Senior Citizen Issues Insomnia

Beat Insomnia

Archive for the ‘Accuracy’ tag

Sleep+Onset+Insomnia%7C%3Cbr%2F%3E%3Cbr%2F%3ESleep+problems+can+be+divided+into+two+basic+categories%2C+the+first+is+insomnia+and+the+second+comprises+of+all+the+other+sleep+disorders.+Few+people+are+immune+from+sleep+problems%3B+only+5+percent+said+that+they+never+have+trouble+sleeping.+Difficulty+falling+asleep+is+the+more+common+type+of+insomnia+among+people+under+forty+or+fifty.+Difficulty+staying+asleep+becomes+more+common+after+that+age.+Even+if+a+person+has+trouble+falling+asleep+or+staying+asleep%2C+the+problem+constitutes+significant+insomnia+only+if+it+interferes+with+daytime+mood+or+functioning.+The+seriousness+of+insomnia+is+measured+not+by+how+little+a+person+sleeps+but+by+how+well+the+person+feels+and+functions+the+next+day.%3Cbr%2F%3E%3Cbr%2F%3EDespite+our+genuine+distress+during+bad+nights%2C+it+can+be+useful+to+consider+the+accuracy+of+our+perception+of+how+well+we+sleep.+People+with+insomnia+tend+to+overestimate+how+long+it+takes+them+to+fall+asleep+and+tend+to+underestimate+how+long+they+sleep.+One+study+at+Sanford+University+observed+a+group+of+self-reported+insomniacs+overnight+in+the+sleep+laboratory.+The+next+morning%2C+these+subjects+estimated+on+average+that+it+had+taken+them+about+an+hour+to+fall+asleep+and+that+they+had+slept+only+four+and+a+half+hours.+However%2C+recordings+of+their+sleep+showed+that+the+subjects+had+slept+much+better+than+they+reported.+In+fact%2C+the+subjects+on+average+had+taken+about+fifteen+minutes+to+fall+asleep+and+had+slept+for+six+and+a+half+hours.+Some+people+go+to+sleep+disorders+centers+because+they+believe+that+they+sleep+poorly%2C+only+to+find+that+objective+physiological+monitoring+shows+they+sleep+much+better+than+they+think.+Sometimes+this+insight+itself+is+sufficient+to+help+them+stop+worrying+about+their+sleep.%3Cbr%2F%3E%3Cbr%2F%3ETypically%2C+the+length+of+time+it+takes+an+adult+to+fall+asleep+is+about+eight+to+fifteen+minutes.+If+you+can%E2%80%99t+fall+asleep+after+lying+in+bed+for+thirty+minutes%2C+you+are+experiencing+sleep+onset+insomnia.+There+are+four+basic+reasons+for+sleep+onset+insomnia.+The+first+is+when+a+person+will+wrestle+with+their+problems+until+the+very+last+minutes+of+their+waking+hours.+This+mental+wrestling+match+robs+them+of+sleep.+Sleep+onset+insomnia+is+also+a+problem+for+people+who+have+an+extremely+high+energy+level.+These+people+are+active+until+the+very+last+minute+of+the+day.+When+it+is+time+to+sleep%2C+they+are+so+wound+up+that+the+natural+sedation+necessary+for+sleep+eludes+them.+The+third+cause+of+sleep+onset+insomnia+is+anxiety.+The+body%E2%80%99s+physical+response+to+anxiety+is+the+opposite+of+how+it+reacts+to+sleep%3B+it+can+chase+away+the+calm+of+sleep.+The+fourth+cause+of+sleep+onset+insomnia+is+stress-induced+response+to+what+is+known+as+conditioned+insomnia.+Many+people+condition+themselves+to+view+their+bed+as+a+battleground.+Not+being+able+to+fall+asleep+quickly+causes+such+anxiety+that+their+bodies+are+aroused+to+the+point+that+sleep+becomes+impossible.

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Written by philipjubb

March 11th, 2010 at 10:19 pm

Posted in Health And Fitness

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