Sleep in no eye. Why do we wake up in the middle of the night?

Sleep problems always lead to health problems. After all, sound and comfortable sleep is considered by experts to be among the factors that improve the quality of life. Situations when it is difficult to fall asleep are not uncommon. And there are many reasons for this. Which ones, aif.ru told neurologist, member of the Supreme Expert Council of the Department of Modern Hypnosis of the Academy of Social Technologies Andrey Artamoshkin.

Causes of the problem

“Difficulty falling asleep and waking up early are the most common types of insomnia. It happens that they develop against the background of physical ailments, but often they become the result of a manifestation of somatic depression, ”says neurologist Artamoshkin.

Most often, the specialist warns, the problem may be hiding in the influx of painful thoughts and involuntary memories of disturbing content. “The immediate cause of disturbed sleep can also be unpleasant and oppressive sensations in certain organs and parts of the body that arise or intensify as the night approaches,” the specialist warns.

Also, one of the important reasons for difficult falling asleep is the fear of insomnia, a kind of expectation neurosis, when a person constantly directs his thoughts to the desire to fall asleep and the feeling that he will not be able to fall asleep anyway. This obviously excludes the possibility of normal falling asleep, says the neurologist.

No less characteristic of this type of depression and early awakening. “It is often accompanied by attacks of palpitations, pain in the region of the heart, a feeling of lack of air, a nocturnal headache, negative sensations in the lower extremities, which usually occur after a short, restless and superficial sleep,” says Andrey Artamoshkin.

In the evening, such a person is rather quickly forgotten by an anxious, intermittent sleep, but jumps up as if on an alarm clock (in the absence of a real call) long before dawn. Such sleep disturbances are accompanied by a number of symptoms. Among them, the neurologist Artamoshkin lists the following:

• morning sluggishness
• feeling broken,
• almost irresistible sleepiness during the day.

“All this leads to an even more pronounced deterioration in well-being, a decrease in stress resistance, and a deeper depressive state. The circle can be closed, ”the specialist notes.

How to be?

Sleep disorders, as doctors say, are fraught with a number of serious complications. Among them may be obesity, problems with the heart and blood vessels, digestive disorders and other negative phenomena. Therefore, this situation must be dealt with. Andrey Artamoshkin notes that there are a number of recommendations, following which you can restore normal sleep and feel better and more comfortable. These include the following tips:

• Go to sleep at the same time whenever possible, optimally before 23:00.
• Leave all the «important», «urgent» or «useful» things for tomorrow.
• Use the bed only for sleeping, with bedding that is comfortable for you personally — do not lie on it at lunchtime, do not sit on it like on a sofa.
• Set the temperature in the bedroom at 17-18 degrees, if you are cold, use an insulated blanket.
• A balanced diet should be observed throughout the day, it is necessary to abandon improper diets and fasting for this period, a light snack an hour before bedtime, herbal tea is possible.
• Connect walks in the fresh air in the evening.
• Moderate physical activity during the day will help you feel pleasantly tired and sleep on time.
• A couple of hours before bedtime, you can take a hot general or only foot bath with the addition of sea salt and a small amount of essential oils.
• An hour before bedtime, sources of increased noise and bright lighting should be eliminated.
• When waking up early, it is advisable to get out of bed, drink a small amount of sweetened herbal tea with mint and lemon balm, it is possible to read a “light” book for 10-15 minutes in dim lighting, so that the eye muscles get tired and drowsiness reflexively sets in.

«Still great, for example, Friedrich Nietzsche, they say that the ability to sleep is not a trifle. And in order to sleep well, you should be awake all day, ”notes Andrey Artamoshkin.

Such recommendations, the expert emphasizes, are purely individual. Therefore, it is worth additionally consulting with a specialist who, if necessary, can offer alternative methods of treatment in addition. Moreover, it is not worth delaying — the sooner you start correcting sleep problems, the better a person will feel, and it will be possible to cope with the problem in a shorter time.