What are the causes and consequences if you suffer from insomnia? Many people suffer from this and do not know what to do with their sleeping problems. What exactly does insomnia mean and how does it develop in your body? And more important! How do you prevent sleeping problems?
What are the symptoms of insomnia?
Two out of ten people suffer from insomnia, so you could say that this is becoming a major problem. A good night’s sleep ensures that you remain fit during the day. There are several symptoms of insomnia:
- You are unable to sleep through the night
- You wake up several times during the night
- You don’t wake up feeling rested, even though you have slept all night
- You wake up during the night and cannot resume sleep
- You don’t fall asleep at all
What is insomnia?
Everyone has a bad night’s sleep sometimes. You will then not immediately have a sleeping problem. If you sleep poorly for several nights in a row, then you only talk about insomnia. Insomnia disrupts your natural rhythm. This makes you function a lot less well during the day and can even lead to psychological problems. This can also significantly affect your mood and make you very irritable. If you sleep poorly for more than two to three weeks, you talk about chronic insomnia. This can cause you to experience many problems during the day, both physically and mentally. Sleep needs differ per individual. The number of hours of sleep someone needs depends on their age and the person themselves. For example, children need much more sleep (between 10 and 12 hours) than an elderly person (between 5 and 6 hours). An active child also needs to recover much more from all his/her daily activities. Older people also have less need for sleep. This often makes them think that they have sleeping problems, while that is not the case.
The causes of insomnia
Sleep problems can be caused by a variety of factors. Make sure you have a good sleep rhythm and don’t let it disturb you. There is a hormone called melatonin in your body that regulates this sleep rhythm. This hormone ensures that your body is prepared to go to sleep every day. The temperature in your body will drop when this substance enters your body, making you sleepy. For example, by watching too much TV or sitting at the computer too much, you are exposed to too much artificial (light). This significantly inhibits the production of this hormone and your body only receives the signal to go to sleep much later. Insomnia can be a consequence of this. There are many more causes of insomnia. The causes include:
- Stress
- Wrong eating (eating too late or irregular times)
- Genetically determined
- Side effect of medications
- Too much light during the day
- Too much noise during the day
- Temperature of the bedroom too high or too low
- Bad bed or mattress
- Way too much excitement in your body
- Worrying about all kinds of things
- Physical condition (e.g. menopause)
- Mental illness (e.g. depression)
- Children who keep you awake
- Partner who keeps you awake
Consequences of insomnia
A good night’s sleep does people a lot of good. You need to be able to refuel sufficiently to get through your day completely. Some people need more sleep than others. If you continue to suffer from sleeping problems for a long time, the following complaints may result:
- Much more headaches
- Stress will increase
- You are more emotional
- Your resistance is a lot lower, so you are more susceptible to diseases
- Fatigue occurs
- Concentration problems arise
- You may become depressed sooner
- You are more irritated
- Your memory is more likely to fail you
Tips to prevent insomnia
You have sleeping problems or even insomnia and you don’t know how to deal with this. There are several tips to prevent insomnia. For example, make sure that you go to bed with a clean memory. In other words, don’t get into heated discussions just before going to sleep. You will continue to worry and sleep will not happen quickly. To sleep well and prevent insomnia, you can follow the following tips:
- Quitting smoking affects your sleep in a negative way
- The bedroom should be an ideal place. Temperature, furnishings, bed quality
- Maintain a regular and fixed pattern in your sleep rhythm, this will make your body calmer
- Do relaxation exercises before going to sleep
- Take a warm shower or take a nice bath in the evening
- Have a cup of warm milk before going to bed. Milk contains certain substances that contribute to this and the aforementioned hormone melatonin
- Make sure you don’t eat too late (at least 3 hours before you go to sleep
- Try to watch less TV or use the computer in the evenings
- Exercise more, this will reduce stress and you will already get tired
- Listen to relaxing music in the evening
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