Types of Insomnia

Dr. David W. Sparks

One of the most common symptoms of stress and depression is sleeplessness, otherwise known as insomnia. It is ironic because mental health professionals see patients all the time for mood disorders, but end up treating so many of them for another problem…insomnia. Insomnia is defined as the inability to fall asleep easily or to stay asleep.

There are Four Types of Insomnia

Psycho-reactive Insomnia: This is caused by tension. Sensory underload and tension are the reasons for psycho-reactive insomnia in the vast majority of cases. To explain, imagine being in bed right now in your cozy bedroom. It’s totally dark. The bed is luxuriously comfortable. It’s quiet and the temperature is perfect. In other words, there are no visual events to distract you, nothing rubbing or chafing or prickling your skin. There is no loud music, Rush Limbaugh or sports talk that you’re either trying to listen to or actively trying to tune out and you’re not uncomfortable with the temperature. you let your mind take over in the absence of other sensory input and distraction. This is what is meant by sensory underload. In the absence of competing information, the brain takes off, the mind races and you suffer from meaningless, endless mind chatter. You think about your busy schedule coming up, you remind yourself that you must remember to do such and such, you ruminate about the past (if only I hadn’t done this or if I had just made that choice instead of the one I made), you think how you’d like to pay someone back for the bad thing or things they did to you (revenge), you worry about the future, your job, money, your relationship or lack thereof….Does any of this sound familiar?

Endogenous Insomnia: This is caused by a discomfort within the body primarily due to pain. Millions of women suffer from chronic pain known as fibromyalgia. A lot of older people have arthritis or old sports injuries. Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is common to aging men and has them getting out of bed several times during the night in order to use the bathroom. Gastric problems increase dramatically as we age.

Exogenous Insomnia: Someone lying next to you snoring loudly is a most familiar example of this type of insomnia. However, other external factors such as bedrooms that don’t have enough sound insulation, allow too much light or are not comfortable in terms of temperature are other factors. An uncomfortable bed or pillows disturbs sleep.

Functional Insomnia: This is caused by a functional problem in the patient’s sleep-wakefulness cycle. We all have an internal clock that is brought about through circadian rhythms. Circadian means literally,"about the day". Circadian rhythms are our internal clock, in that part of the brain which sets our sleep system and alertness rhythm according to light. A circadian rhythm disorder can mean a poor timing cycle in the brain’s biological clock. Jet lag is an example. When patients experience this they can develop a fear of going to sleep since they worry about lying there endlessly tossing and turning.

Cure Through Sleep Hygiene

Good Sleep Hygiene: The Basics

1. Go to bed and get up at the same time every day (including the weekends, when possible). Sticking to a schedule helps regulate your internal clock that in turn regulates your sleep-wake cycle.

2. Exercise regularly. Every healthy routine includes exercise, but this is not just about getting or staying in shape. Regular, moderate exercise deepens sleep. People who exercise for 30-40 minutes, four days a week report sleeping an hour longer and cutting in half the amount of time it took to fall asleep. However, don’t exercise right before going to bed! Leave a space of about 3 hours between vigorous exercise and bedtime.!

3. Turn down the sound. Many people are light sleepers, easily disturbed by noises. Wear ear-plugs or turn on a fan or white-noise sound machine to muffle external sounds.

4. Darken the room at night. Even small amounts of light may disturb sleep. Try using heavy curtains or shades to block out light and get rid of any alarm clock with a lighted dial.
5. Avoid oversleeping. Sleep only as much as you need to wake feeling refreshed. Too much sleep, which is often a symptom of depression, may leave you feeling fatigued.

6. Let natural light awaken you. Open the curtains in the morning and let in the light through clean windows. Turn on the lights in the house and let your brain and body know its time to get up!

7. Break up your sleep, if necessary. Don’t be afraid to break up your sleep into two periods. A short nap in the afternoon and a longer stretch at night.

Guide to the perfect nap

Sleep experts generally discourage napping during the day. However, if you must nap, then do so AT THE SAME TIME EVERY DAY FOR THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME. Occasional naps at various times, and naps longer than 15-minutes actually inhibit continuous sleep at night.]

8. Sleep cool. Rooms that are too warm may disturb sleep.

9. Avoid caffeine. Many people have difficulty sleeping after they ingest coffee, tea, cola, or other beverages or foods such as chocolate that contain caffeine. Caffeine can have an affect on your body for up to 20 hours after ingesting it! Try a warm, herbal tea or warm milk before bed. Milk contains tryptophan, which helps induce sleep. Some aspirins contain more caffeine than a cup of coffee!

10. Limit alcohol. For some people, a glass of wine or some other alcoholic beverage helps them fall asleep. But beware! Alcohol also tens to fragment sleep and may cause “rebound” awakenings through the night. If you do consume alcohol, do so several hours before retiring.

11. Eat a snack. Hunger pangs may interfere with sleep. Try crackers and cheese, a piece of toast, or warm milk and honey to take the edge off of hunger. Carbohydrates, such as bananas and bagels, help stimulate the body’s natural sleep hormone, serotonin. Avoid foods high in protein, fat, sugar or foods that are acidic, especially if you tend to get heartburn.
12. Stop smoking. We al know that cigarette, pipe and cigar smoking are bad for your general health, but chronic tobacco use may also disturb sleep.

13. Reserve your bed for sleep and sex only. Some sleep experts recommend only sleeping in bed. Reading, watching television, doing crossword puzzles, finishing paperwork and other activities should be reserved for the living room or other parts of the house. Your mind should associate your bed with sleeping.

14. Go with the flow. If you can’t sleep, don’t fight it. Go into another room and read, watch TV, or do some other activity (except for working on a computer) until you feel sleepy. Make sure the material you chose does not make you anxious or upset.

In a few weeks we will be opening up a premium section in our web site entitled Actions Steps for Better Sleep and A Healthier Life. These steps incorporate some simple behavioral modification techniques to help solve your problems with insomnia along with some positive steps that you can take toward improving your wellness. We have some wonderful suggestions for diet and exercise. Think of this program as an "easy boot camp where you learn to go to war against insomnia". By the way, you can get this program for free with your purchase of one of my audiobooks entitled "Better Sleep in 7 Days".

Make sure you sign up in the Action Steps section and I will send you a sample of both the first day of Actions Steps for Better Sleep and A Healthier Life and Day 1 of The Better Sleep in 7 Days audiobook. We value your privacy and will not pass along your email address to anyone.

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