Insomnia Help!

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By Elizabeth Silberholz
Senior Staff Writer

You close your eyes and feel yourself drifting into a peaceful doze. However, when your eyes flick open after what feels like hours of shuteye, you discover with horror that only a few minutes have ticked by. As you struggle to make yourself more comfortable, a thought runs through your mind, "Do I have insomnia?"

If you have trouble sleeping, you are by no means alone. Thomson Reuters recently reported that between 1998 and 2006, use of sleep aids by college-aged students (aged 18 to 24) increased by almost 40 percent. Though 599 young adults per 100,000 used sleep aids in 1998, the study found 1,524 per 100,000 did so in 2006.

A study presented at the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in June has linked insomnia in college-aged students to a lower GPA. Seventy percent of students who were classified as having a low GPA also reported that they had trouble falling asleep. At night, 53.1 percent of those students had leg kicks or twitches while 65.6 percent woke and then had trouble falling back asleep. Seventy-three percent of the low GPA students found concentration difficult.

In addition to affecting grades, insomnia can have more severe effects. In another recent study, 19-24-year-old undergraduates with poor sleep quality or insomnia displayed heightened suicidal symptoms even when controlling for depression.

Do I have insomnia?

Insomniacs are individuals who have difficulty falling asleep, remaining asleep, wake up too early, and/or feel tired when they wake. Symptoms may include feeling sleepy during the day, general fatigue, irritability, and problems with concentration or memory. Approximately 30 percent of the adults show symptoms of this most common sleep disorder.

Insomnia can have many causes: illness, emotional or physical pain, depression, anxiety, stress, medications, substances like alcohol or caffeine, a poor sleep environment, or an unsettled sleep schedule.

Complications of insomnia include poor job or school performance, delayed reaction times, psychiatric problems, obesity, an impaired immune system, and the increased risk of long-term diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.

What can be done?

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) suggests a few ways to sleep restfully:

-Avoid rigorous exercise, stimulants (e.g., caffeine and nicotine), alcohol, and large meals late in the day.

-Do not go to bed hungry, either.

-Make sure that your bedroom is dark, quiet, and a comfortable temperature.

-Follow a set bedtime routine and let go of the day’s stressors before bed.

-Sleep the recommended seven to eight hours a night.

-Wake up at the same time every day.

If following the AASM’s tips for getting a good night’s sleep does not improve your condition, schedule an appointment with a sleep specialist or physician. Individuals with mild insomnia will most likely be told to engage in healthier sleep practices. Once diagnosed, acute insomnia (symptoms lasting one night to a few weeks) can be treated for a short time with sleeping pills. Chronic insomnia (symptoms lasting three nights a week to months or more), on the other hand, requires treatment of underlying problems or health concerns. Behavioral therapy may be advised as a way to learn proper sleeping and relaxation techniques.

By Elizabeth Silberholz can be contacted by using our contact form and selecting the section this article was written for.

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