Insomnia may mean you have a hard time going to sleep or that you have a hard time staying asleep. Usually, you will know if you are experiencing insomnia because you will remember tossing and turning or being awake at night. Insomniacs typically complain of being unable to close their eyes or “rest their mind” for more than a few minutes at a time.
Insomnia can be caused by fear, stress, anxiety, medications, herbs, caffeine, depression, or other mental conditions and sometimes occurs for no apparent reason. A physical pain or overactive mind may also be causes. Finding the underlying cause of insomnia is usually necessary to cure it.
If you suspect that you are not getting enough sleep or that you might have a sleep disorder, speak to your physician or a sleep specialist. If your health care professional feels that you may have a sleep disorder they may ask that you keep a sleep diary, or they may even have you stay overnight at a sleep center for observation.
In a sleep study, sensors are used to monitor how your body acts while you sleep. Charts are made of many physical measurements including your brain waves, heartbeats and breathing. Your sleep study provides doctors with the data that can help them find the cause of your sleep problems.
• Epworth Sleepiness Scale – This sleep questionnaire asks you to rank whether certain situations make you sleepy and, if so, how sleepy. • Nocturnal polysomnogram – This test measures the electrical activity of your brain (electroencephalogram) and heart (electrocar¬diogram), and the movement of your muscles (electromyogram) and eyes (electro-oculo¬gram), and usually requires an overnight stay at a sleep clinic for observation purposes. • Daytime Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT) – This test measures how long it takes for you to fall asleep during the day, plus the kind of sleep you get during such a nap. • Repeated test of sustained wakefulness (RTSW) – This test measures how long it takes for you to fall asleep in a situation that challenges you to stay awake. • Blood test – Depending upon the description of your symptoms and your personal and family medical histories, your sleep specialist may also conduct a blood test.
There are over 100 different types of sleep disorders. Each has its own causes, symptoms, and treatments. A new product to help with sleep is, Hivox DM-800 Dreamate Wristband Biofeedback Device called Dreamate™ and is a biofeedback device designed to help you sleep better without medication and side effects.
It is a bracelet-size device which helps to improve the quality of your sleep by massaging key acupressure points on the inner left wrist. The massage helps to re-tune the biological clock and train your body to relax and sleep. Many users naturally gain up to 55 minutes of restful sleep per night using this new device Sleep is as extremely important to your health and well-being just as exercise and a healthy diet. It gives your body a chance to repair so you can feel great every day. If you don’t get enough rest, it’s hard to be at your best. Some of these tips may help you cure insomnia. While everyone has different sleep needs, the National Sleep Foundation recommends that most people get about eight hours of sleep per night. And it’s not just the number of hours that count. It’s also the quality of the sleep. It’s important to get an uninterrupted, restful night’s sleep that includes “deep” or “slow wave” sleep—the most restorative phase of your night’s sleep.