Care For Your Sleep

If you suffer from insomnia, you are not alone with this problem. Nowadays, more than 30% of people around the world regularly have the symptoms of temporary insomnia, and about 10% of modern Americans suffer from chronic insomnia. Insomnia occurs more frequently in women and aged people. It is usually caused by a variety of reasons, including some serious general diseases. Also, insomnia can be a side effect of taking certain medications. People, who suffer from insomnia, usually have such problems as daytime irritability and fatigue, difficulties with concentration and focusing on something, sleepiness and many others.

There are four main types of insomnia that are connected with:
- difficulties when falling asleep;
- difficulties with maintaining sleep all night long;
- waking up too early;
- unsatisfying quality of sleep.

Insomnia is caused by some quite common reasons, which can be classified as the following:
(1) the causes, connected with physical and psychological condition of a person (including stresses, worries, anxiety and fears, concerns about the problems in professional or personal life, inability to relax, suffering from pains or diseases, menopause, continuous boredom and feeling of being rejected, depression, and so on);
(2) using stimulants, medications containing caffeine and other medications that can interfere with sleep (antidepressants, antihistamines, some weight-loss medications, etc.);
(3) environmental factors (changes in sleep environment, changes in daily habits or schedules, changes connected with traveling and time zone change, etc.)
(4) the factors, connected with aging (changes in general health, daily routine, sleep patterns, and so on);
(5) behavioral factors and failures to maintain a proper sleep hygiene (eating too much before going to sleep, leading very active night life, drinking and smoking before going to sleep, and so on).

If ignored and not treated properly, insomnia can lead to some complications, such as psychological disorders, depression, problems with blood pressure, increased severity of other illnesses and diseases. Besides, as insomnia usually causes lack of attention and concentration, it can be a reason of serious mistakes and even accidents which put human life to danger. Do not delay talking to a specialist if you are experiencing syndromes of insomnia and have sleep deprivation affecting the quality of your life. In the majority of the situations, insomnia can be treated with special supplements and medications (sleeping pills or antidepressants) as well as behavioral therapy, supported by the efforts to eliminate possible causes of insomnia and developing good sleep habits.

When your child can not sleep well at night, it usually becomes a problem for the whole family. Some children sleep more than 10-11 hours a day, but some do not like sleeping and stay awake till midnight. Therefore, an individual approach is needed for every child when creating his sleep strategy and developing good sleep habits. It is necessary to take into account such details as his age, type, health, situation in the family and many other factors. However, it is possible to name several universal rules for making the child’s sleep more comfortable and effective.

• Remember that sleep can hardly be commanded, that is why all you can do is create the right environment and stimulate your child’s bedtime mood.
• Make your child go to sleep and wake up in the morning at the same time every day.
• In the evening before going to bed, give him some time (from 10 to 30 minutes) to get ready for going to sleep or develop a sort of bedtime ritual for your child (reading a bedtime story or listening to some calm bedtime music).
• Create a proper sleep environment for your child.
• Control the hours your child spends in bed. Check out sleep patterns of your child and do not allow him to stay in bed for more hours than he actually needs for normal activities.
• Watch what your child is doing before going to sleep. Do not allow him to jump or run and try to divert his attention on doing something calm.
• Keeping the lights dim before going to bed also stimulates you child’s bedtime mood. At that, do not forget to use bright lights in the morning and during the day.
• Never use the television or other communication media while sleep training your child.
• Talk to your child before he falls asleep. You must be the last for your child to see before he falls asleep.
• Help your child to learn falling asleep himself. For this, help him to develop positive associations when falling asleep.
• Sending to bed must never be a punishment or threat for your child. Your child has to develop only positive feelings about going to bed and learn to enjoy the bedtime.
• Do not allow your child to watch movies or programs, as well as to play PC games that are not appropriate for his age.
• Do not allow your baby or toddler to fall asleep nestled in your arms with the bottle of meal.
• If your baby cries at night, come near and comfort him but do not pick him up. This way he will not develop a habit of crying in order to gain your full attention.
• If it is possible, do not let your child sleep in your bed. This habit is very hard to break and in the future it can bring to unwanted consequences.
• Do not give your child any drink or food (including, first of all, chocolate and carbonated drinks) with caffeine before he goes to sleep. Also, try to avoid giving him medicines that stimulate physical activity.

If your child slept very well all night, he will be active and full of joy all day long. But keep in mind that not every child who does not sleep long enough at night can feel discomfort or lack of sleep during the day. You must also remember that in many situations the child’s problems with sleep are not the fault of his parents. Sometimes these problems are serious, but sometimes they are not. If you child has continuous difficulties with sleep, talk to your pediatrician or sleep specialist.

It is impossible to underestimate the importance of good sleep for proper development and wellbeing of your child. Sometimes, sleeping is the only way for very active children to rest and recover after their daily physical activities. Besides, the hormones that stimulate growth of human organism are mostly produced during sleep. Finally, children’s imagination is very vivid, and seeing dreams helps children to process their thoughts and review daily events.

It is very important for parents to know how well their child sleeps at night or during the day. Fortunately, it is possible to understand this by looking at the child’s mood, activities and success in personal development. A tired child who has problems with sleep will sooner or later demonstrate changes in his behavior and learning abilities. Moreover, problems with sleep of your child always cause stresses for you and your family.

Many parents have no idea, how long their child must sleep. Specialists recommend the following amount of sleep for children based on their age:

• Infants (1-12 months) – not less than 16-14 hours a day
• Toddlers (12-24 months) – not less than 14-13 hours a day
• Toddlers (24-36 months) – not less than 13-12 hours a day
• Young children (3-5 years) – not less than 12-11 hours a day
• Children (6-10 years) – not less than 11-10 hours a day
• Teenagers (11-18 years) – not less than 9-8 hours a day

According to the information received from modern parents, their children usually sleep less that it is recommended in the table above. However, children mostly have no difficulties with sleeping all night long. That is why if your child can not fall asleep fast, cries, wakes up at night or has other difficulty connected with sleep, there is a probability that he has a serious sleep problem. There are some signs of possible sleep disorders:

• It takes a lot of time and efforts of yours to help your child fall asleep.
• You child repeatedly wakes up at night.
• Your child snores and breathes heavily all night.
• You child displays changes in behavior, mood, success in school, etc.
• You have lost your sleep because of you child’s problems with sleep.

• Increased sleepiness in the daytime.
• Regular loud snoring at night, especially accompanied with high blood pressure, problems with lungs and diabetes.
• Frequent short periods of breathing cessation during sleep.
• Dissatisfaction with the quality of sleep:

«I need more than 30 minutes to fall asleep»

«I frequently wake up at night»

«I wake up very early in the morning and can not sleep anymore».

• Using sleeping pills for long time.
• Problems with sleep caused by traveling and time zone change.
• Unpleasant feelings in legs or arms, causing irresistible urge to move the legs or arms during sleep.
• Episodes of sudden body muscle weakness when experiencing strong emotions (joy, anger, hate, etc.), frequently accompanied by fainting.
• Regular nightmares and scary dreams.
• Attacks, paroxysm, unusual behavior during sleep (sleepwalking, urge to eat, grinding of the teeth, etc.)

We spend about one third of our life sleeping, and having good regular sleeps is absolutely essential for everyone. Sleeping helps us to refresh our mind, have some rest after hard working days and maintain good health. However, nowadays not many of us can have regular healthy sleep. There are certain physiological conditions which bring to problems for people to breathe freely and easily during sleep. There is a great deal of sleep disturbances which do not allow people to recover and regain their mental and physical strength. Day by day such people are getting weaker and more depressed. Sooner or later, they have to forget about such natural things as a good spirit, excellent work capacity and mental abilities, ideal memory and appearance, which can only be stimulated by regular good sleep.

Sleep disturbances and disorders are very frequent in our times and almost everyone knows their signs and reasons. One of the prevailing reasons of problems with sleep is usual neglect of our biorhythms. Very often we extend our waking ours with the help of various stimulants or willpower, and certainly, it can be done only at the expense of our time for sleeping. Another leading reason is chronic pains or psychological disturbances, such as stresses or depression. Sleep disorders cause tiredness, weakness, impaired motor skills, inability to focus or concentrate, weaker immune system and slowed down metabolism, as well as other unwanted consequences.

There are periodic, temporary and chronic sleep disorders. Serious ones, like narcolepsy, parasomnias, sleep apnea and others, usually require medical treatment and immediate changes in daily behavior. If you are suffering from chronic insomnia or other disturbance, see a specialist in order to diagnose your problem correctly. Only doctor can recognize the type of disorder and recommend the most effective treatment. For example, sleeping pills and tranquilizers are the most effective medications for insomniacs, and effective antidepressants and stimulants must be prescribed to the people who have hypersomnia (extreme sleepiness).

Nevertheless, in the majority of the situations your relief from problems with sleep is in your own hands. If you started having regular periods of insomnia, difficulties when falling asleep or waking up, as well as seeing scary or disturbing dreams, you can begin with making slight changes in your daytime behavior and sleep habits. Every day go to sleep at the same time, sleep in comfortable bed and in comfortable environment. Spend your time before going to bed in doing something calm and monotonous, or take a shower. Do not start using sleeping pills until your doctor did not recommend you to do so. And one more rule: set your mind for good sleep, and stay wrapped in slumber deep and sweet all night long.