Insomnia keeping you awake? 7 things you can do today for a goodnight's sleep

Typically, adults need about 7-9 hours of sleep each night.

Contrary to popular belief, we cannot make up for lost sleep the next day.In fact, research shows that our body needs up to four days to recover from one hour of sleep lost, and you can see how this can snowball into a sleep deficit.

What is insomnia?

Did you know more than 35% of adults suffer from some sort of sleeplessness? Deep sleep seems to be harder as you grow older, but do we all have to be worried about it?

The answer is "yes" if you regularly have problems with

• sleeping at night
• Staying asleep through the night or
• Stay asleep till morning, as much as your body needs.

Sleeplessness, or insomnia, is a sleeping disorder that can affect your regular life and have serious effects on the quality of your life.

We already know that our emotional and mental health depends on a good night’s sleep. And recent studies prove that people with insomnia are at greater risk of cognitive problems later in life.

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Types of insomnia

But all sleeplessness is not the same. Insomnia can manifest in different ways and they can be grouped as under:

1. Acute insomnia– short-term difficulty in sleeping
2. Chronic insomnia - regular (3+ days in a week) sleeplessness over and beyond 3 months.
3. Onset insomnia - trouble getting sleep,
4. Maintenance insomnia - trouble staying asleep, waking up consistently.

What causes insomnia?

Some of the causes of insomnia can be attributed to:

• stress
• trauma
• irregular sleep pattern
• lifestyle (jetlag, smoking, alcohol, and other such substances)
• mental and physical illness
• medications
• pregnancy
• neurological disorders.

Remedies to manage insomnia

Are you worried about the snowballing effect of all the sleeplessness? Or do you have the symptoms of insomnia? All is not lost. You can follow these remedies to manage insomnia.

Use blackout curtains

Keeping the room darker at a cozy temperature can help the body’s internal sleep clock regulate your sleep pattern. Even a gap between the curtains or the floor and the door can potentially disrupt your sleep.

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Regularize sleeping habits

This may sound "easier said than done," but try to follow a regular sleep pattern. Establish a routine. Go to bed and wake up at the same time. Try not to nap during the day, even if you are feeling sleepy.

Dietary habits

Avoid going to bed hungry or too full to sleep. It is better to sleep after 2 or 3 hours of dinner. Limit caffeine or alcohol intake, especially late at night.

Physical activities

Breathing and relaxation exercises can promote sleep, and some soothing music or reading can help too. Regular physical exercise plays a huge role in a balanced sleep schedule.

Ditch your screens

It is a proven fact that using brightly lit screens like mobile phones, television, etc. can disrupt your sleep-wake cycle (circadian rhythm). Keeping your phone away from the bed can give you more peace than you can imagine.

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Mental health matters

Seek help if you are suffering from any mental health issues, like anxiety or depression. They can affect the quality of your sleep and vice versa.

Seek medical help

If you do not receive a decent amount of quality sleep regularly, despite working on all these factors, you should seek a doctor’s help. They might be able to diagnose the underlying cause or/and treat your insomnia.

Insomnia, or sleeplessness, is more common than you might imagine. And the treatment can vary, depending on the underlying causes and several other factors.

Homeopathy Treatment for Insomnia

 Homeopathy medicines for insomnia have no side effects since they are made of natural substances. They work at a psychosomatic level to treat the root cause of insomnia.

These remedies are derived from nature to help restore the body’s natural healing processes. While conventional medicines affect the chemical or hormonal levels in the body, medicines work in harmony with the body to naturally restore the sleep cycle. 

Homeopathy treats the problem internally, by understanding the cause of different symptoms instead of suppressing them. Often, insomnia is the result of an underlying problem, and homeopathy works cohesively to treat the psychological and physical symptoms that may be causing the disorder.

Homeopathy remedies for insomnia do not cause any psychological or physical dependency. Once the problem has been resolved, one can gradually stop the medication, or take it intermittently (if required). Homeopathy also works especially well for chronic sleep issues and can help resolve the problem for good.

Dr. Ruchi Deshpande is a practicing Homeopath and Nutritionist with more than 18 years of experience. She specializes in lifestyle-related disorders like obesity, diabetes, etc., and is also a Trichologist.

She is very passionate about conducting knowledge empowerment sessions on Homeopathic medicine in Dubai for students and teachers from various schools and colleges in UAE on lifestyle-related disorders.

You can consult with Dr. Ruchi Deshpande at her clinic in Dubai Health Center, Dubai.