adminDr Tafadzwanashe Magodora
Getting a good night’s rest is one of the best pieces of health advice one can follow.
But what if sleeping well is a challenge for you? Insomnia, or sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which there is an inability to fall asleep or to stay asleep for as long as desired.
This sleep disorder is often practically defined as a positive response to either of two questions: “Do you experience difficulty sleeping?” or “Do you have difficulty falling or staying asleep?”
Insomnia is most often thought of as both a medical sign and a symptom that can accompany several sleep, medical and psychiatric disorders characterised by a persistent difficulty in falling asleep and/or staying asleep or poor quality sleep.
It is typically followed by functional impairment while awake. Insomnia can occur at any age, but it is particularly common in the elderly and in patients with medical and psychiatric diseases.
Insomnia can be short term (up to three weeks) or long term (above 3–4 weeks). lt can lead to memory problems, depression, irritability and an increased risk of heart disease and automobile related accidents.
From statistics,approximately one third of adults report some difficulty falling asleep and/or staying asleep during the previous 12 months, with 17 percent reporting this problem as a significant one.
From 9-12 percent experience daytime symptoms, 15 percent are dissatisfied with their sleep, and 6-10 percent meet the diagnostic criteria of insomnia syndrome.
Causes of sleeplessness include use of psychoactive drugs (such as stimulants), including certain medications, caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, amphetamines, or excessive alcohol intake.
Life events such as fear, stress, anxiety, emotional or mental tension, work problems, financial stress, birth of a child and bereavement can contribute to sleeplessness. An injury or condition that causes pain can preclude an individual from finding a comfortable position in which to fall asleep, and can in addition cause awakening. Medical conditions such as hyperthyroidism and rheumatoid arthritis can also lead to sleeplessness if not managed well.
If not treated, insomnia can lead to lower performance at work, slowed reaction time, risk of depression and anxiety disorder. Other potential complications include overweight, obesity, high blood pressure, high risk of heart disease, poor immune system and higher risk of developing diabetes mellitus.
The two primary goals of treatment are to improve sleep quality and to improve related daytime impairments. The management of insomnia varies depending on the underlying etiology or cause. If the patient has a medical, neurologic, or psychiatric disorder, treatment is directed at the disorder.
Even when comorbid causes of insomnia (i.e., medical, psychiatric) are treated, however, variable degrees of insomnia can persist that require additional interventions.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy is considered an appropriate treatment for patients with primary insomnia. Sedative-hypnotics are the most commonly prescribed drugs for insomnia.
Though not usually curative and sometimes unfortunately addictive and can have unwanted side effects, they can provide symptomatic relief when used alone or adjunctively. Such agents include the following diazepam, temazepam and zolpidem.
Other alternative measures include Ear Acupuncture, Chinese herbals like Ishine capsule, dietary modification and exercising at least 6 hours before bedtime. Ear acupuncture is a side-effect free, non-dependent, natural cure for insomnia.
It is a form of alternative medicine based on the idea that the ear is a microsystem which reflects the entire body, represented on the auricle, the outer portion of the ear.
Conditions affecting the physical, mental or emotional health of the patient are assumed to be treatable by stimulation of the surface of the ear exclusively.
Similar mappings are used in many areas of the body, including the practices of reflexology. Stimulation of the ear surface on special points called acupoints can be done using the appealing inert painless beads which will be on small square patches.
When one receives an ear acupuncture treatment, their nervous system begins to calm down. The treatment works by unraveling your subconscious stresses, balancing your Qi, and releasing the causes of your insomnia. The herbal product Ishine capsules mainly used contain polygala tenuifolia and herba gynostemmae pentaphylli.
The former herb induces sleep and improves sleep quality and has an added advantage of producing memory enhancing effects, neuroprotective and anti-depressant effects.
In elderly people it has been found to increase significantly cognition which is simply defined as the mental process of knowing, including aspects such as awareness, perception, reasoning, and judgment or that which comes to be known, as through perception, reasoning, or intuition; knowledge.
The latter herbal product also known as Jiao gulan in Chinese, apart from augmenting the other in giving a peaceful sleep is highly reputed to have adaptogenic effects purported to increase longevity. Pharmacological research has indicated a number of therapeutic qualities of Jiaogulan, such as lowering cholesterol and high blood pressure, strengthening immunity, and inhibiting tumors.
Disclaimer: This article is for information only and should not be used for the diagnosis or treatment of medical conditions. Dr T B Magodora has used all reasonable care in compiling the information but make no warranty as to its accuracy. Consult a doctor or other health care professional for diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions.
Online Reporter