I am 26-years-old and work at a PR firm. I am always at work by 8:00am and leave at 6:00pm. Sometimes my days get very hectic and all I want to do is go home and sleep. However, for the past three months now, I haven’t been able to get a good night’s sleep. I take a shower before I go to bed because it’s refreshing. But I find myself lying in bed for close to three hours with no sign of sleep. I then opt to watch something because sometimes it helps, so I get my laptop. Eventually I drift off. However, I don’t stay asleep for too long. I find myself awake again in the dead of the night. I tried warm milk but it doesn’t help. I think I sleep a total of three hours a night. How can I get rid of this insomnia because I always feel tired at work? 

Claudine

Dear Claudine

Insomnia or not sleeping adequately is indeed a problem. One feels physically as well as mentally exhausted if they do not sleep well. A bigger problem would be feeling sleepy at work.

Stress or excitement is the most common cause for not getting sleep as a young person. This could be anything like having a deadline to meet, maladjustment with some colleague, e.t.c.  Usually it is temporary and improves when the stressful situation improves.  

Eating a heavy meal just before sleeping or chronic constipation can cause dyspepsia during the night and interfere with sleep.

Taking stimulants like coffee, tea in excess, particularly in the late afternoon or evening can also disturb sleep induction. Watching movies or television in the late evening also tends to prevent sleep, because many videos tend to excite the brain instead of relaxing it.

A noisy atmosphere, uncomfortable bed clothes can all prevent sleep. Apart from these factors, if one spends less time in the daylight and more in artificially lit rooms, the body’s biological clock tends to be disturbed, causing insomnia.

Diseases like thyroid disorders, cardiac failure, acute sickness like high fever, severe pain, e.t.c. cause insomnia, which improves as the sickness improves.

Firstly it is important to learn to relax completely.  Avoid taking work to the home and home to the work place. Yoga and meditation help in this.  Avoid taking tea, coffee or alcohol in the evenings or after dinner.  Dinner should be taken at least one hour before bedtime and very heavy meals should be avoided.  

Drinking lots of water and consuming green vegetables and fresh fruits ensures that constipation does not occur thus sleep would not be disturbed due to a bloating sensation or nausea.  

Try to make a time table for sleeping, where you should be in bed at a fixed time every night. Make sure that the room is quiet and the bed is comfortable. The clothes worn should be comfortable and loose fitting, preferably cotton. Night dresses of nylon look chic but tend to stick to the body, causing discomfort.

 After going to bed, start some relaxing, soothing activity till you get sleep. This   could be reading a good book, knitting or praying if you are a believer.  Avoid watching movies or TV shows till sleep time.  

During day time, however busy you are, try spending some time in natural daylight.

It is best to avoid sleeping pills. Firstly their effect is transient; one pill would be effective only for that night. If one does not sleep when the medicine starts its effect, there can be an uncomfortable hangover. Moreover taking these pills regularly results in habituation where an individual cannot do without it.

Dr. Rachna is a specialist in internal medicine at Ruhengeri Hopsital