Sleep is the most essential part of our lives because it is the time when our body gets rejuvenated and recharged. However, due to numerous reasons, quite a few individuals fail to achieve proper sleep or any sleep at all. This condition in which a person is unable to sleep at night can be termed as insomnia.

Causes of insomnia
There can be varied reasons for different people that can cause insomnia.

Unhealthy lifestyle i.e. improper sleep cycle, improper food habits, untimely naps, substance abuse etc.
Medical conditions like sinus allergies, gastrointestinal problems, endocrine problems, arthritis, asthma, neurological condition like Parkinson s disease, chronic back pain etc.
Psychological conditions like depression and anxiety
Certain medications aimed to cure other health problems
In case of the treatable medical reasons, insomnia is gone once the problem is treated. However, for people who have no idea as to why they suffer from insomnia, here are certain tips that can help in fighting it.

Lifestyle changes to cure insomnia
Starting with a significant lifestyle change can be a great way to change one s sleep cycles and get a good night s sleep.

Maintain a proper and healthy diet, with more fruits and vegetables and less carbs and fat.
Try to sleep and wake up at the same time everyday (despite the fact that you may not feel sleepy). This will train the body and regulate the body clock.
Avoid afternoon naps or any short naps during the day.
Exercise daily for at least 30 minutes.
Avoid caffeine as it has contains properties that keeps a person up for long hours.
Avoid intake of alcohol and nicotine. Although alcohol is associated with fun and partying, it is actually a depressant and causes improper sleep.
Avoid any meal right before bed time.
Tips that can help

Take a good, warm shower right before sleep.
Ask your partner to give you a nice massage before bedtime.
Restrict bed activities to sleep and sex only, nothing more.
Make a really comfortable and inviting sleep environment.
Try and get rid of all your worries before going to bed.
Reduce stress using a number of stress reduction therapies like meditation, deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation techniques, etc.
Apart from the lifestyle changes and the tips that will help you gain a better sleep, there is another therapy, which may be useful. It is called the cognitive behavioural therapy. This therapy can give essential knowledge about sleep and help achieve normal sleep routines.

Suffering From Insomnia - 7 Lifestyle Changes You Must Do!

There is a distinct relationship between sleeping disorders and your emotional health, both influence each other. Insomnia is a common sleeping disorder, which is generally caused due to stress and tension. Depression and anxiety also account for insomnia. It has been proven by research that people who experience sleeplessness or cases of insomnia are at a higher risk of depression and similar psychiatric disorders.

Insomnia is an important factor which causes depression and many people affected by it commit suicide. Researchers have found dysfunctional activity in the area of the brain where emotions are processed and regulated, among people with insomnia. Their study explains the mechanism by which insomnia affects and influences emotions in people, which leads to depression and other disorders.


The ways in which insomnia affects your emotions

    There is a clear difference in the brain activities of people with insomnia when compared with normal people who get good sleep. There is usually a great difference between the activities of the amygdala, which are neurons in the temporal lobe of the brain. The amygdala is very important in regulation and processing of emotions.
    Insomnia disrupts the ability of the brain to process negative emotions.
    Neural change and problems with regulating emotions are also caused because of insomnia.
    Insomnia disables the ability of judging or sensing any kind of emotion by looking at the face of a person. It is difficult to judge emotions such as anger and sadness in people suffering from insomnia. This impairment occurs more in women.
    Insomnia and similar sleeping disorders affect our inhibition and disrupt our impulse control mechanism. An insomniac person is likely to develop increased impulsiveness to negative stimulus.
    People suffering from insomnia develop a perception towards negative stuff and perceive most things in a negative way, rather than looking at the bright side which a normal person tends to do. People affected by insomnia are characterized by a negative mood and are pessimists in nature.
    A sleep deprived or insomniac patient shows greater activity around the limbic area of the brain. This is the area where major emotional regulation and processing are undertaken.
    A person suffering from insomnia develops a cranky personality. The patient is in an irritable mood and is triggered by the slightest and pettiest of circumstances. An insomniac patient is also characterized by swinging moods, high temper and general fatigue, which result due to lack of sleep.

Insomnia is a sleeping disorder which directly affects a person's emotions and the processing and regulation of emotions. There is a direct and important link between insomnia and emotional disorders.

How Insomnia Influences Your Emotions

Insomnia is a disorder where a person has difficulty sleeping. One can have problem falling asleep or staying asleep for long. Some people also have disturbed sleep. This can be a major problem as due to lack of sleep one feels tired and fatigued all day.

Recurring cases of insomnia hamper your daily activities and interfere with the smooth functioning of your life. Therefore, this condition should not be ignored and treated immediately.

Here are the various ways to treat insomnia:
Non-Medical (Cognitive and Behavioral treatment)
Several psychological and behavioral techniques can be used for the treatment of insomnia. Many of these methods can be easily self-taught and others require a therapist to be carried out properly. 

1. Relaxation training, which is also called progressive muscle relaxation involves the patient to tense and relax his muscles systematically in various parts or regions of the body. Relaxation techniques, such as breathing exercises, various forms of meditation, mindfulness and guided imagery are used for treating insomnia people. The use of audio recordings for guidance in these techniques is quite popular.

2. Stimulus control enables building an association between the bedroom and sleep. This is done by limiting several kinds of activities done in a bedroom. This may include going to bed only when very sleepy and leaving bed if you cannot sleep within twenty minutes. A strict bedtime and wake up time schedule has to be maintained.

3. Cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT involves changes in behavior like maintaining a strict sleep time schedule, elimination of afternoon naps and other habits related to sleep. A cognitive component is also added to this method. Unhealthy beliefs and fear regarding sleep are challenged and positive, rational thinking is encouraged. CBT is a very effective procedure for treating insomnia and the track record regarding success is high.

4. Changes in lifestyle are required to treat insomnia and prevent recurrence of insomnia, you should change certain habits and start some new practices. You should limit your intake of caffeine, alcohol and nicotine. Do not consume coffee or tea before going to sleep and avoid smoking. The habits may be stimulating and will keep you awake. Your diet should be balanced. You should avoid having rich and spicy food before going to bed. Avoid late meals and maintain a proper schedule for meals. Regular exercise can improve the symptoms of insomnia and you should try to work out every day.

Medical Treatment
There are many forms of medicines, which can treat insomnia. This includes over-the-counter medicines, as well as prescribed medicines. The type of medicine required completely depends on the severity and symptoms of your insomnia and other factors related to health. Therefore, you must consult a doctor before having any kind of medicine for treating insomnia.

The most common medicines for insomnia, which are usually prescribed by doctors are benzodiazepine hypnotics, non-benzodiazepine hypnotics and melatonin receptor agonists. However, medicines should only be taken after consulting with a specialist. Insomnia not only affects your health but also interferes with all your daily activities. Proper treatment should be taken to treat the same.

Ways to Treat Insomnia

After a hard day the only relief one has is to get a good night s rest and drift off to the world of sweet sleep. You might find yourself wide awake at night, even when your body is extremely tired. This difficulty to fall asleep naturally is called insomnia. If this inability to sleep continues for a long time, it becomes a sleep disorder and can cause many physical and health issues.

Reasons behind Insomnia  

The lifestyle of the twenty first century can be very demanding. A disorder like Insomnia can be easily triggered with various factors they include:

1. Emotional stress: The rollercoaster of emotions that one deals with had a huge effect on their sleep cycle. A stressed mindset will find it hard to be put to rest and as this unwanted stress continues each day.

2. Fluctuating hormones in a woman s body: Women tend to be the victims of insomnia more often than their male counterparts. These changes may include conditions such as PMS, menstruation, pregnancy and menopause.

3. Use of caffeine and anti depressants:  Excessive coffee drinkers might find it difficult to relax their brain, since the caffeine in tea and coffee keeps one brain alert, hence too much of caffeine consumption can be a cause of insomnia. Even smokers might face the same problem since the nicotine acts as an alerting agent.

4. Systemic disorders: Disorders like Asthma and Hyperthyroidism and other various medical conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, asthma, arthritis, allergies, hyperthyroidism and Parkinson s disease can do the same.

Treating insomnia with homeopathy

The reason why Insomnia can be treated the best way through homeopathy is because this treatment is both free from any side effects and is quick in its effects as well in comparison to other conventional methods which induce artificial sleep that can have harrowing effects.  On the contrary, homeopathy is a completely natural treatment that doesn t include any artificial drugs and its small doses work just the right way.

Medications

1. Coffea Cruda is a homeopathic medicine that is most often used for treating insomnia of acute origin or when the disorder only lasts for a brief moment of time.  As the name suggests it is made from coffee beans.

2. Nux Vomica is more suited when insomnia is due to the abuse of stimulants like too much of alcohol, coffee or nicotine. Other medicines such as opium, aconite, arsenic are also recommended by a specialized homeopath. 

It is always recommended to consult a specialized homeopath before taking any medication.

Understanding Insomnia and its Treatment Through Homeopathy

Proper rest and a sound sleep are prerequisites for keeping the physical and mental health in good shape. Difficulty to fall asleep or having a disturbed and interrupted sleep day after day can be a nightmare. In addition to the immense physical exhaustion and fatigue, insomnia can leave a person stressed out mentally which is bound to have an impact on their professional as well as personal lives and commitments. Over the last few years, incidences of insomnia have been rising at an alarming rate.

Insomnia does not always exhibit similar symptoms in all the affected individuals. In some, the condition may be short-term, lasting for a few days or weeks (Transient Insomnia). In some, the problem may appear on and off (Intermittent Insomnia). In extreme cases, insomnia and the associated discomfort may continue for months (Chronic Insomnia). In some instances, insomnia appears as a symptom associated with health conditions such as diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, heart ailments, GERD, to name a few. Severe stress and anxiety along with unhealthy dietary and lifestyle habits are also known to play a pivotal role resulting in insomnia.

The goodness of Unani in treating Insomnia
Unani is one of the ancient forms of medications that has gained immense worldwide appreciation due to its effectiveness in treating various threatening and complicated health conditions including insomnia. In case of Insomnia, the Unani treatment involves a combination of Dietotherapy, Regimental Therapy, and Pharmacotherapy. The main aim of the Unani treatment is to treat insomnia by restoring the balance between the four humors namely, Blood (Dum), Yellow bile (Safra), Phlegm (Balgham), and Black bile (Sauda). It is these four humors that not only nourish the body and the vital organs but also keeps the various health conditions at bay.

With Dietotherapy or Ilaj Bil Ghiza, the aim is to bring the necessary dietary changes to deal with insomnia. The daily intake of banana, walnuts, kale, lettuce leaves, sweet potatoes, herbal tea (especially Chamomile), grapefruits, turkey and red meat (in moderation), whole grains, go a long way to improve the condition of insomnia. People with insomnia should, however, try and avoid processed foods, cheese, pork, aerated, caffeinated and alcoholic drinks, as much as possible. Unani also suggests that the dinner should be light and taken at least 2-3 hours before going to sleep.

Pharmacotherapy or Ilaj Bil Dawa involves the use of Unani medicine to alleviate the discomfort. Some of the medicines often used in treating insomnia includes:

Rogan Kaddo
Rogan Badaam
Hareera Magaz Badaam
To treat insomnia, a Unani specialist will also carry out a detoxification of the body, known as Regimental Therapy or Ilaj Bil Tadbeer, the detoxification is brought about through

Exercise (Riyazat)
Massages (Dalk)
Leeching (Taleeq-e-Alaq)
Venesection (Fasd)
Turkish bath (Hammam)

Role Of Unani Medication In Insomnia Treatment

Depression is a clinical, mental and emotional condition that may give rise to feelings of hopelessness and chronic sadness. It slows down the way people process everyday activities and leads the patient to a sense of constant gloom and doom. It is a disabling mental condition as per who and may be caused due to reasons like genetics, changes in the balance of hormones, stress, grief, trauma and prolonged, chronic physical ailments.

Symptoms of depression are:

    Sleep irregularity: It relates to either insomnia or oversleeping that is, either you sleep too much or do not sleep at all. This could be because of work or other stress in your personal or professional life.
    Irritation or unnecessarily getting angry: You start losing your temper easily and that too for silly reasons. You think you are losing control.
    Feeling hopeless and sad: The first signal or symptom is the feeling of hopelessness. In this, case the patient loses the hope in everything. They feel like being trapped in some kind of cage, from which they are not able to come out.
    Lack of interest in anything: Everything seems to be of no use or interest, even your daily work. You don't want to do anything; even the things, which you loved to do like your hobbies and passions, which you no longer find interesting.

Here is a comprehensive list of homeopathic medicines which most doctors are likely to recommend for treating depression:

    Sepia: This medicine is beneficial to women suffering from post-partum depression (sadness or emotional conflict after giving birth) and menopause. Feeling of solitude and hopelessness with no energy to continue with life are some common symptoms that can be reduced with Sepia.
    Arsenicum album: This medicine is prescribed to control the symptoms like diarrhea, gastric problems, indigestion which patients often suffer from as a result of intense anxiety. Patients, appropriate for this medicine tend to be fastidious and restless. It is made of white arsenic and should be taken in prescribed potency because an overdose can cause gastroenteritis.

The above mentioned medicines are just some of the medicines, which should only be taken only after consulting your doctor, as causes and symptoms differ for each person.

Can Sleep Irregularity be a Sign of Depression?

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