If you have trouble getting to sleep at night and often wake up in the early hours of the morning feeling less than fresh and alert, you should consider trying insomnia therapy. Therapies that aim to treat the physical reason for insomnia are often more effective than those that try to cure the psychological cause. A better sleep not only improves your quality of life but can also reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer.
Insomnia is divided into two categories, namely insomnia due to physical problems and insomnia due to psychological causes. Physical problems are usually caused by physiological factors such as stress, depression or anxiety. One of the most common medications used to treat insomnia is paracetamol. Paracetamol is known to be an effective treatment for a wide range of pain and psychiatric disorders, including insomnia. Common side effects of paracetamol include drowsiness, slurred speech and blurred vision. In addition, it can cause serious adverse effects if it is taken for a long period of time.
Chronic insomnia can often be caused by a number of factors. One of these is poor sleep hygiene, which can be addressed through dietary change and by ensuring that you get enough sleep during the day. The amount of sleep you get each day can affect your body’s natural circadian rhythms, resulting in disrupted sleep. A healthy sleep hygiene is one of the most effective insomnia therapies.
Some insomnia sufferers report that they had initially ignored their symptoms, until they started receiving treatment under the guidance of a medical practitioner. Medications that treat insomnia can include benzodiazepines and antidepressants. If you suffer from a more severe form of insomnia such as non-restorative insomnia, you may want to discuss this option with your physician. CBT-i is an effective and long term method of treating non-restorative insomnia. CBT-i is a type of cognitive behavioral therapy and has been shown to be just as effective as prescription medications.
The main benefit of CBT-i is that it gives patients a gradual, manageable and workable way to fall asleep. The underlying philosophy of CBT-i is that people will naturally try to fall asleep at night, provided it is possible to do so without waking up. So, instead of trying to fall asleep all at once when you are having difficulty, you learn to set yourself specific targets which help you fall asleep each night. In addition, you learn how to identify certain times of the day when you are more likely to be awake and consequently have trouble falling asleep.
In addition to helping you fall asleep each night, CBT-i teaches you how to get a good night’s rest and encourage you to develop healthy sleeping habits. It teaches you how to create an environment which promotes good sleep, by ensuring that it is relaxing and stress free. In other words, the aim of CBT-i is to teach you how to eliminate negative thinking and anxiety which can often be a major factor in causing sleeplessness and chronic insomnia. In addition, CBT will give you detailed information about the role of your bedroom environment and how to make it more comfortable and relaxing for you to sleep.
Although CBT-i is very much a part of an overall program of treatment for insomnia, you might find that other treatments such as herbal medicine or acupuncture are useful as complementary therapies. CBT-i was developed by Isabel De Los Rios, a renowned sleep researcher, psychologist and medical practitioner. Her research has focussed on identifying what might be the underlying cause of insomnia, rather than prescribing drugs which may merely treat the symptoms. By using neurobiological methods, she has found that those suffering from chronic insomnia can often learn to change the way they think and behave, so that they are better able to sleep. Her extensive expertise in this area and her outstanding reputation as a sleep researcher make her ideal as a sleep therapist.
So, whether you suffer from mild, moderate or severe insomnia, you should know that there are excellent alternatives to traditional insomnia therapy. You don’t have to put yourself through months of unpleasant discomfort just so you can get some sleep. There are many simple techniques that you can learn that will help you sleep more soundly. If you combine these methods with insomnia therapy, you will achieve much better results. Soon you will have the restful sleep you need so that you can function well throughout the day.
