Did you know...
The word "insomnia" is referred to sleep disorders, in addition to the sensation of not having rested enough at night.
In quantitative terms one or more among these 3 main tipologies may occur:
- Early or sleep-onset insomnia: the subject struggles to fall asleep and tends to stay awake until late into the night or even until the sun comes up; some people suffering from this disorder go round and round between the sheets while other people prefer to get up and pass the time in a different way (watching tv, reading a book, cleaning up and so on).
- Central insomnia: the subject wakes up several times at night, collecting continuous and annoying night awakenings, usually associated with difficulty in falling asleep again.
- Late insomnia: the subject wakes up very early in the morning, without a real reason as work commitment or something similar.
In addition to quantity, in conditions of insomnia the quality of sleep is as such with strong ties. This happens not only because not sleeping much is equivalent to sleeping badly, but also because the subject can perceive that he sleeps badly (and sometimes even little) regardless of the objective quality of his sleep. In these cases, the so-called "subjective insomnia", you find no benefits and relief from sleep, even if sleep is regular.
Why is it important sleeping well and as much as possible, without exagerating? Sleep quality has a very high impact on our health; The quality and the quantity of your sleep could be often not optimal: against insomnia it is useful to adopt behaviours that help to pass quiet nights.
Here are 5 general rules to respect:
- 1. Don't do sport in the evening hours, because physical activity produces endorphins and adrenaline and this fact , just before sleeping, could compromise the night rest because of the increasing of body temperature.
- 2. Do relaxation exercises as meditation and yoga, which help to alleviate everyday life anxiety and stress and it makes you find quietness again and favors sleep more easily.
- 3. Have a bath, a hot shower or a footbath before going to sleep, so that you will facilitate a quiet sleep going to relax your muscles and your respiratory mucosa and warming your body extremities.
- 4. After dinner put off your tasks and unwind, banishing computer and mobile phones from your bedroom and using your bed to sleep only, so avoid naps in front of the television screen.
- 5.In the evening get used to going to bed at fixed times, making sure of the fact that your bedroom is very ventilated and set up at sleeping, dimming lights and noises and losing contact with the external environment.
It is useful to remember that personal computer and television are two light sources which inhibit the release of melatonin, the hormone which control the cycle sleep and wakefulness.