PregnancyFamilyEducation Blogs
Subscribe to The Chatterbox's blogJanuary 12, 2009
Tossing and turning...are more people suffering from insomnia?
I'm someone who normally has no problem sleeping. As soon as my head hits the pillow, I'm out like a light and don't wake up until my alarm blares the next morning. However, as I lay awake last night unable to drift off, I began to wonder why I've been having trouble sleeping lately. Funny enough, I had read an article in a magazine that same day that said more and more young adults are having the very same problem.
The National Center for Sleep Disorders says about 40% of adults are suffering from insomnia. 40%!!! That's almost half of all adults! What in the world is causing this? Is it stress? Is it our lifestyle? Is it something we're eating? Are we just evolving into a species that doesn't require sleep?
I suppose for me it's stress. But I've always been stressed out, and that's never stopped me from sleeping before. So maybe it's my lifestyle, and the idea that getting eight hours of sleep every night is now considered a luxury instead of the norm. Lack of sleep can have long-term consequences, so needless to say I'm hoping my new nocturnal tendencies aren't permanent. Although, I will say that 2 a.m. is a great time to get some good reading in.
So I'm asking all of you...do you have trouble sleeping? What do you think causes your sleeplessness? And more importantly, how do you deal with it?
I often have trouble getting to sleep -- or staying asleep -- and I'm not quite sure what causes it. But I never turn on a light to read or get out of bed. I just do PMR (progressive muscle relaxation) or try one of the meditation techniques I've learned. Sometimes it works and I fall asleep. But even when it doesn't, I feel that I've at least had some sort of rest!
Even if I am completely exhausted, I sometimes have trouble sleeping and I think it may have to do with too much stimulation. I find that having some winding down time helps me sleep so much better. If I am running around making lunches, doing laundry, and cleaning the house right before I hop in bed (which is the norm for me), it's tough to fall asleep, no matter how tired I am.
I have suffered with insomnia since I was about 18. Sadly it is a family affliction, that my Grandfather had, several of my aunts and uncles, and my father as well. For me, falling asleep is no issue, staying asleep is practically impossible. I use drugs when it gets really bad, and stress certainly makes it worse, but it is ALWAYS there!!
http://mrweeandboo.com
hello there! i am 18 years old and oddly two weeks after i turned 18 i started having insomnia out of no where! i had also got kicked out of my house at the time it started but that wasnt the case, i went to my doc. exactly a week later and she couldnt really diagnose me with anything so she gave me doxepin (anti-depressant) 25 mg take every night befor bed time, appraently a lot of ppl take anti depressaants as a sleeping aid , how ever the pill def. helped with my mood like being irretable and having no energy or functioning right during the day, BUT it did not help with my insomnia at all. I took it for three weeks had a reaction to it so ive been off of it for a week and sleep is slowly coming back but i feel like [filtered word] , ive had insomnia for a month now so its considered chronic, I would avoid pills so that you dont become dependent on them and plus a lot of them have severe side affects , theres herbs that can also help like vallerian or pot i havent tried any yet but im going to , good luck!