The Jamaica Star :: Health :: Can't sleep at night

Dear Readers,

F L, 36, describes himself as hardworking, progressive and contented with his life. His work is demanding of time and effort, but he gets it done. His problem is that over the last two years he finds he cannot sleep at nights. He is no longer involved in shift work where the work hours vary, still, he only sleeps three to four hours most nights. He falls asleep between midnight and 1 a.m and wakes at 4 a.m.

Sometimes he experiences day- time drowsiness and feels tired, but he is too busy to sleep during the days and even when he has tried day-time sleep he only doses a bit. FL has seen his physician and the tablets prescribed do help a bit. He sleeps an extra hour or two. He asks LIFELINE how he can cure his insomnia.

The inability to sleep at nights is called INSOMNIA. For some people insomnia is an occasionally experienced nuisance, for others it is chronic, impacts on their daily life and leads to significant negative changes. Chronic sleep deficit may ultimately sap the persons energy to keep up with daytime activities. Lack of sleep fogs the memory, dims creatively and reduces alertness. It can also result in personality changes and reduce the body's ability to resist illness and disease.

Result in insomnia

Insomnia can occur as an overt inability to fall asleep or can take the form of a tendency to wake up in the nights and then stay awake. Most cases of insomnia are related to stress which causes the person to become anxious, depressed or to experience both conditions. Life changing events are a major cause such as worrying over wedding plans, exams, ill health, family, economics, work relationships and the like.

Drinking significant amounts of alcohol or caffeine near to bedtime regularly can also result in insomnia. Other conditions which may lead to insomnia include:

• Jet lag

• Shift work with frequent changes from day to night work

• Chronic pain

To encourage sleep:

• Avoid taking stimulants close to bedtime. e.g. avoid caffeine, chocolate and refined sugars.

• Avoid alcohol near bedtime. Alcohol causes drowsiness and can result in a light, unresting sleep leaving the person tired and wakeful during night hours.

• Avoid exercising before bedtime as exercise increases the metabolism and keeps the person awake.

Foods which are high in TRYPTOPHAN are good sleep inducers. These foods would include bananas, milk, fish, peanuts and turkey. Complex carbohydrates such as rice and pasta are also thought to help induce sleep.

Iron and vitamin B deficiencies, can result in night wakefulness and a good iron and vitamin B supplement (taken in the morning) may also help to reduce insomnia.

Mild tranquilliser

The person who is experiencing insomnia should also ensure that the physical surroundings for sleep are as pleasant as possible. The mattress and pillows should be comfortable. The person should try to adhere to a regular sleep schedule, even on weekends, and should unwind before attempting to sleep by listening to soothing music, reading, sipping herbal tea,and the like. For some people soaking in a hot bath a few hours before bedtime can help insomnia.

When these remedies don't help prescribed medication can be tried. During a stressful time a mild tranquilliser can be taken at night, e.g. Valium, Restoril, Xanai etc. As these drugs are habit forming, they can only be taken for a short time. Drugs used specifically for insomnia include Ambien, Dormicum and Innovaine, which are not as addictive as the tranquillisers.

A sedative antidepressant such as Amitripty Line or Imipramine can be prescribed when the insomnia is related to depression.

FL could attempt to modify his exercise, sleep and eating habits as suggested within this article. If these methods are unsuccessful in helping him sleep, then prescription drugs can be taken under the supervision of a physician.

He can also be referred to a consultant specialist in sleep disorders who can, for a price, check and analyse his sleep patterns and suggest therapy.

Write to: Lifeline

PO Box 1731 Kingston 8