Chronic Insomnia
Chronic insomnia is tiring for anyone. Most of us don’t realize how much we need a good night’s sleep until we can’t get one. It’s a repeating problem too. Perhaps you are worrying about something, which causes insomnia. Then you worry about the insomnia and it all goes round in circles.
This article will deal with the three main categories of chronic insomnia: problems falling asleep in the first place; restless and light sleeping as well as awaking in the middle of the night and being unable to get back to sleep; and waking up earlier than your usual getting up time and being unable to fall asleep again before the alarm clock goes off.
1. Severe difficulty in falling asleep is a sign of chronic insomnia. You toss and turn, your mind whirrs too fast, thinking of too much and you just can’t calm down and relax. Before long you dread going to bed, “knowing” what is about to happen.
One way to help you is to cut down on your intake of all stimulants, especially in the evening. This includes coffee, alcohol, cigarettes, soft drinks and even food. Have a glass of water if you must drink something in the evening, and try not to eat anything for several hours before retiring.
Exercise will help to induce drowsiness. Perhaps a long walk in the early evening to help make you more tired. A warm bath can also help. Relax in the bath, rather than frantically scrubbing every limb. Make it a time when you don’t think about any worries. Before going to bed try to relax more, perhaps by reading a chapter or two of a good book.
2. Light and restless sleeping during the night and waking up regularly unable to get back to sleep can also be lessened or avoided by adhering to the points mentioned above. Lowering stress levels is very important, especially in the evening. Staying calm and relaxed is the key. Don’t watch a high action adventure movie just before turning in, for example.
If you wake in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep, don’t start worrying about it. That will make things worse. The old idea of counting sheep actually works, but you don’t have to count sheep, try counting something more interesting instead. You can beat chronic insomnia best by not thinking about it and relaxing.
3. Waking up early and not being able to fall asleep again is perhaps the worst of all chronic insomnia symptoms. You know that if you don’t fall asleep, soon it will be time to get up anyway, so you try hard to fall asleep and only make things worse. Again, you have to try and relax and not panic. It can be easier said than done, but tossing and turning and worrying about the situation will definitely make chronic insomnia much worse.
Chronic insomnia is frustrating and debilitating. Taking pills to help induce sleep is not always the answer. A large glass of alcohol taken before bedtime is even worse! Inducing tiredness through exercise in the early evening, relaxing as much as possible with no stressful incidents, soaking in a sumptuous bath before quietly reading a few pages of a good book all work well to help get rid of chronic insomnia.