Literally, no sleep. Insomnia is the reduction of the normal sleep duration and / or the achievement of the quality of sleep with impact on the shape the next day. This is a subjective complaint of the person who is unable to sleep through legitimate effort to do so.
The person may be marked most often by difficulty falling asleep, but also by awakenings during the night, or waking up early in the morning and / or the feeling that sleep is not restful.
Insomnia is also characterized by a large daytime fatigue, a drowsiness, difficulty concentrating and a decrease of intellectual efficiency, as well as psychological disorders such irritability, anxiety or depression.
We distinguish arbitrarily:
- insomnia at night (difficulty to sleep);
- insomnia in the morning (early spontaneous awakening relative to the desired time);
- insomnia of anticipation or performance (related to stress);
- occasional insomnia (or circumstantial) related to a traumatic event;
- chronic insomnia (often complicated by the dependency trap the drugs)
We’re talking about chronic insomnia when the perception of poor sleep can be felt more than three times per week and last for more than a month. In these cases, it will seek a mental illness, a poor sleep hygiene, a medical or drug cause: a digestive problem, infectious, endocrine, snoring, sleep apnea.
Insomnia: how to fix it? Are there solutions? What remedies and / or treatment?
Many insomniacs rely on sleeping pills or other sedatives to try to rest. Others use herbal teas such as valerian, chamomile, lavender, hops or passionflower.
Most traditional remedies include:
- drink warm milk before going to bed,
- taking a hot bath in the evening,
- practice of physical exercise for half an hour in the afternoon,
- eat light in the evening three hours before bedtime,
- avoid exciting products in the evening,
- to get up early and go to bed early too, at regular hours.
Traditional Chinese medicine treats insomnia for several millennia. The typical approach consists especially of acupuncture, Chinese massage therapy, dietetics and Chinese Pharmacopoeia.
A good state of relaxation is a good way to get quality sleep. Relaxation techniques such as meditation (the « minute-zen ») are recognized for their effectiveness. They reduce physical and mental stress and help a more restful sleep.