How many of us have echo'd the above statement at night? Aghhh! I can't get no sleep... (how many of us of a certain age are now singing the famous 1990's song - Just me?) Insomnia, what a bastard! Most people think that insomnia is no sleep whatsoever (heck I used to!) but actually according to the NHS Website, can be seen as the following: Finding it difficult to go to sleep
Waking up several times during the night
Laying awake at night
Waking up early and cannot go back to sleep - Me!
Still feeling tired after waking up - Me!
Finding it hard to nap during the day even though you're tired - I'm not retired!
Feeling tired and irritable during the day - Me!
Finding it difficult to concentrate during the day because you're tired
The website goes on to state that there's "short-term" insomnia (less than 3 months) and any longer is called "long-term insomnia"
Further information can be found here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/insomnia/
On average, an adult needs between 7 and 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep, a child 9 to 13 hours and babies/toddlers 12 to 17 hours.
That's all very well knowing the above but what can cause insomnia and how can we try and improve our chances of an improved sleep? Hmmmmmmm....
The most common reasons for lack of sleep:
Stress, anxiety or depression
Noise
A room that's too hot or cold
Uncomfortable beds
Stimulants like alcohol, caffeine, nicotine,
Recreational drugs like cocaine or ecstasy
Jet lag
Shift work Being in pain Most of the external reasons mentioned above, can be dealt with in some way - There are some great tips on the NHS website. Conditions that can cause insomnia:
Mental health conditions, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder
Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease
Restless legs syndrome
Overactive thyroid
Menopause
The list is non-exhaustive
Most of the above may be supported through complementary health, herbal supplements, prescribed medicine - Depending on which, the latter can unfortunately exacerbate insomnia! Children have night terrors whilst both adults and children can have nightmares. Sleep apnoea (interrupted breathing or snoring), narcolepsy (falling asleep anywhere) will all impact on a person's life.
So we can pretty much conclude that insomnia, lack of sleep, sleep disruption can affect all ages.
I would also like to mention about the use of mobile phones and other technology devices used in the bedroom which can have affect on our eyes and brains which can keep us awake also.
The simple solution for most (not all) people is to switch these off or into flight mode.
When we look at the common reasons for insomnia, we can start to see that there can be a layered effect on why we cannot sleep.
For example anxiety, isn't just anxiety, we need to look into why we feel anxious, when did it start, how long has it been going on for. Can we make it better by improving our lifestyle/work life balance.
If you need to take medicine for a while to help support you through it then do so but unless we start to investigate the cause, how can we begin to feel better?
One thing that isn't mentioned within the NHS page on how to effectively help ourselves when coping with insomnia, is reflexology! A course of reflexology may help improve your chances of a good night's sleep and once we feel rested, we feel better mentally. We can then think clearly enough to make decisions and make the changes we need to permanently improve our sleep routine.
I have had clients who only after one treatment offer feedback that they had a great night's sleep following reflexology. People return time and time again as a result of how well their body responds to reflexology.
Our body does most of its healing work when we are at rest (sleep), if we are not getting enough sleep then it is unable to carry out its full maintenance because it is having to deal with whatever it is keeping you awake first so at the dawn of a new day, we may not be feeling 100% thus a cycle begins.
Reflexology can support the body to correct any imbalance within it and allow the body to do its job properly when it is at rest. It's likely (depending on how out of balance you are) to take more than one treatment. Always worth a try though - right?
Who else now has an ear worm thanks to me mentioning the song above? Oh and for those too young to remember it's by a band called Faithless. Any questions?
Please get in touch.
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