Tired of insomnia? Time to see an endocrinologist

According to many studies, almost every third inhabitant of our planet suffers from sleep disorders. Insomnia, or insomnia, as this pathological condition is often called, is a deficiency in the amount of sleep and its quality, when the patient's sleep and wakefulness get lost. To call this condition insomnia is, by and large, incorrect, since the patient does not suffer from a complete loss of sleep. But problems with falling asleep, duration & nbsp; sleep and its quality are so deep that they significantly reduce the quality of life of the patient and require correction with the help of a doctor.

What are the reasons for insomnia

The development of insomnia, as some experts believe, may be based on a certain predisposition of the body, as a result of which, when exposed to adverse factors, the sleep pattern is disturbed. So, one of the important causes of insomnia can be a violation of the hormonal background – in particular, a decrease in the level of estrogen in the body. This is confirmed by the complaints of many patients approaching the period of perimenopause – with age, it becomes more and more difficult to fall asleep, and sleep turns out to be sensitive, short and does not allow you to fully relax. Hormonal sleep disturbances are common among postpartum women, although they usually attribute insomnia to fatigue from caring for the baby.

Other reasons why patients may be disturbed in sleep and wakefulness, develop insomnia, can be divided into several groups:

• neurological – depression, excessive mental stress, neurosis;
• somatic – diseases that cause increased anxiety at night (arterial hypertension, heart disease, chronic pain);
• diseases of the nervous system (stroke, epilepsy, brain tumors);
• lifestyle features – work in day and night shifts, coffee abuse, frequent change of time zones when moving, work with constant strong noise and vibrations.

Insomnia patients complain of decreased activity and disruption of working rhythm, memory impairment, impaired attention.

Different types of classification of insomnia and their application

Insomnia, or insomnia, is defined by a number of features and classified based on its duration, frequency of episodes, association with other diseases, and other factors. This classification allows you to most accurately determine the nature of insomnia and choose the optimal treatment regimen.

So, for example, insomnia is divided into situational and permanent, developing against the background of known causes (neuroses or somatic diseases) or unclear circumstances. According to the duration of the course, insomnia can be transient (several nights), short-term (no longer than a week) and chronic (more than three weeks). According to the severity of insomnia, they are classified into severe (not sleeping every night), moderate (frequent sleep disturbances) and mild (with rare episodes).

Symptoms of insomnia that require medical attention may include the following deviations  in the nature of the dream:

• the period of falling asleep can last up to one and a half hours, when you get out of bed, the desire to sleep disappears, physical activity appears, the head is full of heavy thoughts, there is a fear of bed and fear that there will be no sleep;
• sleep is very shallow and disturbed by the slightest external stimulus, after which it is very problematic to fall asleep again, spontaneous awakening often occurs from nightmares, heart palpitations, restless legs syndrome;
• after waking up in the morning, you are left feeling tired and sleepy, it is difficult to wake up, irritability persists throughout the day, poor performance, and you cannot fall asleep during the day even under ideal conditions for sleep.

The treatment of insomnia involves, first of all, the improvement of sleep hygiene and. if possible, the elimination of the causes of insomnia. It is possible to recommend psychotherapy, phototherapy. If necessary, hypnotics and sedatives are used to help the patient calm down and prolong sleep time, and prevent frequent awakenings. If necessary, tranquilizers can be prescribed for a short time to reduce the patient's anxiety. The patient must clearly understand that drug therapy for insomnia – this is a temporary measure that helps to normalize sleep, but it is important to eliminate the cause of insomnia.