Causes
The causes of sleep disorders in adults are varied: from increased emotionality to chronic diseases. Sleep is a physiologically programmed process. At a certain time, the body begins to produce hormones and enzymes that trigger the reaction to fall asleep. The metabolic rate decreases, mental and physiological processes weaken, blood pressure drops - the person falls asleep. But this happens normally.
If the regulatory mechanisms fail: activity hormones continue to enter the blood, neural connections are disrupted, and then pathology occurs.
One form of insomnia is interrupted sleep. A person falls asleep easily, but wakes up many times at night. Wakefulness lasts either a few minutes or until the morning. A person experiences a feeling of anxiety and excitement, despite the fact that he really wants to sleep, he just can’t fall asleep .
Factors that provoke insomnia:
- Lack of comfortable sleeping conditions: temperature fluctuations (hot, cold), bright light, extraneous noise, uncomfortable bed (mattress too hard or soft).
- Changes in a certain way of life: moving, traveling, unfamiliar surroundings, sudden change of geographical zones.
- Stressful situations, overwork. In people with increased excitability, the slightest excitement causes insomnia.
- In women, dyshormonal disorders in the form of premenstrual syndrome, during pregnancy (moving the fetus causes thoughts about the baby), during menopause - hyperhidrosis, a feeling of heat - interfere with sleep at night.
- Obstructive apnea. Stopping breathing and snoring lead to oxygen starvation and waking up at night.
- Restless legs syndrome, in which the legs are in constant motion. A person not only cannot sleep, but even lie down.
- Acute and chronic somatic diseases: rhinitis, breathing problems with coughing, shortness of breath, heart pain, arrhythmias, palpitations.
- Diseases that occur with fever, pain, and the urge to urinate lead to waking up at night.
- Late dinner.
- Nicotine or drug addiction.
- Taking medications that cause sleep disturbance as a side effect.
- Depressive states, neuroses.
- Caffeine-containing drinks: tea, coffee, energy tonics excite the nervous system and do not contribute to good sleep.
- Mental illnesses and organic brain damage.
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How to quickly and soundly fall asleep for a child aged 10, 11 and 12 years old
Older children are unlikely to be able to fall asleep after reading one or two fairy tales. Therefore, adult rules are suitable for them: early dinner at least 4 hours before bedtime, jogging before bed or walking the dog. To help your teenager relax faster and fall asleep, turn on some soft music. It must be a calm melody, and not his favorite musical group. And before bed – no cakes or cookies!
It turns out that everything is simple and parents do not need to come up with anything new. If you can teach yourself to fall asleep quickly and without problems from a young age, then this quality will remain in adulthood.
List of used literature:
- Levin Ya. I., Kovrov G. V. Some modern approaches to the treatment of insomnia // Attending physician. - 2003. - No. 4.
- Kotova O. V., Ryabokon I. V. Modern aspects of insomnia therapy // Attending physician. - 2013. - No. 5.
- T. I. Ivanova, Z. A. Kirillova, L. Ya. Rabichev. Insomnia (treatment and prevention). - M.: Medgiz, 1960. - 37 p.
Diagnostics
To determine the nature of sleep disturbance, special questionnaires have been developed.
- Medical and psychiatric tests to identify the background against which insomnia develops.
- The Epworth Sleepiness Scale is a preliminary assessment of symptoms.
- Sleep diary.
The patient records in a diary for 2 weeks all events related to sleep (duration, quality, time of falling asleep and waking up, taking sedatives or sleeping pills). A somnologist works closely with other specialists: endocrinologists, neurologists, therapists, since the causes of sleep disturbances can be due to various factors.
Methods used:
- Polysomnography. The study is carried out in the clinic. Before going to bed, a person is put on various sensors, which record cardiac activity, brain activity, depth and frequency of breathing, volumes of inhaled and exhaled air and other indicators of the functional functioning of the body.
- Cardiorespiratory monitoring. The method is used to diagnose apnea: breathing function, rhythm and heart rate, and body position in bed are determined.
Since human sleep consists of several phases, and vital activity indicators differ in different periods, studying the stages of sleep, their duration and sequence makes it possible to determine which mechanisms are disturbed in the regulation of sleep.
How to fall asleep quickly in 1 minute
Special techniques for falling asleep quickly have been developed for intelligence officers who cannot be sure when they will get a chance to rest. The principle of their action is to quickly “turn off” consciousness and instantly fall asleep. The effectiveness, subject to the consistency and rules of execution, is very high. Additionally, it is necessary to use aromatherapy. It has been proven that the aromas of lavender, geranium, rose, jasmine, hops, chamomile, lemon balm, neroli, bergamot, marjoram, valerian, vetiver, passionflower, patchouli help you fall asleep faster.
Weyl's method
A special feature of the Weil method is falling asleep for up to 4 counts. The pace of breathing does not matter, the main thing is to do everything monotonously. This method is also called breathing technique to reduce stress and anxiety. For the first two months, the entire complex is repeated twice daily, several approaches. After the second month, the number of repetitions should reach 8 times. The steps are as follows:
- Place the tip of your tongue on the palate, near the roots of the upper teeth.
- Closing your mouth, inhale through your nose, 4 counts.
- Hold your breath for 7 seconds.
- Deep exhalation, 8 counts.
Stone statue method
The stone statue method will help you cope with stress and fall asleep quickly. The technique is performed like this:
- Create silence in the room, turn off the lights.
- Feel the sensations in your legs as much as possible, as if you could see everything from the inside.
- It is very difficult to imagine that your feet are turning to stone, it is very difficult to get out of bed, and a pleasant fatigue has covered your whole body. Remember this state.
- Continue the feeling of “petrification” from bottom to top.
- If, having achieved complete “petrification”, you have not yet managed to fall asleep, continue to maintain the sensation of immobility without allowing extraneous thoughts until you fall asleep completely.
Reversion method
When a person receives a ban on something, he immediately wants to break it. The reversal method involves concentrating the sleep ban. Psychologists explain falling asleep quickly by the fact that the brain cannot concentrate strongly on something for a very long time. Instead of ignoring the irritant that interferes with sleep, you need to focus on it, for example, on the TV or noise from the street. Let the sound “pass” through your entire body. Sleep will come soon.
Intelligence method
The method described by intelligence officer Suvorov helps to quickly cope with insomnia and anxiety. To do this, you need to lie on your back, relax, and stretch out. The eyelids should be closed, the pupils under them should be rolled up (this is the physiological state of the eyeball during sleep). A person in this position is able to fall asleep without difficulty.
The reverse blinking technique is another method that answers the question of how to fall asleep in one minute and is one of the falling asleep methods developed by intelligence agencies. To do this, you need to lie on your back, close your eyes, relax, and stretch out. After about 5-15 seconds, you need to open your eyelids and quickly close them back. It turns out to be a kind of reverse blinking. This method quickly relaxes the body and puts the brain into a hypnotic trance.
How to fall asleep again
- If a person wakes up in the middle of the night and cannot fall asleep, he has obsessive anxious thoughts. If within 15 minutes you have changed a dozen positions in bed trying to fall asleep, get up and do something . After a while you will feel tired and fall asleep quickly.
- If possible, take a walk under the night sky, get distracted, think about the greatness of the universe, drive away sad thoughts from yourself.
- If you know how to meditate, take it up. You can read prayers.
- If you can’t sleep and suffer from insomnia, try doing breathing exercises. Take a deep breath, exhale, hold your breath for 4 seconds, then inhale, exhale and hold your breath for 6 seconds. Do this several times.
- The next effective exercise if you can’t sleep. Open your eyes, count to 10, close your eyes. On the count of 10, open again. Soon your eyelids will become heavy and you will fall asleep.
- A cup of warm decoction of chamomile, thyme, linden will calm you down and help you fall asleep.
- Listening to an audiobook with a calm plot helps; remember how you fell asleep sweetly when your mother read bedtime stories to you.
How to fall asleep quickly and easily
Well-known general requirements can ensure sound and healthy sleep: choosing the right nightwear, a comfortable daily routine for a person, choosing the optimal body position and resting place. The following rules must be observed:
- Sleeping mode. An incorrect daily routine during the week leads to the fact that, having slept long on Sunday, a person falls asleep late, and on Monday he has to get up early again.
- Bed. The mattress should be moderately firm.
- Position. It is believed that it is better to sleep in the “child” position (on your side, with your legs tucked under you, one arm extended upward, the other bent near the chest).
- Cloth. Preference is given to natural, loose fabrics that do not restrict movement. It is not recommended to sleep in synthetics, nightgowns that are too open, or tight-fitting clothes.
Men should sleep approximately 8 hours, women - 9. For any adult, the minimum sleep duration is 5.5 hours. If you cannot sleep normally, then try to ensure that the number of hours spent in sleep is a multiple of one and a half (one and a half, three, four and a half, etc.). For insomnia, the following ways to normalize sleep will help:
- turn off the TV;
- ventilate the room, ensuring coolness;
- “let go” of problems (if that doesn’t work, psychologists advise writing them down on paper);
- ensure complete silence: no extraneous sounds should be heard;
- Don't go to bed with a full stomach.
What not to do
- It is not recommended to check the time and count the hours before getting up for work..
- You should not turn on the computer and other gadgets, the light from them affects the synthesis of melatonin, and the brain will perceive your nighttime activity as a signal to wake up.
- While lying in bed, do not think about the day's events, do not make plans for the day. Thus, you activate the brain, preventing it from switching to night mode of functioning.
- If you woke up early and don't want to sleep anymore, feel rested, get up and do things.
- Do not take sleeping pills when waking up at night . These medications are designed to last for eight hours. In the morning you will feel drowsiness and decreased activity for a long time. This is dangerous if you drive a car or work with other mechanisms that require special care and speed of reaction.
What will help you fall asleep quickly
Photo: Pixabay
You can fight insomnia; there are enough remedies, including medications. However, do not rush to take sleeping pills; you can improve the quality of night sleep without resorting to medications.
You need to radically change your idea of sleep, you need to learn how to prepare for it, develop your own mysterious ritual. Our body is so unique, it can be trained to do anything.
✔ Carefully inspect your sleeping place. The bed must be comfortable for sleeping. Discard old and worn-out mattresses, old matted feather pillows, synthetic blankets and low-quality bed linens. To quickly fall asleep, everything laid on the bed must allow air to pass through.
✔ High pillows are only good for people suffering from asthma, heart disease and shortness of breath. The best option for good sleep and falling asleep quickly is a flat pillow. Flat pillows are very good: the cervical vertebrae are positioned correctly, there is less load on them, and therefore there are fewer wrinkles on the neck.
✔ Before going to bed, be sure to ventilate the room, you need a portion of fresh air for your brain. The optimal temperature in the bedroom is +18 °C.
✔ Darkness in the bedroom will definitely help you fall asleep quickly. This is a scientifically proven fact. The fact is that the hormone melatonin, secreted by the retina, pineal gland and intestines, is a natural regulator of sleep. Its production in the body depends on the presence or absence of light.
✔ Remove all clocks from the bedroom. Trying to fall asleep faster by constantly keeping an eye on the time is a bad decision. It will not lead to anything good and certainly will not help you quickly fall into a deep sleep.
✔ Take a warm bath before bed, it helps you relax. Never take a bath that is too hot.
✔ Do not eat dense and protein foods before bed. Avoid sweets before bed and don't drink stimulants.
✔ Alcohol will also not help you fall asleep quickly and peacefully. Alcohol helps you relax, but it only has a short-term effect. Sleep may be short, restless, and the new day will begin with a headache and a broken state.
✔ Go to bed when you feel sleepy. Don't try to do everything you didn't have time to do. We must learn to prioritize. A new stream of unnecessary and irrelevant information before bed will definitely not help you fall asleep. Always choose sleep over a movie, computer, book, and so on.
✔ It is advisable to stop using electronic devices an hour before you are supposed to go to bed. Smartphones, tablets, and computers emit blue light, which does not help you fall asleep quickly. Some modern devices have a special night mode. In this mode, the screen emits a warmer yellow color, so in the evening it is wise to switch your electronic device to night mode.
✔ Don’t sort things out in the evening, don’t quarrel or swear. Don’t do anything serious, don’t do cleaning in the evening, don’t even do minor repairs. In general, forget the word work before going to bed - tomorrow you will have the whole day at your disposal.
✔ Sex is the only type of physical activity that not only won’t hurt, but will help you fall asleep quickly. Make love gently, without unnecessary tension - this will help you relax and fall asleep.
✔ Before going to bed, drink a glass of warm milk. Eat a banana or a spoonful of honey. These products are true natural sleeping pills that help you calm down and fall asleep.
✔ Place a handful of hop cones or a birch broom under your pillow. It would be nice to have a special grass pillow filled with fresh hay or hop cones.
✔ Focus your attention on relaxing every joint in your body. Start relaxing from your fingers, then your wrists, then your arm to your shoulder, and so on throughout your body.
✔ To fall asleep quickly, you need to disconnect from your thoughts. Don’t think about anything, don’t make plans in your head and don’t conduct an internal dialogue with yourself. Breathe evenly and deeply, tell yourself that today you did everything you could, and everything else can be done tomorrow.
✔ Fantasy will help you disconnect your brain from annoying thoughts. Imagine yourself in a place where you felt good. Remember this place, fantasize, imagine yourself there now. It could be anything: a hike in the forest, fishing, a vacation in the mountains, grandma’s house in the village, and so on.
Recommendations and preventive measures
Sleep follows certain rhythms, so to avoid problems, a person must follow them:
- You need to go to bed and get up at the same time.
- The bed is the place where a person spends a third of his life. You need to make sure that the mattress is orthopedic and that the bed linen is made from natural materials.
- The optimal temperature in the bedroom is 18-21 ℃, air humidity in winter - up to 60%, in summer - up to 70%.
- You should not sleep during the day if you are tired; it is better to go to bed early that day.
- The supine pose is beneficial for the spine and for heart diseases. But during episodes of apnea and snoring, it is better to sleep on your side on an orthopedic pillow.
- Sufficient sleep duration is 6-8 hours.
- It is recommended to take a warm, relaxing bath in the evening.
- The last meal is 3-4 hours before bed; drinking a lot of liquid before bed is not recommended.
- Since melatonin is produced only in complete darkness, it is useful to cover your eyes with a special blindfold in the summer.
- Sports and fitness activities should be completed at least 6 hours before bedtime.
Following simple rules will relieve insomnia, ensure proper rest, and maintain health and ability to work.
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Relaxation for the body
The modern pace of life can negatively affect our psychological and physical health.
If you don't know how to relax before bed, then these simple rules were created especially for you. With the help of relaxation, you can normalize your night's rest and make it better in just a few weeks. Let's consider what will help our body tune in to sound, restorative sleep.
- Physical exercise.
Tiring your body will help you sleep better in the evening. Exercise should be part of a daily routine - an adult should devote at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day to keep fit and have a good night's rest.
However, keep in mind that you need to set aside the first half of the day for exercise or going to the gym; muscle loads excite the nervous system, so it’s best to avoid them in the evening.
- Breathing practices.
Relaxing breathing practices help you fall asleep quickly and take your mind off worries. Before you begin the exercise, you need to lie in bed so that you are as comfortable as possible. We inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth.
First, take a deep and slow breath, try at this time to imagine how the air passes through all the respiratory tracts, filling every cell with oxygen. At the highest point of inhalation, pay attention to all your muscles, try to understand which ones are tense, and relax them as much as possible. Then exhale slowly, making sure that the length of your inhalations and exhalations is approximately the same.
- Progressive muscle relaxation.
This technique will be useful for those who suffer from constant muscle tension and do not know how to calm down before bed. The technique is quite simple and involves you learning to find mutual understanding with your body.
Before performing, lie down in bed on your back, you should be comfortable. We close our eyes and begin to strain all muscle groups in turn, starting with the legs, moving up. We hold each group in a tense state for 5-6 seconds, after which we relax and move on to the next group. During the exercise, breathing should be measured and calm; there is no need to hold it.
After working out your whole body, you will notice how your muscles have relaxed and your mind has cleared, you will be able to quickly fall asleep and sleep soundly until the morning.
- Massage.
A light massage will relieve tension and give you peace and tranquility. It is advisable that your partner do it for you, but if this is not possible, you can use self-massage. You should start from the lower part of the body, smoothly moving upward. The muscles of the neck and shoulders need to be given as much attention as possible, since they are the ones that strain the most during the day.
If you use a special massage oil, choose soothing scents (melissa, chamomile, lavender, vanilla).
- Proper food before bed.
We often return home quite late, have a big dinner, and then wonder why we can’t sleep. It's very simple: our digestive system cannot “turn off” because we have overloaded it, it sends signals to the brain, and this prevents normal sleep.
Have dinner 2-3 hours before bed with light and healthy foods; if you really want to eat before bed, drink half a glass of low-fat kefir. This way you can get rid of problems falling asleep and even mosquitoes at night.
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