Insomnia is not life: how to fight it
Elina Chebboha
Let's face it: we all sleep badly. The point is not that life in big cities reconfigures to the night rhythm, and many still have to get up early for work. And it’s not even that the HBO and Netflix channels were invented by the Satanists from the Insomnia sect - is it true, who among you watched one episode at a time, and not three in a row? Sleep has ceased to be associated with darkness - those who do not sleep at night, doze during the day, on public transport, during working hours, sometimes even during sex (not night), for a lunch break. And the question arises - why take time for sleep, when a night was invented for this? If you have difficulty falling asleep, and the sleep itself is restless and at least three times a week after it you feel overwhelmed, then congratulations - you have insomnia, and most likely you do not know about it.
Insomnia is considered a national epidemic, and not only at the level of frightening numbers, which indicate that 50% of the Russian population from time to time suffer from it, and 20% have no idea what to do about it. The Ministry of Health even launches local projects such as the Chelyabinsk Healthy Sleep, where people are “raised awareness” of the problem. They stopped updating about a year after launch - they probably fell asleep. As a result, we are just one of the cogs in the global picture - in civilized, developed countries, only 3% of residents do not experience sleep problems. Most likely, these happy three percent do not use the Internet, do not do slip-texting and do not think about tasks before going to bed - in general, they are not much like us.
The problem with insomnia lies in its lack of knowledge and in the fact that we are not aware of the causes of its occurrence, along with the consequences. For example, few people think that overweight depends on lack of sleep (sleep a little - you weigh a lot), seasonal catching of viral epidemics indicates a weak immunity and, attention, lack of sleep, if your back hurts, your lungs, aching kidneys - all this or otherwise, it may lead to insomnia or its consequences. Another moment with insomnia is its isolation and cyclicality: it can simultaneously cause problems and flow smoothly in the opposite direction. For example, you can not find a place for a month, and then find out what you need to add iodine to your diet, and you can live in the right mode for one week and find out that depression has passed. Oh, insomnia, thou art a heartless bitch.
Unfortunately, in the case of insomnia, 90% of people either do nothing or resort to self-treatment and prescribe a sleeping pill with the help of friendly doctors. The results are amazing: in the US, hypnotic drugs occupy three positions in the top ten best-selling drugs, in Italy their sales have exceeded Viagra, and in Russia, despite the withdrawal of a certain category of sedatives and hypnotic drugs from free sale, every second person will immediately call two or three items and once in a lifetime would try to get rid of sleep problems with medication. This can help when insomnia appears temporarily and sleeping pills help restore a healthy lifestyle and establish a rhythm of sleep that can be regulated.
Just remember that beer and steaks two hours before bedtime do not lead to cellulite (although to him too), but to sleep disturbance.
If insomnia is not a consequence health problems, you can get rid of it using a consistent list of actions, much more real than the usual "start a healthy lifestyle":
It's time to stop thinking about everything before going to bed: about problems, looks that are not comfortable, work that is not pleasing, and enjoy a few hours in the night that belong only to you. Easier said than done, so an easy exercise will help, which, according to a study by Oxford University, helps better than counting sheep — imagine a waterfall. I must say that it is desirable to free the head from pleasant thoughts - everyone understands that the dreams of Benedict Cumberbatch do not lead to sleep.
Dozing more than 20 minutes a day is bad. A short nap after dinner breaks the rhythm - it is better to endure until the evening and go to bed at ten, than to sleep an hour at lunchtime. This is the easiest way to earn yourself insomnia, and with it the rest of the problems. If you cut down to a state of nesting, then it is best to drink a glass of very cold water, go for a short walk or call a friend - communication is refreshing.
Once and for all: eating and drinking at night is harmful. Just remember that beer and steaks two hours before bedtime do not lead to cellulite (although to him too), but to sleep disturbance, which, in turn, leads to a bad mood, decreased performance and increased temper. Of course, it is not always insomnia - it is likely that a person may simply be ill-bred. But it's better for everyone when we are ill-mannered, but slept well.
In bed you need to sleep, make love and wake up. If you use it to watch TV shows, read Facebook feeds and even games from a tablet, the time balance is disturbed - we are nervous during the day and the desktop is often associated with anxiety, therefore, in contrast, the bedroom should evoke thoughts of rest and rest.
Let the light in the apartment before bed be muffled - you need to prepare for the process, as well as for everything else. In addition, the dimming of the light gives the brain a signal to produce melatonin, a hormone that leads to sleep.
A glass of milk with honey for the night has not killed anyone yet and, moreover, it helps to fall asleep. Those who smoke, it is better to slightly slow down before bedtime - nicotine is exactly the same pathogen as caffeine. About the refusal of coffee at night, probably not worth talking about.
Do not fall asleep with pets at hand. No matter how much we love them, they can interfere with deep sleep. In addition, they can lead to fleas, fur, wool and dust, causing allergies that harm sleeping. Let them sleep in their beds — after all, they, too, deserve the right to have a normal sleep.
Change, finally, a pillow. Sometimes sleep problems can be of a purely technical nature, such as a terrible mattress and a monstrous wrong pillow, which is given in punishment for sins. Too lush and too flat pillows - bad, the ideal pillow should support the neck in a neutral position. Adjust the pillow under the TV - please your future insomnia.