What Is Insomnia?Dr. David W. SparksThe title of this article is “What is insomnia?” The answer is fairly straightforward: Insomnia is the inability to fall asleep easily or the inability to stay asleep. Thus it makes sense to talk a little bit about what sleep is and what it does for you before we discuss the lack of sleep, i.e., insomnia. While researchers have yet to identify the exact purpose for sleep, most scientific evidence points to the fact that it does something important for the continuation of life. It has a rejuvenating effect on the mind and body. Every living thing requires sleep. Without it, our mind and nervous system begin to break down. If we stay awake too long, we become irritable and even psychotic. When we sleep we are said to be resting, which may be a misnomer, since rest implies being idle. The internal processes going on while we sleep are anything but idle. During sleep our bodies and brains are highly active, performing an organized series of events that allow our body and brain to rejuvenate, revitalize, refresh, renew and recharge the batteries. We need a prescribed amount of sleep in order for our systems to adequately detoxify and self-repair, as well as manufacture and release hormones, which make our organs and glands function properly. To give you a few examples, sleep is when the immune system replenishes itself after fighting off colds and flues, as well as certain types of cancers. During sleep and only during sleep, muscle tissue rebuilds and repairs itself after the wear-and-tear of the day's activities. We manufacture hormones that control our moods, keep our weight in check, give us the energy and drive to produce happy love lives and, in the process, if we choose, happy children. We completely re-tool, re-organize, refresh…rejuvenate while we sleep. And, speaking of rejuvenation, did you know that the mind also gets refreshed and renewed when we sleep. That's what dreams are for, and dreams occur in a very special part of sleep. There are two main categories of sleep. • Non Rapid Eye Movement Sleep (NREM) • Rapid Eye Movement (REM) REM sleep, on the other hand, is a period in which the eyes move rapidly and erratically underneath the eyelids. While this appears as though it is lighter sleep since the brainwaves are similar to Stage One of NREM sleep, we are almost completely paralyzed during REM. However, REM sleep is associated with dreaming, and dreaming plays a major role in our mental health. There is a lot of evidence that shows dreaming is a time when the brain is processing information that has recently been gathered. There appears to be a transferring of information gained while we're awake from short-term memory to long-term memory. There's also some thought that dreams help us to resolve conflicts or chaos in our lives. While dreaming, we often deal with things that fascinate or terrify us. During normal sleep, you cycle through these various stages approximately every 90 minutes to 2 hours. However, if your sleep is repeatedly interrupted because of a chronic sleep disorder, thus not allowing natural deep sleep to occur, there is a very good chance that you will feel tired, fatigued or sleepy and may have trouble concentrating or paying attention while awake. Also, sleepy individuals are at far greater risk for driving accidents, get sick more often and have trouble maintaining healthy weight. What is Insomnia?: Insomnia is a catchall term for the many conditions that keep us from getting enough sleep. It could be related to trouble falling asleep, or waking up frequently during the night or early in the morning. It may be related to a one-time event, such as the loss of a job or relationship. It can be chronic, which means a critical problem over a long period of time. Physicians and other health care workers have been reticent to deal seriously with insomnia patients because the insomnia patient has trouble sleeping due to psychological stresses and strains. Thus, if a family practice doctor, or internist, or sleep physician for that matter asks you about sleep, and if you tell him or her that you’re an insomniac, it forces the doctor to wear the hat of a psychologist or psychiatrist and not many of them are willing to do that. However, public outcry and the fact that there are over 60 million people who are suffering is starting to force the medical community to get serious about this condition. Who gets it? Insomnia has many possible causes including stress, anxiety, poor sleep habits, depression, jet lag, medications, food, and lifestyle choices such as smoking and drinking. Among other important factors just listed, another contributor to chronic insomnia is denial. In our 24/7 society, daytime fatigue and irritability are considered par for the course. We attempt to get by with less sleep than our bodies and brains need. So what we mean by denial is the fact that so many people suffering from insomnia resign themselves to the philosophy that this is a way of life and there’s nothing that can be done about it. “It’s just the way things are.” Guess what? Your mother was right. Your lack of sleep “will catch up with you.” Eventually, those who gallop through life at full speed, despite the warning signs will run headfirst into a roadblock called poor health. There’s simply no getting around the basic human requirements our ancestors laid out for us eons ago. We will deal with stress, anxiety, depression, jet lag, medications, and go in-depth into the lifestyle choices we make in this web site. We deal with and offer possible solutions to sleep problems that are psychological in nature, or that happen naturally as we age and require specific adjustments on our part to work through them easily and painlessly. There are, however, other conditions that cause poor sleep. These conditions are of an organic or physiological nature and are referred to as sleep disorders. These sleep disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, narcolepsy and many others may require the attention of a doctor. 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. Return from What is Insomnia to The Insomnia Cure Home Page |