I have had trouble sleeping for about 3 weeks. At noon I am exhausted, I feel like sleeping, and when I lie in bed in the evening, I cannot fall asleep. Recently, I started drinking green tea, but read that it is not the cause of my insomnia.

The problem of insomnia affects about 1/3 of the population during life and it is particularly acute. Sleep, like air, water and food, is essential to our life and translates into our quality of life, both physically and mentally.

Causes of insomnia

There can be many causes of insomnia: external, such as an uncomfortable bed, inadequate temperature or too much noise, and internal, such as: excessive stress, emotional problems, neurosis, depression or ailments resulting from the poor functioning of the thyroid gland, restless legs syndrome, apnea or other he alth problems.

What is insomnia and when does it occur

Women suffer from insomnia more often, especially during the menopause or after the menopause. Insomnia is problems with sleep consisting in difficulty falling asleep, waking up at night and trouble falling asleep again, not feeling rest despite a night's sleep. We can talk about insomnia if the third week has already lasted for at least 2.3 nights a week. In this case, see a doctor.

Insomnia - where to find help

In the treatment of insomnia, it is extremely important to determine its causes, and both a doctor and a psychologist can help. After determining the cause, appropriate treatment or own influence may be more effective.

Tips for dealing with insomnia

Some helpful tips: don't go to bed too early; you can set the time you want to get up and set the clock back to 5 hours and 30 minutes of sleep plus 30 minutes to fall asleep, and so define the time of going to bed. You shouldn't stay in bed for more than 20 minutes (if you can't fall asleep - it's best to go to another room).

Do not fall asleep early during the day, do not watch TV in bed, do not work in bed, surf the net or talk on the phone. You should not drink coffee and tea before going to bed, avoid energy drinks and alcohol, and eat your last meal three hours before going to bed.idle.

It is important to be physically active at least three times in the afternoon during the week. It is recommended to stay in well-lit places during the day. Relaxation exercises, breathing exercises, working on negative thoughts are helpful - all of this can be trained during meetings with a psychologist.

It is also important to get up at the same time of the week, regardless of the day of the week. If home remedies do not help, and sleep problems are more and more severe, it is not worth delaying a visit to an internist or psychiatrist in a mental he alth clinic or sleep treatment clinic, he may suggest pharmacotherapy. It is worth sticking to one doctor who will take care not to become addicted to puppetry, and it is worth asking about possible side effects of drugs to assess whether taking them will be consequently positive for us. Before visiting the doctor, it is valuable to prepare at least a weekly "sleep diary" or notes about which we fell asleep and bored during the night and what our activities are before going to bed.

Remember that our expert's answer is informative and will not replace a visit to the doctor.

Dominika Ambroziewicz-Wnuk

Psychologist, personal development trainer.

For 20 years she has been working with teenagers, young adults and their carers. Supports people who experience school and relational difficulties, adolescence disorders and teenage parents www.centrum-busola.pl

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Category:

Psychology