Bad sleep: a comprehensive solution to the problem. What to do if an adult has poor sleep at night

Insomnia (insomnia) is a condition in which the quality of sleep and its duration are disturbed, which causes a state of drowsiness, “brokenness” during the day. In addition, sleep disturbance at night leads to impaired attention, weakened memory, and causes anxiety and tension. If you think about what disease almost every person has suffered in life, then you need to admit that one or another sleep disorder is familiar to everyone. That’s why now we’ll talk about sleep disorders, causes in adults, symptoms, what to do to sleep normally.

It should be noted that everyone's need for night rest is different. Some people need 8-9 hours to get enough sleep, while others need 4-6 hours. This need is established in childhood and practically does not change throughout life. Therefore, if a person begins to sleep less over time than in his youth, it is not a matter of age. Most likely, we can talk specifically about insomnia.

There are transitional (transient) forms of the disease, periodic and chronic.

In the first case, sleep disturbance lasts from several nights to 2 weeks. In the periodic form, the disease manifests itself during certain periods of life. Chronic insomnia lasts more than a month.

Symptoms of insomnia

This disease, in addition to night sleep disorders, includes a whole range of problems. These include:

Difficulty falling asleep at night,

Frequent awakenings during the night, difficulty falling back asleep,

Frequent early awakenings

Lack of feeling of rest and vigor in the morning.

Such symptoms may appear all at once, or dominance of one or more of them may be observed. But we can say with confidence that all of them exhaust a person, do not provide the opportunity to rest, and also significantly reduce the quality of life. Indeed, in addition to morning fatigue, a person becomes irritable, quickly gets tired, and cannot work fully.

Causes of poor sleep quality

The causes of insomnia are most often attributed to age, since people over 60 years of age most often suffer from the disease. Reasons also include gender– Women most often suffer from sleep disorders.

Transient and periodic forms often appear due to stress, from loud noise, air temperature changes. A person may have difficulty falling asleep in an unfamiliar environment, as well as due to the effects of certain medicines.

Main reason chronic form depressive states are considered hypertonic disease, joint diseases, asthma, heart disease and other quite serious illnesses. So pay attention to this.

In addition, any form of insomnia can lead to a large number of coffee consumption, alcohol abuse, violation of the established daily routine and constant stress.

How to treat sleep disorders?

If insomnia becomes a problem, you should consult a doctor. Only a specialist will be able to establish a diagnosis, determine the form of the disease and prescribe modern, effective drugs for her treatment. You cannot prescribe treatment for yourself, as it usually involves using sleeping pills. But they should not be taken for more than 2 weeks, as then addiction may set in and insomnia will become chronic.

Treatment usually consists of several stages:

Determination of the underlying disease causing insomnia, its treatment,

Determination of possible psychological, behavioral disorders, their full treatment,

Individual prescription of medications.

You can fight insomnia on your own. To do this, try to follow these rules:

Develop the habit of going to bed and waking up at the same time, do not make up for hours of sleep lost at night in the daytime,

Avoid gambling before bed, don't watch exciting TV shows, don't read such books,

Remove all irritants, luminous things, phosphorescent clocks from the bedroom, take care of fresh coolness, silence and darkness,

Before going to bed, refrain from drinking coffee and chocolate. You can eat an apple or 100 g of cottage cheese, since a small amount of food helps you fall asleep

Before going to bed, take a warm bath,

Do not take sleeping pills without a doctor's prescription

If you can’t fall asleep for a long time, don’t just lie there for more than half an hour. Better get up, do something that doesn't require effort, stress and special attention. When you feel sleepy, go back to bed.

Try using sleep structuring techniques. If you spend for a long time in bed, making futile attempts to sleep, try special program. She expects to sleep only a few hours at night and then get up. This should be done for several nights in a row until the desire to sleep becomes irresistible. Gradually increase the time you sleep at night to the desired level.

If insomnia has been bothering you for a long time and no simple methods do not help, it is better to consult a specialist. In addition to medications, you may need physiotherapeutic treatment: medicinal baths, electromagnetic procedures. You can seek help from naturopathic medicine: homeopathy, herbal medicine and acupuncture. If insomnia is caused by psychological problems, for example, stress, you will need an experienced psychotherapist.

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Oksana Vasilchenko, Nizhny Novgorod:

"Who among us, trying to fall asleep in sleepless night, do not turn the pillow over to touch the cool surface! This little detail told me my way to fall asleep: I need to freeze properly before that. When it's hot, you can't sleep well. Therefore, I uncover myself or walk around the room naked for a while in order to freeze properly. Then - under a warm blanket. And you won’t even notice how, warming up, you’ll fall asleep.”

Zinaida Perepelkina, Arkhangelsk:

“This technique is very helpful in falling asleep: start remembering everything that happened during the day, in detail, in detail. Moreover, choose a “part” of the day in which nothing unpleasant happened. For example: “in the morning I got up, went to wash my face, turned on the light, squeezed out from a tube of your favorite paste, looked in the mirror, and so on." Try to mentally imagine all these actions. This will distract you from worries and anxieties that usually prevent you from falling asleep."

Anna Ladogina, Moscow:

“If I’m nervous before going to bed, and this, I know, always ends in insomnia, then I don’t go to bed without 30 drops of motherwort or valerian tincture. Sometimes I even do this: I pour a bottle of tincture into a bucket of hot water and I float my feet in it. It really helps you fall asleep quickly."

Valeria Starostina, Dmitrov:

“I am a “sleepless woman” with a lot of experience, so I have developed a whole system of measures against poor sleep. Although I go to bed around twelve, at ten o’clock in the evening I turn off the phone and turn on the answering machine so that no news can disturb me before bed. night crime episodes or detective stories. For this case, I have recordings of old, well-known comedies and melodramas. At night, I make sure to ventilate the room, turn on quiet music. Before going to bed, I take a warm bath and drink some sedative collection or Herb tea with honey. Usually this is enough to fall asleep. But if I’m unlucky and wake up in the middle of the night, I try to do the minimum of actions: under no circumstances do I turn on the light, don’t get down to reading a book or doing anything, but lie quietly, trying not to move or open my eyes. I always put a cup of water on the night table and put valerian or a sleeping pill so that I can reach it without turning on the light. Even if strong measures are not needed, it is reassuring to know that everything is nearby and you can always use the medicine.”

Alena Krasnova, Kyiv:

“When I stop sleeping normally, I buy a pool pass for an evening session. After swimming, I sleep well.”

Larisa Pustyrnikova, Zheleznovodsk:

“This simple trick helps you quickly fall asleep: mix one tablespoon of Cahors with a tablespoon of honey and hold it in your mouth, without swallowing, for as long as possible.”

Galina Razumenko, Astrakhan:

“I usually fall asleep easily, but it often happens that I wake up in the middle of the night. This is especially unpleasant - even if you fall asleep in the morning, you still feel completely exhausted all day. Especially if you toss and turn without sleep for two hours. As a matter of principle, I don’t take sleeping pills, so I invent different ways fall asleep. One of the most effective: you need to relax your facial muscles as much as possible. Usually, when we wake up at an inopportune time, we begin to go through all our problems in our heads, and our facial muscles tense, reflecting all these experiences. Notice how the forehead is tense, the lips are compressed, the eyebrows are knitted. To turn off the emotions that prevent you from falling asleep, you need to relax your facial muscles. If you can't do it by force of will, imagine that they put something warm on your face wet towel. Put your best efforts into this. Make sure that the muscles are relaxed all the time, and that the cheeks seem to “drip” from the face. And you yourself won’t notice how sleep comes.”

Faina Eletskaya, Chelyabinsk:

“I have periods when you can’t do without sleeping pills, especially since my doctor recommends them. To avoid addiction, I do the following. I take the tablets at the prescribed dose for a week, then I start reducing it by half. For example, I take half a tablet instead of a whole one. A week later - already a quarter. Then, instead of a sleeping pill, I take an increased dose sedative tincture. After some time, I reduce this dose by half. And then I manage to fall asleep normally without the help of medications."

Anna Nesterova, Lodeynoye Pole:

“My cat really helps me fall asleep and fight waking up at night. When I go to bed, she jumps on my chest or settles down at my feet and starts her cozy song. Usually this is enough to quickly fall asleep. And if I wake up at night, Kuzya makes a real cat therapy: she puts her furry body closer to the place that bothers her, starts purring and rubs her head against me. What would I do without her! "

General information

They are a fairly common problem. Frequent complaints of poor sleep are reported by 8-15% of the total adult population globe, and 9-11% use various sleeping pills. Moreover, this figure among older people is much higher. Sleep disorders occur at any age and for everyone age category are characterized by their own types of violations. Thus, bedwetting, sleepwalking and night terrors occur in childhood, and pathological drowsiness or insomnia is more common in older people. There are also sleep disorders that, starting in childhood, accompany a person throughout his life, for example, narcolepsy.

Sleep disorders can be primary - not related to the pathology of any organs, or secondary - arising as a consequence of other diseases. Sleep disorders can occur when various diseases central nervous system or mental disorders. With a number of somatic diseases, patients have problems sleeping due to pain, cough, shortness of breath, attacks of angina or arrhythmia, itching, frequent urination, etc. Intoxications of various origins, including in cancer patients, often cause drowsiness. Sleep disturbances in the form of pathological drowsiness can develop due to hormonal abnormalities, for example, with pathology of the hypothalamic-mesencephalic region (epidemic encephalitis, tumor, etc.).

Classification of sleep disorders

Insomnia (insomnia, disturbances in the process of falling asleep and staying asleep):

Psychosomatic insomnia - associated with psychological state, can be situational (temporary) or permanent
Caused by alcohol or medications:

long-term use of drugs that activate or depress the central nervous system;
withdrawal syndrome of sleeping pills, sedatives and other drugs;

Caused by mental illness
Caused by breathing disorders during sleep:

syndrome of decreased alveolar ventilation;
sleep apnea syndrome;

Caused by the syndrome restless legs"or nocturnal myoclonus

Hypersomnia (excessive sleepiness):

Psychophysiological hypersomnia - associated with a psychological state, can be permanent or temporary
Caused by taking alcohol or taking medications;
Caused by mental illness;
Caused by various breathing disorders during sleep;
Caused by other pathological conditions

Disturbances in sleep and wakefulness:

Temporary sleep disturbances - associated with sudden changes in work schedule or time zone
Persistent sleep disturbances:

slow sleep syndrome
premature sleep syndrome
non-24-hour sleep-wake cycle syndrome

As drug therapy For sleep disorders, benzodiazepine drugs are more often used. Preparations with short time actions - triazolam and midazolam are prescribed for disorders of the process of falling asleep. But when taking them there are often adverse reactions: agitation, amnesia, confusion, and impairment morning sleep. Sleeping pills with long-term action- diazepam, flurazepam, chlordiazepoxide are used for early morning or frequent awakenings at night. However, they often cause daytime sleepiness. In such cases, medium-acting drugs are prescribed - zopiclone and zolpidem. These drugs have a lower risk of developing dependence or tolerance.

Another group of drugs used for sleep disorders are antidepressants: amitriptyline, mianserin, doxepin. They are not addictive and are indicated for elderly patients, patients with depressive states or suffering from chronic pain syndrome. But big number side effects limits their use.

IN severe cases sleep disturbances and in the absence of results from the use of other drugs in patients with confused consciousness, antipsychotics with sedative effect: levomepromazine, promethazine, chlorprothixene. In cases of pathological drowsiness mild degree weak central nervous system stimulants are prescribed: glutamine and ascorbic acid, calcium supplements. For severe disorders, use psychotonics: iproniazid, imipramine.

Treatment of sleep rhythm disorders in elderly patients is carried out in a complex combination vasodilators (a nicotinic acid, papaverine, bendazole, vinpocetine), central nervous system stimulants and mild tranquilizers plant origin(valerian, motherwort). Sleeping pills can only be taken as prescribed by a doctor and under his supervision. After completing the course of treatment, it is necessary to gradually reduce the dose of the drug and carefully reduce it to nothing.

Forecast and prevention of sleep disorders

Usually, various disorders dreams are cured. Treatment of sleep disorders caused by chronic somatic disease or occurring in old age.

Compliance with sleep and wakefulness, normal physical and mental stress, correct use drugs that affect the central nervous system (alcohol, tranquilizers, sedatives, sleeping pills) - all this serves to prevent sleep disorders. Prevention of hypersomnia consists of preventing traumatic brain injury and neuroinfection, which can lead to excessive drowsiness.

A good night's sleep can tell you a lot about a person. In particular, it indicates healthy body And in the right way life. Sleep disturbance ( light sleep, frequent waking up at night, inability to fall asleep for a long time) speaks of malfunctions that occur inside the body. To answer the question why I fall asleep and often wake up or cannot fall asleep for a long time, we need to establish the root causes of poor sleep. In this article we will also talk about effective ways normalization of the process of falling asleep and the ability to make rest at night more productive.

Features and dangers of sleep disorders

According to doctors, sleep disturbance can be primary (not associated with a particular disease) or secondary. The latter option involves sleep problems in adults due to certain pathologies. If you often ask yourself the question as to why I don't sleep well at night, listen to your body. Perhaps the cause should be sought in diseases of the heart, kidneys and other vital organs.

As for the types of sleep problems, there are three.

Firstly, this is insomnia (classical insomnia) - a sleep disorder in which the patient cannot fall asleep for a long time or often wakes up.
Secondly, hypersomnia is excessive sleepiness.
Thirdly, parasomnia is a sleep disorder caused by malfunctions of the body due to somatic, mental, and neurological diseases.

If the quality of your night's rest is constantly declining, you can't sit idly by. In the future, this can cause obesity, type 2 diabetes, tachycardia, worsen mental work and lead to many other equally dangerous consequences.

Shallow sleep or its lack causes the body to function in an emergency mode and release into the blood great amount neurotransmitters. They provide additional resources for the so-called overtime wakefulness. As a result, the optimal functioning of the heart and blood vessels is disrupted.

Causes

Sleep disturbances can be caused by seemingly trivial reasons. Sometimes we don’t even pay attention to them and this is our big mistake. Among the factors that cause sleep difficulties are the following:

The causes of sleep disturbances should also be looked for in the air temperature in the room. To make your vacation better, create an optimal microclimate. The air temperature should be in the range from 18 to 19 degrees. Humidity - 60-80 percent.

Disease as a cause

Regular sleep disturbances in adults are often caused by neurological and somatic diseases. In particular, pulmonary heart failure, enuresis, apnea and restless leg syndrome can lead to this. For example, light sleep may be a consequence oxygen starvation(pulmonary heart failure). Symptoms of this pathology: headaches, pallor, fainting, chest pain, and so on.

If you find yourself experiencing interrupted sleep and have no idea what to do, pay attention to restless leg syndrome. This is about vascular insufficiency lower limbs. Poor circulation causes an unconscious need to move the legs. If during the day we do not pay attention to it, then at night similar pathology It manifests itself very clearly - it provokes light sleep and its frequent interruption.

Problems falling asleep may be associated with obstructive sleep apnea. Typically, it is diagnosed in people who snore occasionally.

Due to laxity of the throat and nasopharyngeal tissues, the respiratory opening is briefly blocked. The result of this is a short-term interruption of breathing (no more than 30 seconds) and the patient wakes up from a lack of oxygen. Eliminate snoring and interrupted sleep will no longer bother you.

Medications

Frequent sleep disorders, the treatment of which should be carried out after a visit to the doctor, can be eliminated with the help of ready-made medicines. They are sold in the form of tablets, capsules, drops and taken orally:

Pay attention to the means described above. They are good at eliminating the symptoms of insomnia (insomnia) and are sold at any pharmacy without a prescription.

Healthy herbal recipes

Poor sleep at night in an adult can be effectively treated with dry preparations sedative herbs. They are used for decoctions and infusions.

Herbal sedative charges are an excellent analogue synthetic drugs. So as not to wake up at night and forget about disturbing dreams, take herbs in courses of 2-3 weeks.

Regular changes in preparations and the use of Melatonin at the very beginning of treatment will help increase therapeutic effectiveness.

If you are wondering why I don’t sleep at night, where I sleep, and what to do about it all, pay attention to the algorithm for treating insomnia. Therapy is performed in stages and involves:

determining the type of sleep disorder;
identification of possible mental pathologies;
development of an effective treatment strategy;
selection of optimal medications.

Do not self-medicate in an attempt to eliminate light sleep. It is best to entrust such a responsible matter to a doctor.

Don't sleep regularly? Go to bed at the same time every day. Unfortunately, the lost amount of night rest cannot be made up with daytime rest.

But why does a person fall asleep slowly? Key reason lies in excessive activity nervous system. Therefore, immediately before going to bed, do not watch bright and emotional films, do not gamble. In a word, completely eliminate any actions that excite the psyche.

Effective prevention of sleep disorders also involves eliminating any external stimuli that interfere with normal sleep. First of all, we're talking about about excessively bright light and loud sounds. Never fall asleep while watching TV. The room should be dark, quiet and cool. This is the right decision if you can’t fall asleep or can’t sleep normally.

People suffering from lack of sleep should eliminate coffee and chocolate from their diet at night. They invigorate the psyche and activate work internal organs and, in particular, the brain. If you consume such products before bed, then you shouldn’t be surprised and complain why I don’t sleep well at night.

Before a night's rest, a warm (but not hot) bath helps to relax. To prevent loss of sleep from turning into chronic illness, do not use sedatives and hypnotics without medical advice.

If a person has not slept for a long time, he may experience difficulty falling asleep due to overexcitation of the nervous system. In this case, we advise you to do some monotonous task, and sleep will soon come.