Meet The Biggest Sleep Enemy

Insomnia has become a common phenomenon affecting every age group. The fast pace of modern life and the growing number of responsibilities overwhelm both young people and adults.

Extensive population research shows that nearly one-third of adults suffer from insomnia. The consequences include, above all, a decrease in productivity during the day, as well as memory impairment and difficulty concentrating. This translates significantly into the quality of life of pupils, students and young employees, whose work is mainly based on mental effort.

Each year there is an increase in the incidence of insomnia. The relationship between insufficient sleep and poor health, proven by numerous studies, forces healthcare workers to react.

Analyzing your risk factors will help you determine whether you belong to the group of people at risk of insomnia. But remember that it is the trigger factors that determine the appearance of the disorder, i.e. serious life events (e.g. death of a loved one, divorce, domestic violence) or less serious but occurring over a longer period of time (e.g. problems at work).

American Psychiatric Association in the book Sleep-wake disorders. DSM-5. Selections proposes the following breakdown of the remaining factors:

1. Personality: increased fearfulness, worrying, emotional suppression, or perfectionism.

2. Environmental: noise, light in the bedroom, room temperature too high or low according to individual preferences, sleeping at high altitudes, stress, using electronic devices before bedtime.

3. Genetic and physiological: female gender and old age (> 65 years) due to the relationship between childbirth or menopause and the onset of insomnia. Even so, it is important to remember that insomnia occurs in all age groups. The occurrence of sleep disorders in the family is an insufficiently researched factor, because it is not known whether the cause is genetics, imitation of parents’ poor sleep hygiene or a side effect of other mental illnesses.

4. Modifying: abuse or addiction to alcohol or drugs, excessive caffeine consumption, smoking, irregular sleep times.

Difficulties falling asleep should not be treated with sleeping pills in the first place, because they are easy to get used to.

Insomnia prevention includes many valuable indications and recommendations. To begin with, it’s a good idea to take a look at your sleep hygiene and start working on healthy habits:

• keep short naps in the middle of the day to a minimum
• avoid forcing yourself to fall asleep
• set fixed times for getting up and going to bed
• do not eat large meals three hours before bedtime
• limit the time spent in front of electronic devices that emit blue light
• refrain from evening consumption of alcohol, caffeine and nicotine

An extremely important element of sleep hygiene is systematic physical activity combined with relaxation techniques. It consists of regular breathing exercises, meditation or yoga.

After the workout, you will feel less stressed, muscles’ tension as well as a sense of fatigue will also drastically decrease. The mentioned activity carried out with the window open will also allow you to oxygenate your body more effectively and ventilate the room.

If you feel that your sleeping habits have been lost, be sure to follow the recommendations of specialists and enjoy the improved quality of life!