Insomnia Sign Of Psychological Distress

By Dr.Niranjan Prasad Upadhyay

PSYCHOLOGICALLY a man or woman cannot live happily without sleep. In every country, the elderly people as well as adults display sleep problem. These days, it has become a very common problem. Lifestyle and environmental factors (diet, exercise, alcohol, substance use, noise, light, and temperature) affect sleep. The journal of The American Geriatrics Society indicates that as many as one-third of the people aged 65 or over complain about both length and quality of their sleep. A satisfying social life and staying active help protect people from insomnia, regardless of their age. Older people report a higher rate of insomnia. Retirement, for example, which generally happens in later years, might lead to a shift in sleep-wake patterns and contribute to insomnia.

Distinctive

Sleep usually requires presence of flaccid of relaxed skeletal muscles. Goal-oriented behaviour is often seen in wakeful organisms. An electroencephalogram (EEG) recording the electrical activity of human brain shows a distinctive pattern during sleep. A person's age determines the length and pattern of sleep. Sleep deprivation for many days produces fatigue, memory loss and irritability, but it does not cause psychosis(major mental disorder) or long term psychological or physiological damage.

Sleep laboratory research shows that depressed people dream far more than non depressed people. Diagnosis of many sleep disorders is made with a overnight sleep study called polysomnography. During this procedure a variety of parameters are measured, such as breathing patterns, air flow, oxygen levels, eye movements, brain waves, heart rate and rhythm, and leg movements. These measurements are made by attaching electrodes, which is completely painless to different parts of the body.

People are plagued by a variety of sleep problems. Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder. Insomnia refers to chronic problems in getting adequate sleep. It occurs in three necessary patterns: difficulty in falling asleep initially, difficulty in remaining asleep, and persistent early -morning awakening .

Insomniacs have to endure the agony of watching their precious sleep time tick away as they toss and turn in restless frustration. Recent evidence suggests that those who reside all day in artificial light, which is not nearly as strong as daylight and less effective at controlling the body clock, may face difficulty while sleeping in the night.

Generally, everyone suffers occasional sleep difficulties because of stress , disruptions of biological rhythms, or other temporary circumstances. Fortunately, these problems clear up spontaneously for most people.

In insomnia, sleep loss is so severe that it interferes with daytime functioning and well-being. Three types of insomnia have been identified (although a single person can have more than one): sleep-onset insomnia (difficulty falling asleep); sleep-maintenance insomnia (difficulty staying asleep); and terminal insomnia (waking up early and not being able to go back to sleep). While insomnia can occur at any stage of life, it becomes increasingly common, as people get older.

Insomnia has many causes. In some cases, excessive anxiety and tension prevent relaxation and keep people awake. Insomnia is frequently a side effect of emotional problems, such as depression, or of significant stress, such as pressures at work. Understandably, health problems such as back pain, ulcers, and asthma can lead to insomnia. The use of certain drugs, especially such stimulants as cocaine and amphetamines, may also lead to problems in sleeping It is wise to minimise the consumption of stimulants such as caffeine or nicotine. Because coffee and cigarettes are not prescription drugs, people do not appreciate how much the stimulants they contain can heighten physical arousal. Many foods (such as chocolate) and beverages contain more caffeine than people realise. Health experts advice various techniques for resolving sleep troubles. They advise to play alphabet games, reciting poems , listening to clocks and finally read dullest textbook .Certainly, these strategies will help the sleep problems.

The most common sleep disorders are enuresis(bed-wetting), somnambulism (sleepwalking), night terrors and nightmares. Also psychologists suggest that sleep is an "appetite instinct" like hunger, thirst, or sexual behaviour. Also they have highlighted that if an individual awakes for more than 40 hours he or she will probably begin to show an increased irritability and impulsiveness. Consequently, individual's decision-making processes will be affected, and he or she will react more slowly and make poor intellectual judgments.

Generally, short sleepers had been more or less average in their sleep needs until the men were in their teens. But, at about the age of 15 or so, the men voluntarily began cutting down their nightly sleep time because of pressures from school, work, and other activities. In fact ,people who sleep either too much or little may be at risk as far as their health is concerned . Sleep researchers found that men and women who reported slept either less than 4 hours or at least 10 hours were found suffering from heart attacks, stroke cancer and suicide. Insomnia and short sleep duration are associated with a wide range of behavioural and emotional problems in teenagers as well as adolescents.

Sleep is an easily reversible and spontaneous state of decreased responsiveness to external stimulation. It contrasts with wakefulness in which there is an enhanced potential for sensitivity and an efficient responsiveness to external stimuli. Mental health experts urge that sleep is regularly recurring suspension of consciousness that serves restorative and adaptive functions.

Multidisciplinary

Sleeping difficulties can have major adverse effects on a person's life. Such difficulties can lead to psychological distress, impairment in daytime functioning, involvement in fatigue-related error-making or accidents, increased use of sick leave, greater irritability and depression, and prolonged use of minor tranquillizers. Sleep is one of those areas where the mind and body meet very closely. It is absolutely a multidisciplinary field.

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