How to understand if you have insomnia and what to do with sleep disorders: says neurologist Irina Galeeva

Many people think that insomnia is a complete lack of sleep. Actually it is not. This is just one of many sleep disorders, and it has clear criteria. Therefore, doctors, in order to avoid misunderstanding, prefer to say not “insomnia”, but “insomnia”.

Neurologist and somnologist Irina Galeeva told in a lecture on the YouTube channel ScienceVideoLabhow to understand if a person has insomnia, and what to do if you have to suffer without sleep at night. Lifehacker made a summary of her speech.

How to tell if you have insomnia

Diagnosis, of course, puts only a doctor. But everyone can analyze their condition. There are several important symptoms that will help determine whether it is time to go to a neurologist or a sleep specialist.

Difficulty falling asleep at night

Doctors say: "Difficulties in initiating sleep." It is considered normal if it takes from 3 to 30 minutes to fall asleep. If sleep comes in less than 3 minutes, then the person is very tired. And if this happens regularly, you should see a doctor, because such early falling asleep can be a symptom of the disease. With insomnia, a person can toss and turn without sleep for more than half an hour.

Sleep often interrupted at night

It happens that a person wakes up literally from every rustle, and even for no reason. And then again for a long time can not fall asleep. This is also one of the symptoms of insomnia.

Waking up in the morning comes too early

That is, a person would like to wake up at 7-8 in the morning. But he wakes up at 4-5, and then remains awake.

During the day, weakness, fatigue, irritability appear

As well as other symptoms that occur when a person has not rested enough. These may be difficulties with concentration and memorization of information, a feeling of weakness and drowsiness, sticky eyes.

It is important that there is enough time for sleep and the person himself or life circumstances do not reduce it. For example, if a person worked half the night or prepared for exam It's only natural that he nods. But if he went to bed at 23:00, fell asleep at 2:00, and then woke up twice more, although the room was quiet, dark and comfortable, we can talk about signs of insomnia.

All of these symptoms recur at least three times a week

If a person sleeps poorly one night a week, or even less, this can be considered the norm. All people are sometimes nervous, unable to cope with disturbing thoughts and therefore do not sleep very well. The main thing is that such situations do not repeat too often.

If you are familiar with these conditions, you should make an appointment with a doctor - perhaps you have insomnia and need the help of a specialist.

What conditions are often confused with insomnia

There are unpleasant symptoms that also interfere with a good rest. They are often mistaken for insomnia.

For example, owls “turn off” too late and therefore may not get enough sleep in the morning. And larks, on the contrary, get up too early, and in the evening, when everyone around is still active, they are drawn to lie down.

For some people, restless legs syndrome prevents sleep - when discomfort occurs in the limbs that interrupt the sleep that is already beginning.

There is a large category of people who are not allowed to rest by the syndrome of obstructive apnea sleep. A person stops breathing many times during the night due to a strong decrease in the tone of the respiratory muscles. You have to wake up and change position so that you can breathe freely, and then the situation repeats itself.

Signs of sleep apnea, like other sleep disorders, are also a reason to visit a doctor. But this is not insomnia.

How to deal with insomnia

Anyone who suffers from lack of sleep should first consult a neurologist or sleep specialist. They will recommend the method that will be most effective for a particular patient. Far from always needing pills is sometimes enough methods of cognitive-behavioral therapy in combination with a clear sleep and wakefulness regimen. Here are some methods that doctors advise.

Deal with disturbing thoughts that keep you from falling asleep

Often a person cannot fall asleep, because thoughts about various problems are spinning in his head. To them are added others that cause insomnia. Many, tossing and turning in bed, begin to worry that sleep lasting less than 7-8 hours will seriously affect their health. Such thoughts make worry even more, and sleep does not come again. It turns out a vicious circle that needs to be broken.

In fact, one or two sleepless nights will not undermine anyone's health. There are studies that show that if a person is motivated and passionate about some interesting thing, he can sleep even for 4-5 hours for a long time and not suffer.

Scientists analyzed how the athletes who crossed the Atlantic on boats feel. It turned out that the less they slept, the better they could manage the swimming facility, which means they had a chance to win and receive a reward. As a result, athletes could sleep for 4-5 hours a day, and their health did not deteriorate. And drowsiness, irritability and other consequences of lack of sleep immediately went away when a person got enough sleep.

Of course, it is impossible to live in such a regime forever. But if you know that one sleepless night is not a threat to health, then anxiety will decrease. This means that it will be easier to fall asleep.

If dysfunctional thoughts, as doctors call them, have been overcome, one of several ways to combat insomnia can be applied.

Get out of bed if sleep doesn't come

The bed should only be used for two things - sleep and sex. If a person cannot fall asleep and spins under the covers for more than 15 minutes, it is better for him to get up. So the body will not have an association: the bed is a place for sleepless torment.

You can do all sorts of quiet things. For example, read a book (but not news or posts on social networks), write in a diary plans for tomorrow, draw, pick up embroidery or knitting, assemble a puzzle. Or sit down, relax and mentally scan the body from the feet to the crown or vice versa. At the same time, imagining how the muscles of the legs, body, neck, and arms relax in turn.

It happens that the anxiety still does not let go or comes back again. Then you can fix on paper the destructive thoughts that are spinning in your head and interfere with sleep.

If you remind yourself that this is certainly not the first sleepless night and somehow managed to cope with the consequences before lack of sleep, the anxiety will subside. And calm and pleasant things will help to relax. It is worth waiting until drowsiness occurs, and only then go to bed.

Waking up at the same time every morning

Even if you managed to fall asleep a couple of hours before getting up, it is better to get up when the alarm rings. This method may seem too harsh, but it works. Sleepiness will come much earlier the next evening.

If waking up is difficult, you can use an alarm that you can’t turn off so easily, such as a jumping device. Or one that cannot be turned off by simply pressing a button - you need to perform a more serious task. Yes, such gadgets infuriate, but at the same time there is a surge of adrenaline and it becomes easier to wake up.

Then, when it becomes at least a little easier to get up at the same time regularly, you can use softer methods. For example, turn on the alarm clock.

Use a radical method - sleep restriction

This is an even tougher option, and it requires serious effort. This is a combination of all the points we talked about before.

First, the doctor recommends to the patient some time keep a diary sleep: write down what time a person went to bed and when he managed to fall asleep, whether he woke up at night and how long he lay awake, at what time he woke up. These records help to understand how much a person actually sleeps.

Then the doctor prescribes such a regimen: every time the patient cannot fall asleep for a long time, he gets up and does quiet things. But he should always wake up at the same time.

At first, a person will be broken and sleepy for several days. Then it will “turn off” instantly, because the body will experience a lack of sleep and will try to make up for it. Then the doctor, together with the patient, will try to find a balance.

For example, try shifting your wake up time to increase your sleep duration. The task is to find a regimen in which a person would be tired enough to fall asleep quickly, but feel good during the day. daytime sleep excluded in this mode.

Of course, this method of dealing with insomnia should be used only in contact with a doctor. The doctor will help you find the right regimen so that the person feels comfortable enough. And he will tell you what to do if the patient is afraid that a lack of sleep will harm his health. And if necessary, he will prescribe the necessary drugs.

It is worth clarifying that well-known rules also help to cope with insomnia. For example, doctors advise getting tired enough during the day so that the body needs to recuperate. In the evening it would be nice to ventilate the room. If the room is not dark enough, you can use a sleep mask or hang blackout curtains.

No need to drink coffee alcohol in the evening, if these drinks interfere with sleep. And you should definitely consult a doctor if unpleasant symptoms appear that a person cannot cope with on his own.