There are some ways of remedies which are deemed helpful to get good quality sleep. These have been proven to help deal with stress, tension and anxiety which all contribute to insomnia. Some of these remedies may work, some may not. Pick whatever works for you and keep doing them.

• Warm bath– a good warm bath will relax your body, soothe and calm your nerves which could set the mood for a good sleep.
• Massage– a good rubbing or soft massage before dozing off will enhance relaxing mood and make way for sleeping.
• Set the music for sleeping. Soft, calming music will get you to relax and eventually doze off. Any type of music that soothes your mind and body will work wonders in getting you to sleep.
• Warm glass of milk before bedtime – It can be milk or hot camomile or anise tea. They have natural sleep-enhancing ingredients. The calcium content of milk works directly on nerves to relax them.
• No caffeine, alcohol or cigarette. Coffee, tea, chocolate and cola drinks should not be taken near bedtime. Alcohol and cigarette disrupt sleep and should be avoided.
• Right room temperature – this should give the best sleeping condition. Not a too cold or too hot room.
• Sleep on a firm bed – this will give your body comfortable support which will prevent sleep disruption.
• Sleep on your right side or back– this is the best relaxing sleeping position. Do not sleep on your stomach as it will cause pressure on all the internal organs which can cause shallow breathing and other health problems.
• Exercise for half an hour before bedtime – the physical activity will cause the body to slow down a bit, enough to condition the body for a good sleep.
• Keep regular bedtime– making your body adjust to changing sleeping time will cause confusion to your body clock. Always keep a regular and fixed bedtime.
• Get up if you can’t sleep. There’s no point lying awake if you awaken from sleep and you can’t go back to sleeping again. Get up and quietly do something to keep your mind busy and diverted from thinking of getting sleep when you cannot.
• Keep a regular waking up time. Regardless if it’s weekend or holiday, wake up at the same time every single day. Don’t spend longer time lying on bed once you have awakened.
• Keep the bed for sleeping. Avoid doing your reading, crossword puzzles or hand-held video gaming on the bed. They tend to tell the brain that the bed is not for sleeping.
• Don’t nap. For people with normal sleeping habits, nap is good. Not for people with insomnia. Not having naps during the day will make your body feel tired as the day comes to an end, thus, forcing your brain to send signals for sleeping.
• Keep your room dark. Don’t use illuminated wall clock as this will not help you get sleep if you have awakened in the middle of the night.

Insomnia is not a disorder and there are certain lifestyle changes which can help relieve the sleeping difficulty. Sleep aids like beddings, mattress, pillows and sound machines can also induce the mood for sleeping. In severe cases, sleep medication is advised. Some sleep medication drugs include sleeping pills, non-prescription sleep aids, OTC antihistamines and antidepressants. The use of medication should be monitored by your doctor to avoid any complication or risk of addiction.

A mental disorder known as ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is characterized by hyperactivity, inattention, and inability to control urges or drives. ADHD has proven links to various sleep disorders.

Children who have ADHD may be observed to have disturbed or interrupted sleep. Studies have shown that ADHD children have severe sleep disorder than other similar illness. The relationship between ADHD and Sleep are explained below:

• Snoring and ADHD

Snoring is caused by large adenoids or tonsils blocking the airway. This blockage may develop into sleep apnea and in severe cases, ADHD. Snoring may be a reason for poor sleep quality and this may eventually cause attention problems the following day. Studies have shown that snoring is common among ADHD children. And snoring children are likely to be afflicted with ADHD as well.

Removing the tonsils or adenoids is found to help improve the child’s sleep pattern and better behaviour without the need to take medications.

• RLS (restless leg syndrome) and ADHD

Restless leg syndrome is characterized by crawling sensations felt in the legs or arms which are very uncomfortable and annoying. This creates an overwhelming urge to move, thereby causing disruption in sleep and sleepiness during the day.

People with RLS are not able to get good sleep. Hence, they will experience inattentiveness, moodiness or hyperactivity. These are the same symptoms for ADHD. RLS is identified using polysomnogram or sleep study. Both ADHD and RLS may be treated with medications.

These cases show the clear relationship between ADHD and Sleep disorder symptoms. It sometimes happen that because of the overlapping symptoms of ADHD and Sleep disorder, some patients are misdiagnosed for the other disease.

Ways to Help ADHD Children Get the Needed Sleep

• Stay away from caffeine or other sleep-disrupting food or beverages. Check the label of the foods being eaten by your ADHD child. They increase nervousness, agitation which results to interrupted and disrupted sleep.
• Keep a consistent and regular routine for sleeping, waking up or even eating schedules.
• Soundproof your kid’s bedroom to shield from outside noises.
• Don’t take sleep medication unless it is prescribed by a physician.
• Check for other medical problem or illnesses. Asthma, allergies and other conditions which cause body pain may contribute to disrupted sleeping.
• Introduce your children to a light exercise regimen during the day. Exercise should not be done near bedtime.
• A hot bath before bedtime can do wonders. A cool-temperature room would be ideal for a child to stay into after a warm bath.

Insomnia is defined as the difficulty of being able to sleep or staying asleep. Insomnia is characterized not by the number of hours of sleep but by the quality of sleep and how one’s daytime functions are affected by the lack of quality sleep.

This is exactly what happened to you for the past week. You had trouble getting sleep which has affected your functions during the day, leaving you overly exhausted. And this is clearly a symptom of insomnia.

Your doctor did classify your insomnia as that of transient insomnia because it has been bothering you for at least a week already. If the symptoms will continue for another couple of weeks, it will be classified as short-term insomnia. Having the same symptoms for over three weeks will label it to chronic insomnia.

Your consultation with the doctor made you aware of the facts surrounding insomnia including the causes and treatment.

Causes of Insomnia

For transient and short-term insomnia, the following possible causes are identified:

• Abrupt change in time zones especially when travelling to countries with extremely different time zones. Jet lag is a common cause of one’s inability to sleep.
• Work shift being altered. This may cause confusion to the body clock. This may cause the brain to challenge the dictates of the body clock.
• Sleeping environment or conditions which are not conducive for sleeping like too hot or too cold room, too noisy environment, etc.
• Stressful events or situations like death of a loved one, bad news at work, family problems, etc.
• Alcohol- or drug-addiction related problems may also cause poor quality sleep especially if one is quitting from the addiction.

Insomnia Symptoms

The fact that different people have different sleeping habits, it makes it difficult to pinpoint any defined measure for the lack of sleep to be classified as insomnia. There are, however, signs and symptoms which may be observed from people suffering from insomnia:

• Frequent waking hours at night for no apparent reason and finding it difficult to resume sleeping every time.
• Daytime problems start to manifest :Lack of focus and concentration, memory lapses, uncoordinated actions, feeling irritability, and failed social interaction

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you may need to consult with your doctor to confirm if your symptoms are that of insomnia or something else. Most of the time, people do experience those symptoms but due to lack of information about insomnia never bother to have the symptoms checked. When this happens, the symptoms may have led to serious chronic insomnia which will be very inconvenient and will impact one’s well being.

Insomnia Treatment

Photo by: Racchell

The treatment for your transient insomnia will be removing or resolving what is causing the sleep disruption. The treatment is usually directed towards identifying the cause and addressing those causes. For transient insomnia, for instance, allowing yourself to get used to the new work schedule and conditioning your mind and body on the time zone changes will help the body and brain to understand the modification it needs to do with the person’s body clock. Unless your insomnia is classified as chronic insomnia and is affected by existing medical or psychological conditions, non-medical treatment methods may be tried.

Sleep hygiene is a component of behavioural therapy where an insomniac is advised to :

• Have enough sleep to have the feeling of being rested. Oversleeping needs to be avoided.
• Regular short-duration exercises about 4-5 hours before bedtime.
• Do not force yourself to sleep which will cause unnecessary stress.
• Maintain a regular sleeping and waking up schedule.
• Avoid caffeinated beverages especially in the afternoon or hours before bedtime.
• Avoid sleeping with an empty stomach.
• Make your sleeping environment comfortable and avoid of noise or distractions.
• Do not sleep with an unresolved problem as this may cause disruption in your sleep.

Relaxation therapy will help the body and mind to relax. Soothing or calming music, warm cozy lights in the bedroom, meditation or yoga exercises will invite your senses to sleep in a relaxed mode.

Sometimes a simple change in lifestyle will make a difference in preventing insomnia from worsening. By keeping a healthy lifestyle and avoiding stress triggers, one will be able to ward off the sleeping problem.