, which depletes the body even more in the background. chronic sleep deprivation. In order for the child not to be late for school, it is worth waking him up an hour earlier than usual, so that waking up is not hasty for him and because of this stressful. But it is also necessary to take care that the teenager goes to bed on time.

Effects of sleep deprivation on adolescents

When teenagers are sleep deprived, it can lead to serious side effects. It is difficult for the child to concentrate at school, he can sit and doze off in the classroom, which causes the natural bewilderment of the teacher. This can lead to a decrease in work and study productivity. Unfortunately, this is a common problem among teenagers. AT extreme cases sleep deprivation can lead to unmotivated aggression, angry behavior, or depression (which can lead to further big problems with sleep).

Lack of sleep can also make a teenager more prone to acne and other skin problems. The poor concentration and slow reactions that are characteristic of children with sleep deprivation can have very dangerous consequences. Sometimes teens' sleep problems are symptoms of illness or other medical causes, such as side effects from medications, sleep apnea, anemia, or mononucleosis. Then a visit of parents with a teenager to a pediatrician and a psychologist is necessary.

What can parents do to help their teenager get enough sleep?

When communicating with a teenage child, parents can do proper sleep priority in his daily routine. First of all, you need to develop a sleep schedule and those hours in which the teenager wakes up. It is very important to maintain this plan even on weekends. If a child stays up at night and then stays in bed until the afternoon on Saturday or Sunday, it will be very difficult to change his internal biorhythms again. Then it will become almost impossible for a teenager to fall asleep on Monday at night. normal time and wake up early in the morning.

In order for the child to fall asleep and wake up on time, you need to create conditions for him to good night. Keep your child's room dimly lit, and turn off the computer screen before bed. Turn off outside noise. You also need to make sure that the teenager's room is warm enough.

In the morning, bright light and sun should be avoided, which will allow the teenager to wake up comfortably. If your teen is tired and wants to take a nap after dinner, limit their nap time to 30 minutes; being able to sleep longer can prevent him from falling asleep at night. Try to ensure that your teenager avoids nightly homework and does not sit in class all night.

Have your teen stay away from prolonged TV viewing, computer games, and other over-stimulating shows and activities 2 hours before bed. The following fact speaks about the dangers of electronic media in a teenager's bedroom. In 2006, the National Poll Foundation found that children with four or more electronic gadgets in their bedrooms were chronically sleep deprived. When your teen gets into bed, make sure he doesn't do any other activities and that the focus is on falling asleep. In addition, teens should avoid chocolate and caffeinated drinks after 4 pm. This will help them sleep better.

They are not lazy, it's all biology

“Every morning begins with a fight: you need to get the child out of bed and go to school,” almost every parent of a high school student can say to himself. It seems that, reaching adolescence, the child automatically becomes an incorrigible lazy person. But in reality, everything is much more complicated. Kayla Valstorm, Sr. Researcher University of Minnesota, spoke about her research teenage sleep in a column for Conversation magazine.

For 20 years, I've been studying the effect of waking up early on high school students. Research suggests that teens' inability to get out of bed before 8 a.m. is a matter of biology, not of their own free will.

The fact is that the sleep of adolescents is not the same as that of younger children or adults. At the onset of puberty, humans (and most mammals) experience delayed sleep phases: their timing of secretion of the sleep hormone melatonin changes. Adolescents are not able to fall asleep until the secretion of melatonin begins. Symptoms of drowsiness do not occur until approximately 10.45 pm. The same biological mechanisms don't let a teenager's brain really wake up before eight in the morning.

Photo: iStockphoto / Evgeny Sergeev

In the same time biological rhythms young children are such that it is easy for them to get up in the morning, and they are ready to start the school day earlier than teenagers. And the school routine does not take into account changes in the biorhythms of older students.

Changes in the structure of sleep / wakefulness in adolescents are uncontrollable. Simply forcing teenagers to go to bed earlier will not solve the problem. I've talked to many teenagers and they all said that when they go to bed early, they can't fall asleep for a long time and just stare at the ceiling until they fall asleep around 11pm. The US National Sleep Foundation recommends that teens get eight to 10 hours of sleep per night. This means that the earliest healthy time awakenings for teenagers - not earlier than seven in the morning. Research has revealed serious Negative consequences sleep deprivation.

Teenagers who sleep less than eight hours a night are significantly more likely to smoke, use drugs, and use alcohol.

The risk of depression is also increasing: almost 52% of high school students who sleep less experience feelings of despondency and hopelessness. four hours per night.

The results of schools that have abandoned the early start of classes are encouraging. They reduced the use of drugs, cigarettes and alcohol by teenagers, at the same time, academic performance increased significantly. The number of teen crashes in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, fell by 70% in the first year after the city's high schools started classes later.

Since 2014, major US health organizations (the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) have advocated that high school classes start at 8:30 a.m. or later. As of fall 2015, only 20% of schools followed this advice.

Parents often complain that teenagers do not get enough sleep. It’s hard to wake them up at school, on weekends they sleep until noon, and in class they nod. What are the reasons? How to regulate a child's sleep? These questions were answered by Elena Savolyuk, a pediatrician at the Dobrobut MS.

If a teenager does not get enough sleep, first of all, you should pay attention to his lifestyle. Causes related to lifestyle:

lack of sleep. Children under 12 years old need 9-10 hours of sleep at night, for teenagers this time is reduced to 8.5-9 hours. With insufficient sleep, children feel overwhelmed, cannot concentrate on lesson x;

excessive workload: intensive classes at school, increased physical activity, passion for computer games and the Internet;

wrong or unbalanced diet, lack of vitamins and minerals;

the use of energy drinks;

drinking plenty of fluids before bed;

hypodynamia;

emotional overload and stress. These include increased anxiety, as well as adaptation to changes in the usual rhythm of life associated with the transition from holidays to school days;

poor sleep hygiene: sleeping in an unventilated room, in the light, high level noise, lack of oxygen.

Some medications can also cause drowsiness.

The causes of lethargy and drowsiness can be such somatic conditions:

excess weight;

low hemoglobin content in the blood;

impaired renal function;

dysfunction thyroid gland;

diseases gastrointestinal tract.

How to help your child sleep?

the child should sleep in a cool dark room in which there is no entertainment (TV, computer);

go to bed and wake up at the same time, a teenager's sleep should last 8.5-9 hours;

should maximum amount time to be outdoors;

it is important to ensure that the child receives a regular and balanced diet;

pay more attention in your spare time outdoor games and entertainment, sports games.

When to see a doctor?

If all the recommendations for improving the lifestyle are followed, but you notice that the child is still lethargic and sleepy, it is difficult for him to concentrate on studying, then perhaps some reason is somatic disease. To determine the exact diagnosis, you should consult a pediatrician. He will collect an anamnesis, examine the child and prescribe tests to examine organs and systems. If he suspects a violation of the thyroid gland, then an endocrinological examination will be prescribed, the same applies to other organs. Depending on the results of the examination, the pediatrician will either prescribe the treatment himself or refer him to additional examination and consultation with a narrower specialist: endocrinologist, gastroenterologist, neuropathologist, etc.

Tatyana Koryakina

A teenager should normally sleep 7-9 hours. The permissible error is no more than 1 hour. Along with this, quite often growing and developing people faced with such a problem as insomnia in adolescents.

By reading the information below, you will find out what are the causes of this violation what to do when it appears and what treatment can be taken to normalize the condition.

Features of insomnia in adolescents

The problem under consideration manifests itself in a similar way in all cases: at first, the patient has difficulty falling asleep and does not know what to do about it, then it becomes difficult for him to wake up in the morning, there is a deterioration in concentration and overall well-being, academic performance decreases, mood changes often, etc. .d.

The reasons for the occurrence of such a condition are often associated with the characteristics of the life of young people, which will be discussed in detail below, but in some cases the root of the problem may lie in violations of the production of melatonin - the so-called. "sleep hormone"

During the period of transitional age, the body begins to produce it only by 1-2 o'clock in the morning. For comparison, in adults - by 21-22 hours. And it is not surprising that parents do not manage to tear their children away from the computer until the night - they simply do not want to sleep.

The reasons for this condition can also lie in the characteristics of the life of a teenager - a person wants to have time and learn, and take a walk, and devote time to personal leisure. In such conditions, parents need to make sure that the child does not consume energy drinks in excessive quantities, which he does while sitting at the computer, etc. If a person irritably and nervously refuses to go to bed, the causes of insomnia with big share probabilities are conscious.

Causes of insomnia in teenagers

The problem under consideration can be whole complex provoking factors. The root causes in most cases, as noted, are physiological hormonal changes characteristic of adolescence.

In addition, the situation is aggravated by the state of emotional tension and related failures in the form of stress, anxiety, depressive disorders, etc.

List of provoking factors

  1. Wrong schedule. On off days, teens usually go to bed later than usual, which throws off the biological clock.
  2. Too high emotional and mental stress.
  3. emotional overstrain, different kind experiences, mood swings.
  4. Flaw physical activity.
  5. Bad habits.
  6. Wrong diet.
  7. Too much passion for computer games and the Internet.
  8. Sleep hygiene disorders.
  9. Improper arrangement of the bedroom and place.

Manifestations of insomnia in children and adolescents

The nature, characteristics and intensity of the manifestation of insomnia in adolescents can vary significantly. In such conditions, the task of parents is reduced to careful monitoring of the child's condition and timely response to adverse changes.

Among the key manifestations of the violation under study, the following provisions can be noted:

  • reduction in sleep duration. If a teenager sleeps less than 7-8 hours and this causes significant harm to his condition and well-being, you should consult a doctor;
  • difficulty falling asleep. At healthy person It takes up to 15 minutes to fall asleep. With insomnia, this indicator can stretch up to 2 hours or more. During this time, the teenager is usually tormented by obsessive thoughts, all sorts of disturbing memories, etc.;
  • frequent awakenings at night. The patient can wake up from anything: noise, snoring of other residents, nightmares, etc. A healthy person falls asleep quickly after such awakenings, but in a teenager with insomnia this can cause serious problems;
  • difficulty waking up. If you don't get enough sleep, you will feel tired, depressed, and overwhelmed. Experts advise to look closely at your condition 30-40 minutes after waking up - this time healthy body enough to fully switch to waking mode.

The following symptoms indicate the presence of the problem under consideration:

  • irascibility and irritability over trifles;
  • excessive aggressiveness;
  • impaired coordination and memory;
  • capriciousness;
  • appetite disorders;
  • a constant feeling of fatigue, weakness, depression and general malaise.

Many parents have difficulty communicating with their children during their transitional age. Along with this, in order to successfully overcome insomnia, you still have to try to learn how to talk with a child, otherwise any therapeutic measures will not give any positive effect. In practice, there are few recommendations.

  1. The patient needs to learn to go to sleep and wake up at the same time. Thanks to this, the so-called. sleep reflex. It is better not to sleep during the day - there may be difficulties with night rest, significantly reducing its quality.
  2. The child needs to spend less time in front of the TV and at the computer, especially at night.
  3. Use energy drinks should be minimized, ideally completely excluded from the patient's life.
  4. In the sleeping room, you need to create appropriate conditions: darkness, silence, ensure the absence of various provoking and annoying factors etc.

When should you go to the doctor?

If the above support activities did not give the proper positive effect, the child's body is more likely to experience more serious problems and difficulties. These may include various kinds of diseases, for the successful diagnosis of which you need to contact a qualified specialist.

The doctor will study individual characteristics patient and will prescribe a treatment that is relevant and effective specifically in his case.

If the disease has developed against a psycho-emotional background, a teenager may be recommended to work with a psychotherapist.

Remember: only a competent and experienced specialist can help a person cope with psychological trauma and various disorders by setting him up for positive emotions and teaching him to maintain inner balance

Respond in a timely manner to adverse health changes, seek qualified medical assistance and be healthy!

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The spread of this problem is due to a number of factors.

Of course, the main cause of insomnia in adolescents is the specific, unnatural lifestyle that they lead. During holidays, holidays, weekends, teenagers go to bed quite late, and waking up early in the morning is a real problem.

Most teenagers prefer daytime naps, usually after school. This is what causes the problem of insomnia at night. During the holidays, many teenagers try to make up for the sleep lost during school hours, although, as you know, according to research by scientists, it is not possible to make up for the lost sleep, just as it is impossible to get enough sleep “in advance”.

The danger of such a schedule is the possibility of creating an incorrect daily pattern, which is reactive, where the sleep cycle is completely knocked out of the context of the working day. The consequence of this is the desire of the body to sleep at the “wrong” time, and the refusal to sleep at night. In order to return a teenager to a proper sleep pattern, it will take several weeks, after which, in most cases, insomnia disappears.

Insomnia in a child can occur not only due to improper sleep patterns. According to research by American scientists, the cause of many cases of insomnia in adolescence is depressive states, suicidal tendencies and thoughts, which can lead to the teenager starting to use alcohol and drugs.

The cause of depression in adolescents may be rebelliousness, which is characteristic of many adolescents. Of course, this age is very difficult for everyone, because during this period a personality is formed, which, under the influence of various factors may change, resulting in:

  • to a change of mood;
  • experiences;
  • a lot of emotions;
  • and consequently insomnia.

It should also be remembered that parents need to pay sufficient attention emotional state child, because what seems to be a trifle for adults is the cause of a lot of emotions in adolescents. In order to clearly understand the state of your child, you just need to remember your teenage experiences.

In order to save a child from insomnia, if it is caused by an irregular day and an unnatural sleep pattern, it is enough just to set the correct mode. In the event that a teenager fails to develop a habit of a normal sleep pattern, you should consult a doctor, as the cause is other, more serious diseases that require careful diagnosis and subsequent treatment.

In the event that the cause is emotional experiences, psychological disorders, you must contact a qualified technician. As a rule, in such cases, it is necessary to seek help from a psychologist who will restore the emotional balance of the child and teach him to stop certain negative emotional centers of influence, such as quarrels in the family, quarrels with friends and other causes of influence on the psyche of a teenager.

To maintain a healthy psyche of the child and him, parents whose relationship is undergoing certain disagreements should refuse to clarify the relationship in front of the child.

With insomnia that lasts for several days, and the causes of improper sleep patterns, or the emotional or mental instability of a teenager, have been excluded, you should immediately seek medical help, since insomnia can be a symptom of certain diseases.

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Normal sleep duration for a teenager. And although everything is individual, the error for a healthy person should not exceed one hour.

Features of insomnia in adolescents

It is difficult for your child to wake up on time, he cannot concentrate his attention, school performance has decreased, frequent drops mood, it is accompanied by increased fatigue.

Do not rush to check his pockets and bags for cigarettes, alcohol or drugs. Maybe he just doesn't get enough sleep.

In adolescents, it is caused not at all by a violation of the daily routine, but by the sleep hormone - melatonin. In adolescence, its production is activated only by one in the morning (in adults - by 22.00). No matter how hard you try to tear your child away from the computer and put him to bed at 10-11 o’clock, he still won’t fall asleep before one.

A teenager needs to do everything, and for this he sacrifices his sleep. In this case, parents need to track how often the child uses energy drinks, what exactly he does on the Internet at a later time. If he answers the request to go to bed with an irritated refusal, then he is of a conscious nature.

Prevention

Many parents cannot find a common language with a teenager. But for the treatment of insomnia, this will have to be done, otherwise all actions will not make sense. And it doesn't take much:

  • Encourage your child to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. This will trigger the sleep reflex. Daytime sleep in a teenager can provoke insomnia, so it is better to refuse it;
  • remove the computer and TV from his bedroom so that they do not interfere with sleep;
  • Convince him to stop drinking energy drinks in the evening. Instead, you can drink a cup of herbal tea.
  • For comfort, make your sleeping room dark to speed up production.

Only your common efforts will remove the causes of insomnia and the treatment will be successful.

People suffering from insomnia have no idea how much harm this seemingly harmless disorder can bring to their health. In fact, repeated violation of the structure of sleep requires immediate correction of lifestyle.

Restoring lost strength, relaxing the body, maintaining a healthy state, beauty and health is impossible without high-quality deep sleep, lasting at least 8 hours a day.

If you are familiar with the unpleasant painful sensations that arise before going to bed from “scrolling” in your thoughts the incidents experienced during the day and thinking about problems, or nighttime awakenings for no reason, you may be suffering from insomnia. Those who have difficulty falling asleep at least three times a week may suspect insomnia.

Causes of chronic insomnia

They say about chronic insomnia when there are difficulties with falling asleep and a shallow short sleep for more than 1 month. For a long time it is not possible to sleep well, immersed in sleep completely. Causes chronic insomnia can be:

  • change in environment (moving, the appearance of irritating factors)
  • change of job, type of activity
  • depression
  • a mental disorder associated with a recent trauma or illness
  • heart diseases
  • diseases that cause physical pain
  • kidney disease complicated by frequent urination
  • apnea
  • bronchial asthma
  • drinking a lot of coffee, alcohol
  • abuse of psychotropic drugs

IMPORTANT: The development of chronic insomnia indicates the presence of serious health problems. In this case, self-medication is highly undesirable, since it can further aggravate the patient's condition.

Causes of insomnia in children

According to statistics, every fifth child experiences sleep problems. Often, children's insomnia is temporary, and apart from breaking the regime, nothing bad happens. But in some cases, a sleep disorder can adversely affect the health of the child: in addition to the appearance of fatigue, weakness, anxiety and dizziness, brain activity may slow down.

Causes of insomnia depend on the age of the child. From birth to a year the baby can confuse day with night due to the imperfection of the nervous system. Growing up, the child gets used to the correct mode and his sleep normalizes. But if the night wakefulness of the baby is accompanied by crying, tears, or other manifestations of discontent, parents need to carefully observe the child in order to exclude:

  • colic, pain in the tummy
  • ear pain
  • diaper rash, irritation, prickly heat

Less commonly, light or noise can interfere with an infant's sleep. But dry air and heat in the room can cause discomfort to the child, causing sleep to be restless and shallow.

mess up night sleep children 36 years may:

  • reflection on the information received during the day
  • excitement resulting from watching cartoons
  • developing colds

Pupils do not sleep at night because:

  • worry about school performance
  • afraid of upcoming tests, exams
  • quarreled with best friend / girlfriend
  • parents limit freedom, try to impose their point of view
  • Parents banned computer/phone/TV
  • have serious health problems

IMPORTANT: If childhood insomnia has become chronic, it is advisable to consult a doctor.

Causes of insomnia in teenagers

The sleep of a teenager is different from the sleep of a child and an adult. This is due to a lack in the body of adolescents of the hormone responsible for sleep - melatonin. It's very easy for young people to drift off their normal sleep schedule for long periods of time for minor reasons. The impetus for teenage insomnia can be:

  • acquisition bad habits
  • dieting, malnutrition
  • excessive interest in computer games
  • high mental load, complex curriculum
  • emotional experiences, first love
  • the course of natural age-related physiological changes
  • IMPORTANT: Deficiency Teenager quality sleep, becomes irritable, aggressive, capricious. Studying is difficult because of the deterioration of memory and a feeling of constant fatigue.

    To help a teenager return to a normal life, parents need to:

    • prohibit the child from eating late meals
    • minimize TV viewing and computer games in evening time
    • create a cozy, comfortable environment in the house
    • talk with your son or daughter, find out about the problems and experiences of the child, support
    • do not punish a teenager, do not sort things out with him before going to bed

    IMPORTANT: If the measures taken by the parents did not help, and the teenager's insomnia has become chronic, you need to contact a psychologist to find out the true causes of the disorder.

    Causes of insomnia in women

    Insomnia often becomes a faithful companion modern woman. A woman can find such a “girlfriend” for the following reasons:

    • conflicts at work
    • shift work schedule
    • problems in personal relationships, in the family
    • dissatisfaction with one's own life
    • depression
    • drinking a lot of coffee, tea, chocolate
    • uncontrolled use of sleeping pills
    • drinking alcohol before bed
    • the development of diseases accompanied by pain

    IMPORTANT: Insomnia affects a woman depressingly. In addition to acquired irritability and fatigue, a woman now and then falls into a nap in the middle of the day. This can happen at the workplace, on public transport, at responsible meetings. To get myself out of this sleepy state, the woman drinks a lot of coffee, thereby forming a vicious circle.

    Causes of insomnia in pregnant women

    Pregnancy is special excellent condition female body when a new life is born and develops inside it. The role of a woman in the formation of this little man is enormous: health and well-being depend on the lifestyle and behavior of the mother. psycho-emotional state her unborn child. Insomnia can overshadow pregnancy at any time. Moreover, even a woman who has never suffered from such disorders can fail in sleep mode. This can happen for the following reasons:

    • heartburn, stomach discomfort, toxicosis
    • need for frequent urination
    • forced uncomfortable sleeping position
    • lower back pain
    • legs in the calf area cramps
    • lack of oxygen
    • restless thoughts about the upcoming birth and the well-being of the child
    • disturbing dreams, nightmares

    IMPORTANT: Sleep disturbance during pregnancy does not always indicate the presence of any discomfort or discomfort. Sometimes insomnia is just an attempt by a pregnant woman's body to prepare for future motherhood. After all, when the baby is born, the mother will have to sleep lightly and wake up several times a night with the baby for night feedings.

    Insomnia with menopause

    fading away reproductive function in women it is often aggravated by sleep disturbances. It is necessary to fight insomnia during menopause, since during menopause it can quickly develop into chronic, and cause a lot of harm to health. Women experience sleep difficulties due to:

    • night tides
    • accelerated heartbeat
    • growing anxiety and fear
    • severe irritability

    IMPORTANT: In case of insomnia during menopause, a woman should consult a doctor. Most likely, the doctor will prescribe treatment with a substitution hormone therapy which will help you get rid of unpleasant consequences menopause.

    Insomnia has become a fate business men who often choose between sleep and work in favor of the latter. Sometimes, of course, factors such as:

    • TV, computer games
    • drinking alcohol, smoking
    • drinking tea and coffee before bed
    • stress
    • depression
    • shift work schedule
    • exercise before bed
    • sedentary lifestyle, low energy expenditure

    IMPORTANT: Insomnia has a devastating effect on the male body. First of all, the production of testosterone, the male sex hormone, slows down or stops, which leads to a decrease in potency. The man becomes irritable and aggressive. Besides constant sleepiness can cause a car accident or an accident at a responsible job. In addition, in the blood of a constantly sleep-deprived man, the level of sugar rises over time, which can lead to the development diabetes and obesity.

    Insomnia in old age

    Elderly people often complain of insomnia. More than 50% of people over the age of 65 regularly take sleeping pills. Sleep disorders in elderly people are associated with the development of brain dysfunction. Social, medical, psychogenic factors can aggravate the situation.

    In the elderly, insomnia can quickly become chronic. This happens for a number of reasons, including: pain in the legs, neurological disorders, sleep apnea, ischemia, hypertension, angina pectoris, heart failure, bronchial asthma, diabetes mellitus.

    IMPORTANT: Insomnia often haunts elderly people who are in depressed state. They are characterized by disturbing dreams, difficulty falling asleep at night, early awakening, the appearance of fear from a sense of helplessness and defenselessness.

    So that the fight against insomnia in an elderly person gave positive results, it is necessary, first of all, to find and eliminate its root cause.

    Research methods for insomnia

    To assign proper treatment, or refer the patient to the right specialist, the doctor should conduct research on insomnia and the causes that cause it.

    First of all, the doctor should get acquainted with the history of the course of the disease. To do this, the patient will have to answer a number of very diverse questions relating to all areas of his life.

    IMPORTANT: you need to answer the questions truthfully, since it is these answers that can immediately, without further research, lead the doctor to the true causes of insomnia.

    An inspection will follow the interview. The doctor, with the help of medical instruments, devices and devices, examines the patient. If it was not possible to determine the cause of insomnia in this way, tests are prescribed. Usually this general analysis blood and urine, the amount of glucose in the blood, the level of hormones.

    IMPORTANT: The results of the tests will help the doctor confirm or refute his assumptions about true reasons insomnia and recognize the disease hidden in the body.

    An expensive, inaccessible, but very effective method for studying insomnia is polysomnography. This procedure is carried out on an outpatient basis, in a dream, and allows you to study in detail the activity of the muscles, the duration and quality of sleep phases, the amount of air that enters through the mouth and nose. At this stage, it is usually possible to pinpoint the cause of insomnia and choose a way to eliminate it.

    More accessible but less effective is another study - actigraphy. This is the writing process. daily level activity, muscle condition, sleep and wakefulness of the patient on a special device. The results of this study often give rise to additional tests.

    If the studies conducted by the therapist did not help determine the cause of insomnia, he will give referrals for a consultation with a somnologist, endocrinologist, cardiologist and neuropathologist, who, in turn, will try to help get rid of insomnia and its consequences.

    Treatments for insomnia

    Insomnia can be cured with medication, hypnosis or folk remedies.
    Medical treatment involves taking one or more drugs from the list:

    • sleeping pills - removes the symptoms, but does not treat the cause of insomnia. Should not be taken for more than 14 days, otherwise addiction may occur
    • tranquilizers, 3-drugs - help to relax, get rid of obsessive and anxious thoughts, but are addictive and can lead to serious mental disorders
    • melatonin - used in advanced cases chronic insomnia to regulate the sleep cycle. Has many unpleasant side effects
    • homeopathic remedies - only a homeopathic doctor can prescribe, in whose arsenal there is whole list drugs that can have a specific effect on mental condition patient.

    Hypnotherapy is carried out by psychotherapists. For several sessions experienced doctor can get good results.

    IMPORTANT: Hypnosis has no contraindications and side effects, however, therapy must be performed by a highly qualified specialist, since the patient must be brought in and out of sleep in a special way.

    Folk remedies can be used when it is not about chronic insomnia. soothing herbal teas will help get rid of perhaps an accidental failure of the sleep mode.

    Insomnia after depression

    Insomnia and depression are two conditions that are closely related. Often in patients in a depressed state there is a violation of the sleep pattern, at the same time, chronic insomnia can cause depression.

    Clinical depression is characterized by a severe mood disorder. The patient is haunted by feelings of helplessness, insecurity, uselessness, hopelessness, depression and sadness. This state keeps a person in suspense even at night, forcing him to mentally relive unpleasant exciting events again and again, and causes insomnia. In turn, constant lack of sleep, closing the circle, gradually aggravates the psychological state.

    If not treated deep depression, accompanied by chronic insomnia, then a person may be “on the verge” for some time, and then make an attempt to commit suicide.

    Treatment of insomnia in depression

    The treatment of insomnia in depression is very specific and requires competent professional approach. The doctor prescribes both antidepressants and sedatives. During treatment, it is recommended to visit a psychologist and self-study.

    You can help the doctor and help yourself get rid of insomnia and depression as soon as possible with the help of:

    • daily meditation, reading books, listening to light music
    • morning sports, regular exercise
    • avoiding coffee, alcohol, smoking
    • hot shower before bed
    • humid and cool air in the bedroom
    • new bed linen, comfortable mattress

    Hygiene of sleep and rest. Prevention of insomnia

    Sleep hygiene is an excellent prevention of insomnia. In order to improve the duration and quality of sleep and prevent insomnia, you must:

    • Follow a bedtime ritual. Every evening at the same time, perform the same actions, observing their sequence until it becomes a habit and becomes a necessity.
    • Don't go to bed with a full stomach or hungry. The last meal should be 3 hours before bedtime.
    • At the time of transition to sleep, do not think about daytime problems and incidents.
    • Before going to bed, do not smoke, do not drink coffee and alcohol.
    • Do not force yourself to sleep and do not think about insomnia, do not be afraid of its onset.

    Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia

    Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for insomnia is a set of techniques used by a psychotherapist that allows the patient to change their disturbing thoughts at the subconscious level.

    CBT consists of 10-14 sessions. As a result of treatment, the patient learns:

    • identify in time disturbing thoughts that interfere with sleep at night, causing anxiety and concern
    • determine the significance of these thoughts, change them to more positive
    • eliminate provoking factors before the onset of a depressive state
    • enjoy the support of others, do not hide your anxieties and worries, seek advice and help
    • confidently apply the acquired skills in practice

    IMPORTANT: CBT requires constant work on oneself, the application of certain efforts. Quick effect and this method does not promise instant relief from insomnia.

    What diseases cause insomnia

    In addition to psychological problems, the cause of insomnia can be problems with physical health. Conditions that often lead to insomnia include:

    • cardiovascular diseases
    • dysfunction of the thyroid gland
    • disorders of the kidneys, liver
    • atherosclerosis
    • respiratory failure
    • Parkinson's disease
    • prostatic hypertrophy
    • asthma
    • arthritis
    • apnea

    IMPORTANT: People with these diseases need to be especially careful with their health, and if signs of insomnia appear, do not self-medicate, but consult a doctor as soon as possible.

    Psychological help for insomnia

    When a healthy young man who does not take drugs and does not have bad habits suffers from chronic insomnia, a psychologist can help him. In such cases, psychological therapy is safe and effective. The doctor will determine the psychological cause of insomnia and help get rid of it in a short time.

    IMPORTANT: Trying to fix insomnia on your own with sleeping pills or alcohol can not only exacerbate the problem, but also lead to drug or alcohol dependence.

    Insomnia negative effects

    The effects of insomnia do not appear immediately, but always have Negative influence to all areas of human life.

    If speak about physical condition, then it worsens even after one sleepless night - fatigue, irritability appear, working capacity decreases. Further lack of sleep leads to a weakening of vision, the appearance of hallucinations, inhibition of brain activity, impaired concentration.

    IMPORTANT: Insomnia - dangerous problem from the point of view of the socio-economic sphere. Due to the sleepy, lethargic state of drivers, many accidents occur daily, due to lack of sleep at night, workers experience accidents at work.

    Also, insomnia can cause the development of various diseases of all internal organs and systems. In a person suffering from chronic insomnia, immunity decreases and depression appears, psychoses and disturbing thoughts appear.

    What helps sleep with insomnia

    When you can’t fall asleep for a long time, you can try to deceive your body in one of the following ways:

    • Take a boring book and read it, delving into the details and details of the events described. Usually, after reading a few pages of such works, a sound sleep comes to a person.
    • Walk on fresh air. Highly effective way, the effectiveness of which is explained by the temperature difference. It will immediately seem that you don’t want to sleep at all, but after returning from a walk to the apartment, there will be a desire to sleep
    • You can eat a piece of cheese before going to bed or drink a glass warm milk. These products contain the substance tryptophan, defiant feeling satisfaction, well-being and relaxation
    • Dream of your wonderful future. Imagine your future ideal life, in which all your dreams come true. Think over everything to the smallest detail - the atmosphere of your new home, your new job, your future image. Come back to this ideal life of yours every night before bed.
    • Massage your hands and face before going to bed for 7-10 minutes. Special attention should be given to the fingertips and earlobes
    • Count mentally to one hundred. Let it be a hundred identical items: tables, chairs, houses. Yes, and no one canceled a hundred sheep. The most important thing is not to lose count, and if you still lose count, start again.

    These are the simplest and available methods, which help to quickly fall asleep to a person who does not suffer from acute physical pain and not in a state of deep depression.

    Medicines and sleeping pills for insomnia

    Sleeping pills should be taken very carefully, only as directed by a doctor, as they have many contraindications and side effects. Some of them are highly addictive and make sleep impossible without another “dose” of sleeping pills, while others weaken the respiratory function.

    But there are also more harmless insomnia medications that you can buy at a pharmacy without a prescription and take it yourself. These drugs include:

    • Novo Passit, Persen- multicomponent herbal tablets
    • Dormiplant- herbal two-component sleeping pill, contains valerian and lemon balm in a ratio of 2: 1
    • Motherwort, Valerian- natural natural sleeping pills made from the roots of herbs
    • Melaxen Syntactic analogue of the sleep hormone melatonin

    IMPORTANT: All of these drugs have a calming effect, so they can also be taken for nervous excitability. deal with chronic form insomnia with these drugs will not succeed.

    By prescription, you can purchase the following funds:

    • Sleeping pills group "Z" (zopiclone, zolpidem, zaleplon)- the safest pills, not addictive and do not affect respiratory function. However, the serious complications that an overdose can lead to do not allow this remedy to be dispensed without a prescription.
    • Barbiturates- preparations based on barbituric acid. are highly addictive, are drugs. They act depressingly on the central nervous system, thereby exerting a hypnotic and sedative effect
    • Donormil- A sleep aid. After taking it, all muscles relax, so it is extremely dangerous for people with sleep apnea to take this remedy. A drowsy state accompanies a person the whole next day, after taking donormil
    • Benzodiazepines (Ativan, Serax, Restoril, Xanax, Halcyon, Librium, Paxpam, Versed)- sleeping pills - sedatives. A small dose of benzodiazepine acts as a sedative, a large dose acts as a sleeping pill. Inhibit brain activity, reduces anxiety. The dependence on the drug is insignificant, however, it was noted rare cases special addiction to benzodiazepines. With a slight excess of the recommended dose, a person gets confused speech, shortness of breath, a large number of sweat, dilated pupils. If the overdose is severe, death may occur.

    Folk recipes for insomnia. Treatment of folk remedies for chronic insomnia

    For those who have recently experienced insomnia, you can try to return normal sleep with the help of folk remedies:

    Recipe #1. Take 50 grams of dried dill seeds and half a liter of Cahors. Pour the wine into a saucepan and put on fire. After the wine boils, pour the dill seeds into the pan, reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. Then the resulting dill - wine broth should be left in a warm dark place for 1 hour. After that, strain and pour into a glass bottle. Take 30 grams before bed.

    Recipe #2. Every morning on an empty stomach take a syrup of honey, lemon and Borjomi water. For its preparation, you will need the listed ingredients in a ratio of 2: 1: 2.

    Recipe #3. Before going to bed, drink a glass of kefir, with honey previously dissolved in it (1 tbsp).

    Recipe #4. Prepare a decoction of herbs valerian, motherwort, mint and hops (2:3:3:2) by boiling them for 15 minutes. Cool the broth and take 3 times a day, two tablespoons.

    Recipe number 5. A mixture of dried chamomile flowers, mint, fennel and valerian root, taken in equal amounts, boil for half an hour, cool and take half a glass twice a day.

    Recipe #6. Pour two tablespoons of dry hop cones with one glass of boiling water, cover, wrap and leave for 4-5 hours. Strain in the evening and take 5 tablespoons before bed.

    Recipe number 7. Take 1 tsp. sugar and lavender oil. Add 5 drops of oil to sugar and take the remedy before going to bed. It is important not to swallow sugar immediately, but to dissolve it as long as possible.

    Recipe number 8. Drink shortly before a night's sleep a glass of hot tea made from 2 tbsp. lemon balm and 1 tbsp. honey. Such a drink helps to relax and calm down, but lowers blood pressure.

    Recipe #9. Take 60 chestnuts and three small cotton bags. Put 20 chestnuts in each of them, sew up the bags and place them before going to bed on the bed at the head, in the legs and in the region of the heart. The tool is very effective if you use it regularly. Chestnuts need to be updated every year.

    Recipe number 10. Sew a mixture of wormwood, mint and hops, taken in a ratio of 1:1:1, into a small cotton pillow, which you place under your large pillow at night. The aroma of these plants will help you fall asleep quickly and maintain a deep restful sleep throughout the night.

    Recipe number 11. Drink a glass of warm apple juice every night before going to bed. This remedy helps with insomnia in children.

    IMPORTANT: All these recipes are good in cases where insomnia does not cause severe discomfort and appears periodically, from time to time. If insomnia has become the cause of health problems, the occurrence of obsessive anxious thoughts, self-medication is unacceptable.

    Bath for insomnia

    A reliable assistant in the fight against insomnia is a warm bath taken a few hours before going to bed.

    Bath with spruce needles
    Spruce needles have a good relaxing effect. It should be brewed in the morning, let stand until evening and pour into a bath with warm water. The color of freshly cooked spruce broth should be dark brown.

    Bath with decoction of valerian root
    A course of baths of 14 procedures with the addition of a decoction of valerian root will also help to gradually get rid of insomnia. To prepare the decoction, you will need to boil 1 valerian root in 2 cups of water for 15 minutes.

    bath with essential oil and flower petals
    Add 5 drops of peppermint, citrus and chamomile oils to the water. Take a bath just before bed. You can also add the petals of your favorite flowers to the water.

    Bath with hops
    Add a decoction of hop cones to a filled bath. To prepare it, take 200 g of cones, pour 0.5 liters of water and boil for 10 - 15 minutes. You can use the cooled strained broth.

    IMPORTANT: The temperature of the water in the bath should not exceed 40 ° C, and the duration of bathing should not exceed 20 minutes.

    Insomnia: tips and reviews

    People who have overcome insomnia on their own advise:

    • love and accept yourself, do not condemn yourself for not being able to sleep
    • write on a piece of paper about everything that worries you lately
    • keep the bedroom window open
    • go to the gym, swimming pool
    • limit evening TV viewing,
    • using a computer
    • avoid heavy meals
    • walk before bed
    • don't drink coffee in the evening
    • buy a new comfortable mattress

    Those who have ever experienced insomnia remember:

    Rita, 56 years old:

    I suffered from insomnia for a long time - almost a year. It arose against the backdrop of menopause. I had a hard time. For a long time I tried to cope with this problem on my own, I did not admit to anyone that I did not sleep at night. The children asked me to look after their grandchildren during the day, to pick them up from the garden, but I could not, because I really wanted to sleep. I tried a lot of folk remedies on myself, regularly drank sedative pills but nothing helped.

    After I fell asleep in the transport and passed my stop, I decided to go to the doctor. I really regretted not doing this sooner. The doctor, after listening to me, prescribed a special drug recommended for use by women of my age during menopause. Sleep problems disappeared, I could not even immediately believe my happiness. My advice to all women facing similar situation: do not self-medicate, visit a doctor.

    Nastya, 22 years old:

    I am a young mother, my son Artem is 3.5 years old. He had problems with sleep from the first days of attending kindergarten and continued for two weeks. I attributed everything to adaptation and did not interfere in the natural, as it seemed to me, process. But time passed, and the son continued to act up during morning awakenings and reluctantly went to bed after 23.00.

    We solved the problem ourselves with the help of ordinary milk. One evening I offered my son a glass of warm milk, with a spoonful of honey dissolved in it. He drank with pleasure and after half an hour fell asleep sweetly. History repeated itself the next day. Now our son has a certain ritual of going to bed - we drink warm milk and go to bed!

    Lena, 17 years old.

    My mother scolded me because I liked to play computer games at night. She said that I create problems for myself. To some extent, I agreed with her, because at school I really wanted to sleep and could not understand the essence of the lesson. I was given appropriate grades.

    When I tried to fall asleep on time, I couldn't. Then I turned on the tablet and played my favorite game until three or four in the morning. She fell asleep when it started to get light outside the window. A few hours later I had to get up for class. I constantly felt overwhelmed and tired, I was very tired of this state. This continued until my mother took my tablet, phone and laptop from me. Immediately I cried and was angry with my mother because I could not play, and then I myself did not notice how I fell asleep.

    That night, for the first time, I for a long time got enough sleep and in the morning went to study with pleasure. I liked my new state so much that in the evening I gave my mother all my things so as not to start playing, even if I really wanted to. And slept well again. For myself, I decided that it’s better for me to rest at night so that I don’t feel tired during the day and have time to study and go out with friends.

    Artur, 29 years old:

    I went to the doctor after I almost got into an accident on the road. I fell asleep at the wheel after another sleepless night, through my fault, innocent people could suffer. The doctor prescribed the pills that I now take whenever I have difficulty falling asleep.

    Everyone who has sleep disorders should understand that insomnia is an abnormal condition of any living organism. Without sleep, a person loses strength, health and desire to live.

    If you cannot overcome insomnia on your own, in no case should you give up and succumb to this condition. It is possible that a timely visit to the doctor will help improve your well-being and improve sleep over time.

    In order to function normally during the day, everyone needs to get a good night's sleep. For teenagers, this means they need about nine hours of sleep each night. But practice shows that in reality this is far from the case - teenagers sleep much less than they should. Hence - inattention in the classroom, absent-mindedness, gaps in memory, general weakening of the body, frequent colds. According to the National Poll Foundation, only about one-fifth of teens (20%) get enough sleep each night for their age.

    Adolescence is always to blame when it comes to sleep. The body's internal clock, officially called the circadian rhythm, changes with puberty. Melatonin, a sleep-related brain hormone, is released late in the evening in adolescents. Therefore, if a younger child easily falls asleep quite early, teenagers still do not get tired, and after a few hours they need to have a good sleep, longer than it should be - after all, at about seven in the morning they need to get up for school or lyceum. So it turns out that at night a teenager cannot fall asleep for a long time, and in the morning he cannot wake up, but he is forced to do this because of a tough social schedule.


    This becomes a serious problem for teenagers with a lot of academic work, which depletes the body even more against the background of chronic sleep deprivation. In order for the child not to be late for school, it is worth waking him up an hour earlier than usual, so that waking up is not hasty for him and because of this stressful. But it is also necessary to take care that the teenager goes to bed on time.

    When teens don't get enough sleep, it can lead to serious side effects. It is difficult for the child to concentrate at school, he can sit and doze off in the classroom, which causes the natural bewilderment of the teacher. This can lead to a decrease in work and study productivity. Unfortunately, this is a common problem among teenagers. In extreme cases, sleep deprivation can lead to unmotivated aggression, angry behavior, or depression (which can lead to more sleep problems).


    Lack of sleep can also make a teenager more prone to acne and other skin problems. The poor concentration and slow reactions that are characteristic of children with sleep deprivation can have very dangerous consequences. Sometimes teens' sleep problems are symptoms of illness or other medical causes, such as side effects from medications, sleep apnea, anemia, or mononucleosis. Then a visit of parents with a teenager to a pediatrician and a psychologist is necessary.

    When communicating with a teenage child, parents can make proper sleep a priority in their daily routine. First of all, you need to develop a sleep schedule and those hours in which the teenager wakes up. It is very important to maintain this plan even on weekends. If a child stays up at night and then stays in bed until the afternoon on Saturday or Sunday, it will be very difficult to change his internal biorhythms again. Then it will become almost impossible for a teenager to fall asleep on Monday at a normal time and wake up early in the morning.

    In order for the child to fall asleep and wake up on time, you need to create conditions for him to have a good sleep. Keep your child's room dimly lit, and turn off the computer screen before bed. Turn off outside noise. You also need to make sure that the teenager's room is warm enough.

    In the morning, bright light and sun should be avoided, which will allow the teenager to wake up comfortably. If your teen is tired and wants to take a nap after dinner, limit their nap time to 30 minutes; being able to sleep longer can prevent him from falling asleep at night. Try to ensure that your teenager avoids nightly homework and does not sit in class all night.


    Have your teen stay away from prolonged TV viewing, computer games, and other over-stimulating shows and activities 2 hours before bed. The following fact speaks about the dangers of electronic media in a teenager's bedroom. In 2006, the National Poll Foundation found that children with four or more electronic gadgets in their bedrooms were chronically sleep deprived. When your teen gets into bed, make sure he doesn't do any other activities and that the focus is on falling asleep. In addition, teens should avoid chocolate and caffeinated drinks after 4 pm. This will help them sleep better.

    Sleep problems in teenagers are solvable. It is only necessary for both parents and teenagers to get involved in this process.

    Doctors define insomnia as a condition associated with disturbances in the sleep process or difficulty falling asleep. Paradoxical as it may sound, but insomnia in adolescents is a very common phenomenon in modern world. Lack of sleep can lead to serious consequences:

    • depression;
    • headaches;
    • lethargy, drowsiness;
    • decline in school performance.

    How to recognize the problem in time and deal with it - read!

    The specificity of sleep in adolescents

    It should be clarified that the sleep of a teenager is somewhat different from the sleep of a child or an adult. Most often, when a teenager encounters problems falling asleep, they occur due to the fact that the brain cannot tune in to sleep in time.

    Medical research claims that a special hormone, melatonin, is responsible for sleep. Just in adolescence, the production of this hormone occurs with a delay, and this leads to problems with falling asleep. And if more strong organism with a stable psyche is able to cope with the problem, then a teenager, preoccupied with worries and doubts, is more prone to insomnia.

    Remember that teenagers need more sleep than adults. And any attempts to be content at this age with 8 hours of sleep will not lead to anything good.

    Causes of insomnia in teenagers

    Physicians and psychologists determine the causes of insomnia in adolescents by a number of factors.

    We have already written that the root causes of sleep problems can be considered physiological changes characteristic of this age period, as well as increased emotional tension and related conditions (anxiety, stress, depression).

    In addition, the following factors can lead to sleep disorders:


    1. Wrong daily routine. On holidays or weekends, teenagers often try to stay up longer, because in the morning you don’t have to get up early and you can sleep in plenty, and this leads to a violation of the usual regimen. In addition, it seems to teenagers that it is during the holidays that they will sleep off, although scientists have proven that it is impossible to get enough sleep "in advance".
    2. excessive mental and emotional stress . After school, a teenager may need to rest and take a nap, and this is normal. The main thing is that the daytime sleep should not be too long, otherwise the regime will fail completely.
    3. Emotional overstrain, change of mood or experience. Parents who want to help their teenager should remember themselves at this age. After all, what seems to be an insignificant trifle for an adult can turn into a real disaster for a teenager. They experience all events very emotionally, often even hypertrophied, and these are potential causes of insomnia in adolescents.
    4. Lack of physical activity. Perhaps you think that in conditions of significant mental stress at school and emotional overstrain from physical exertion is better to refuse. But this is the wrong approach. In many cases, physical activity does not complement, but compensate for psychological. That is, the movement of a teenager is absolutely necessary. If all of it physical activity- this is the road to school, problems cannot be avoided. Active games, sports or at least regular physical exercises home will help to normalize sleep.
    5. Bad habits. Smoking, alcohol, drugs... It's no secret that this side of life is discovered by many during adolescence. You may think that your child is too young to even think about such things. Or rest assured that nothing like this can happen in your family. And you may even be right. But sleep problems are a reason to once again ask how your child spends his free time. Insomnia and sleep disturbances can also be caused by habits that you do not consider harmful. For example, drinking coffee and energy drinks.
    6. Improper nutrition. Everything in the human body is interconnected. And the connection of diet and diet with the sleep-wake cycle is a proven fact.
    7. Now, as a separate cause of sleep disorders in children and adolescents, one can safely name the ubiquitous spread of the Internet. Online games, communication in social networks literally tighten teenagers. And they are ready to spend all their free time on this, including the time intended for sleep. Moreover, even when the computer is finally turned off and the child goes to bed, the brain will take some time to move away from impressions. That is, it is very difficult to fall asleep quickly after computer battles or emotional communication.


    8. Improper preparation for sleep. This item can include errors in the arrangement of the bedroom, and inappropriate bedding, and the lack of proper rituals for falling asleep.

    How does insomnia manifest in teenagers?

    Insomnia in teenagers can be expressed in different ways. Therefore, it is important for parents to carefully monitor the child.

    1. Reducing the duration of sleep. A teenager needs at least 8-10 hours of rest, if he sleeps less, this is a cause for concern.
    2. Difficulty falling asleep. A healthy child needs 3-15 minutes to fall asleep, and with insomnia it takes 2 or more hours. And this is a very painful time, because a teenager, once in bed, wants to sleep, but sounds, thoughts, memories or uncomfortable bedding interfere with him.
    3. Frequent nocturnal awakenings. A teenager can be awakened by anything, for example, noise, snoring of parents, a bad dream. But if healthy child is able to fall asleep easily after a sudden awakening, then it is very problematic for a teenager suffering from insomnia.
    4. Heavy morning rise. A sleepy teenager gets up with a feeling of fatigue and weakness throughout the body. By the way, doctors recommend taking a closer look at the child only half an hour after he wakes up, because that is how long it takes the body to switch to wakefulness.
    5. You can think about the presence of problems with sleep and symptoms such as:
    • Irritability;
    • Aggressiveness;
    • Capriciousness;
    • memory impairment;
    • Inability to concentrate;
    • Loss of appetite or, conversely, a tendency to overeat;
    • Constant tired.

    And of course, do not disregard the child's complaints that he does not sleep well, falls asleep hard, or finds it difficult to wake up in the morning.

    How can I help my teen deal with insomnia?

    Remember that insomnia is not a disease, but just one of the symptoms of some deeper problem. Therefore, for effective treatment insomnia in adolescents, it is necessary to find out its cause.

    But, regardless of the causes of insomnia, it is necessary to take a number of measures to normalize sleep.


    1. Eliminate late meals, especially dishes containing spicy, salty, fatty, smoked foods, as well as sweets, soda, coffee and strong tea. If hunger prevents you from falling asleep, you can satisfy it with kefir, yogurt or a glass of warm milk.
    2. Take a close look at your child's bedroom. Isn't it time to change the bed, perhaps the old one has already become too small? A comfortable mattress and pillows are also very important. Mess in the room and too bright colors, used in its design, definitely do not contribute to a quick fall asleep. Once upon a time, you prepared a room for a baby with love and diligence. But now the child has grown up, and too “childish” bedroom design can annoy him. And everything that irritates interferes with the process of falling asleep.
    3. Create a suitable environment in the teenager's room: silence, darkness, the optimal level of humidity, the air temperature is not higher than 24 degrees. Before going to bed, you need to properly ventilate the room, and also close the curtains, because darkness stimulates the production of melatonin, which is responsible for sleep. In the morning, it is advisable to open the curtains so that the light helps you wake up faster.
    4. Remove the TV from the bedroom mobile phone and computer. It is also undesirable to watch violent films or play computer games where there is violence before going to bed. Any communication with the computer should be stopped at least 1 hour before the planned bedtime. At night, the computer must be turned off.

    Here it is worth making a small digression. Not all parents can allocate 2 separate rooms for a child: a bedroom and a “playroom” or an office. Therefore, the advice to remove the computer from the bedroom may seem impossible.

    Well, if it’s impossible to allocate a separate room for sleeping, you need to allocate an area for sleeping in the room. You can fence off this area, for example, using a screen. Or don't do it.

    Another option is to make the child's room a bedroom. Let the computer and TV stay in the living room. True, a teenager may actively object to this option. And for other family members, this can create some inconvenience. So, this issue is decided individually. The main thing is that his decision should not be postponed. And the teenager got a comfortable and peaceful place to sleep.

    5. Teach your teenager to adhere to a certain daily routine: go to bed and wake up at the same time, and not only on weekdays, but also on weekends. If your child's bedtime has already moved past midnight, skip to optimal mode should be gradual.

    6. Try to make the teenager fall asleep with positive emotions: before going to bed, do not quarrel, do not sort things out, do not punish him.

    7. daytime sleep at this age can be very useful. But try not to let your teenager go to bed after 5 pm.

    Another important nuance: it is important to prevent a "vicious circle": the causes of insomnia in adolescents often lie in emotional problems, the so-called teenage depression, but insomnia caused by other factors, in turn, can lead to stress and depression.

    When to Contact a Specialist

    If all of the above methods did not help, then most likely your teenager has more serious problems. It can be various diseases, for the diagnosis and confirmation of which you need to contact a specialist. And the treatment of insomnia in this case will be aimed at eliminating its causes.

    If the illness is emotional in nature, then you should make an appointment with a psychologist. Only a qualified specialist can help overcome psychological trauma and mental disorders, set up a teenager for relief negative emotions and maintaining emotional balance.

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