Sleep disorders are common in our society. They affect our daily functioning, our work and academic performance. They can lead to accidents on the road or at work. Relationships can be seriously affected by our sleep partner if he is not treated early. Sleeping problems can also lead to a worsening of basic medical and psychiatric conditions. Common sleep problems are insomnia, sleep apnea, snoring, daytime sleepiness, sleep disorder and movement disorders of the limbs. Treatment may include changes in lifestyle, behavioral changes, medications, treatments, surgical and mechanical treatments. The following paragraphs will provide some information on each of these treatments.
Changing your lifestyle - this includes your diet, activities, sleep routine, work, rest and relationships. Do you smoke? Do you drink more than 6 cups of coffee or tea a day? Are you experiencing stress at work or at home? Do you train less than twice a week? Are you unhappy, are you bored? Do you usually work more than 10 hours a day? If your answers to any of these questions are YES, this indicates that your lifestyle may affect your sleep. It's time to look at your priority in life and find a way around the stress and bad habits that affect your sleep.
Behavioral methods. This method is useful for treating insomnia. It includes sleep hygiene, relaxation exercises, cognitive focusing, sleep restriction therapy, and systematic desensitization. The last three methods are used to reduce repetitive and constant thoughts during sleep. These include focusing on pleasant thoughts, changes in sleep patterns, and reducing anxiety associated with negative thoughts during sleep.
Medications - the most commonly prescribed medications are sedatives. Some drugs are used exclusively to treat excessive daytime sleepiness, while others are used to treat depression and anxiety. The type of drug will vary depending on whether the problem is acute or chronic and whether it is potentially susceptible to drugs or not.
Therapy. General therapy is talk therapy, light therapy and other complementary therapies, such as reiki and hypnosis. Discussion of therapy includes counseling from psychodynamic psychotherapy to cognitive therapy. Light therapy is used to treat circadian rhythm disorders. This is due to the impact of the lightbox for 30-60 minutes. As for additional treatments, they are most suitable for lifestyle problems associated with stress and anxiety. They are useful from time to time for treating sleep problems.
Surgery - helps patients with sleep apnea who have a correctable anomaly of the face, jaw or tongue. Dental treatment, such as the use of protective strips, is useful in the treatment of grinding teeth during sleep.
Mechanical treatments are the use of constant positive airway pressure for patients with obstructive sleep apnea. They need to wear a nasal mask or a full mask for sleeping.
Some people find meditation useful, while others use tai chi or yoga to overcome sleep problems. People with very high muscle tension may find it helpful to do a progressive relaxing exercise that is designed to gradually relax the entire muscle group in the body. In conclusion, identify your sleep disorder and heal early, it will help improve your health and your daily functioning.
