Insomnia is commonly defined as a sleep disorder or an individual’s difficulty falling asleep or maintaining sleep. Insomnia is interesting because it can be considered as being both an independent disorder on its own and a symptom of another disorder or condition. Because of these characteristics, insomnia can be grouped into Two sub categories; primary and Secondary insomnia. Primary insomnia is a sleep disorder that is not the result of a medical, psychiatric or environmental cause, while Secondary insomnia is insomnia that is secondary to another condition, and thus is considered a symptom brought upon by the condition. Insomnia is a very serious condition that affects a lot of people around the world.

Insomnia can be classified into Three sub-groups; Transient insomnia, Acute Insomnia and Chronic Insomnia. Transient insomnia is the least severe class of insomnia; it only lasts for less than a week and is usually cased by mundane actions such as a sudden change in an individual’s sleep cycle. Transient Insomnia is also caused by more serious conditions such as depression, and stress. Acute insomnia is the inability to continuously sleep well for longer than a week but less than a month. This form of Insomnia is brought upon when there is difficulty maintaining sleep or the sleep gained is not refreshing. Acute Insomnia is usually the result of some form of day time action or activity that will later have an adverse affect on the individual. Chronic Insomnia can be a primary or secondary cause; it lasts longer than a month. Chronic insomnia usually leads to muscular fatigue, hallucination and mental fatigue. Chronic Insomnia can also cause one to have double vision.

There are many contributing factors that can cause the various forms of insomnia. Going to bed at different times every night, for example, can cause insomnia. Sleeping in a poor environment such as rooms with too many noises or distracting lights also leads to inability to sleep and occasional insomnia. Dependency on sleeping pills and medication will also cause insomnia. Medical disorders or conditions such as Bipolar disorder or Depression also lead to or are symptoms of insomnia. Stress, physical pain or discomfort and thyroid disease are also commonly associated with being causes of insomnia or sleeplessness.

To treat your insomnia, it is important to put into consideration any lifestyle or sleep habits that might be affecting your sleeping. In essence, it is important to have proper “sleep hygiene”. Consulting a psychiatrist or therapist can also be beneficial when trying to treat your insomnia or sleeplessness. You might be prescribed antidepressants or mild sedatives to help you sleep properly. Insomnia is a serious condition and many suffer from it yearly. It is imperative to take the proper steps to treating your insomnia.

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10 simple steps:

1. Just refuse it

Abstain from caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol intake around late mid-day and evenings. Coffee to close to mid-day can delay your  ability or chances of falling asleep and even hours later, and worst still is that more than a couple of glasses of wine or beer can make you become very restless while trying to fall asleep. One should always keep in mind that, caffeine is found not only in coffee and black tea. It is also an ingredient in chocolate, medicines and even soft drinks.

2. Carry out some form of Exercise

Perform some kind of exercise, but it would be useful to keep in mind that you must finish your exercise routine at least three hours before going to bed as the body will need time to come down from the high of the exercise you have just taken part in.

3. Temperature

Keep the bed room environment at a comfortable temperature and eliminate light and noise, which can all too easily awaken you from a light sleep. For the most part the majority of people will enjoy a fulfilled sleep in a cooler comfortable environment.

4. Grab a snooze

15-20-minute naps periodically throughout your day can improve performance, hone memory and usually lessen the signs and symptoms of fatigue. Bear in mind, however, that for many people sleeping periodically throughout the day could disrupt a great night’s sleep.

5. Stay with a routine

Once you have established a normal sustainable bed time routine for the baby, perform the same on yourself. An hour or so approximately before going to bed, get rid of that stressful reading matter such as those bills, or those office papers. Take time to chill out and maybe run a calming warm bath and just soak in it. Create a calming atmosphere with maybe a small amount of essential oils in the bath. Perhaps even a herbal tea.

6. Over doing it

If you cannot fall asleep after half an hour, don’t remain in bed just becoming more and more restless. Get yourself out of bed perhaps go into another room, and read something not to thought provoking listen to some pleasurable calming music until sleep creeps up on you.

7. A bed is perfect for bed time

Your bed should have only two uses namely, sleep and sex. The worst thing to do on your bed is to get in the habit of turning it into your office thereby reading your correspondence and bills whilst in bed. Mentally you need to associate your bed with sleep time. Never take monetary or work problems to bed, well, not if your desire is to sleep.

8. Bad habits

As the evening approaches you should never drop off to sleep on the sofa or that favourite comfy chair. The best course of action if you find yourself falling asleep anywhere other than bed is to go to bed.  Forming the habit of sleeping anywhere other than bed could lead to sleeping issues further down the line.

9. Food intake

Avoid like the plague,huge meals near to bed time. But when you’ll need a snack before hitting the sack pick something high-carb like maybe a bowl of cereal. It may encourage sleep.

10. Eradicate all the worries

Taking to bed your daily woes is a sure fire recipe for a sleepless night. Something I do on occasion if thoughts start to race around my head whilst I’m trying to sleep is to make notes on paper with the intention of dealing with the woes when I awaken.

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Primary insomnia is categorised mainly as a disturbance to your sleeping pattern and usually lasts for around a month and for the most part has no medical or physical reasoning behind it. Secondary insomnia however is an effect caused by another complaint that you may have such as maybe asthma which may well get worse during the course of the night.

Causes of insomnia fall into two categories: Internal or external

What I mean by internal is maybe a condition within the body such as sleep apnoea.

What I mean by external is maybe a noisy environment or personal and emotional problems.

The duration of these sleeping disorders will go some way to indicating how serious your insomnia really is.

Types of insomnia

Transient

Transient insomnia is where your sleeping patterns are disturbed usually only for a few nights generally caused by stress, excitement, long haul travel or problems at work.

Intermittent

Intermittent insomnia usually lasts a little long perhaps two to three weeks and can be caused by illness, big changes at work or money problems.

Chronic insomnia

Sometimes show no signs of passing off naturally and the causes are harder to find.

Before you set out to get help treating your insomnia understanding which type you have is a must.

A useful way to analyse which type of insomnia you have is to keep a sleep log, this could go some way to work out whether a theme or pattern of some kind has formed. Perhaps if a pattern can be identified around specific events like anxiety associated with achieving particular targets at work or late drinking with pals and restless nights, then you would have an identified starting point to work with to address your poor sleep.

Having said all that, whilst self help is a must, alone it may not be enough to getting you a good nights sleep. The reason for your insomnia may be that you have a condition called psychopysiological insomnia which is a type of insomnia linked to excessive worrying. People with this disorder may have become aware of it, after a particular event in their life gradually becoming aware of it developing over many years. People with this disorder are forever worrying about their insomnia to the point of even worrying about being tired the following day. This results in the sufferer becoming tense and anxious as the time for sleep approaches which is not conducive to a good nights sleep.

There are many kinds of sleep disorders like insomnia (trouble falling asleep, having hard time trying staying asleep, waking too early in the morning) and sleep apnea (loud snoring caused by an obstructed airway), and as you can guess, sleep disorders can cause sleep anxiety, which is the subject and the reason behind this article.

Sleep Anxiety is part of a group of illnesses that contain panic disorder, post-traumatic disorder, social anxiety disorder, general anxiety disorder and panic attacks. All these illnesses are medical conditions, which can be cured with the right treatment.

The Causes of Sleep Anxiety

As already mentioned, one of reasons behind sleep anxiety is sleep disorders, but there are a lot of other potential causes:
• Stress – According to the Better Sleep Council, sixty five percent of Americans are losing sleep because of stress. When you are stressed, your mind doesn’t stop thinking, and as result – you have problems when you are trying to fall asleep.

• Depression – Depression is a medical illness that is identified by consistent feelings of unhappiness or emptiness. These feelings cause a difficulty falling asleep and poor-quality sleep.

The symptoms of Sleep Anxiety

People who suffer from sleep anxiety often have symptoms like thumping heart, trembling, gasping for breath and so on. These symptoms occur at night, mostly in the late hours of the night. The result of the attack is that the person loses their sleep and can not go back to sleep.That situation makes them angry and even more stressed, and believe me – that’s not a nice feeling.

Sleep Anxiety Treatments

If your sleep anxiety is a direct result of stress, you can try regular exercises which can decrease stress, or by practicing yoga and meditation which can make you more relaxed. Exercises like swimming or aerobics can help your body and lead you into a more relaxed state. But you should do exercises like these at least few hours before you go to sleep, as you need to let your energy from the exercise go off, unless you want to be restless at the night.

Another solution to make you more relaxed can be listening to music. The best type of music for that is a Soft, calming music (like classic music) which can lower your blood pressure and help your body relax.
If you are having a serious sleeping anxiety disorder, speak to your doctor. He can recommend you to visit a sleeping disorder clinic, where you can get special treatments including sleep medicine, cognitive-behavior therapy and relaxation techniques. These treatments can be mixed with other more simple treatments, such as I mentioned earlier.

Always seek medical advice if the disorder persists.

As human beings we recognise the importance of a good night’s sleep.  We recognise the importance and we acknowledge how much better we feel after a good night’s sleep, yet often it is so elusive and hard to achieve and even appears to come bottom of the list for many people – almost an added bonus which is great if you can get it!  It is true to say that modern lifestyles seem to almost disregard nature’s way of replenishing and restoring the body which is sleep.

A good place to start when talking about sleep is to establish exactly WHAT is sleep.  We should not think of sleep as simply being the time when we are not awake.  Sleep is so much more complex than this and falling asleep is not like switching off a light just as wakefulness cannot be likened to   switching a light on!  There are variations within sleep and wakefulness.  Imagine how you feel during a typical day – do you really feel “wide awake” from the minute you get up to the time you go to bed?  Unlikely.  Chances are that you experience a whole range of feelings during the day, for example  you might reach your “peak”  mid-morning when you really do feel wide awake to feeling rather weary mid-afternoon and a whole host of other feelings in-between.

So just as you are not always wide awake when you are awake, neither are you always fast asleep when you are sleeping!  Sleep is part of your life – it is not a simple or passive state but a period when your body performs absolutely vital activities.  Sleep is not an inactive process so do not think of it as separate from the rest of your life but rather a part of our life which is not in the waking world.  What is more, it is a most intriguing, fascinating and mysterious part of our lives.

Sleep is active because it is when we are asleep that our body tissue is repaired; proteins are laid down during sleep and some hormones – such as the growth hormone in developing infants and children – are produced selectively during sleep.  These are just a couple of the physical processes taking place while we are asleep.  There are also very important mental and emotional processes which require sleep.  Some of the most noticeable effects of lack of sleep is inattention, disorientation and memory problems and for our emotional function you will notice irritability, feeling over anxious or excitable or sometimes feeling rather depressed after a period of little or poor sleep.

Enchanting sleep

The famous Israeli scientist, Dr Peretz Lavie wrote a semi-autobiographical book published in 1996 about his experiences in sleep research called “The Enchanted World of Sleep”.  This is a wonderful title which really describes the richness, diversity and preciousness of sleep which remains so mysterious.

Who wouldn’t  love to find out exactly what goes on in our lives within sleep?

By studying brain activity during sleep laboratory recordings, research studies show that sleep is a very complex yet very ordered process.  It is made up of different sub-types and stages which are organised in a series of cycles repeated throughout the night.

Measuring Sleep

Sleep is measured by taking three types of measurement, namely:

EEG standing for electro-encephalography whereby EEG signals are different when you are asleep to when you are awake.  EEG is also used to measure the different stages of sleep.

EMG standing for electromyography which measures muscle activity because muscle tone also differs when you are awake to when you are asleep and again at different stages of sleep.

EOG standing for electro-oculography which measures eye movements during sleep thereby identifying dreaming sleep as our eyeballs make characteristic movements telling us when someone is in this stage of sleep.

Habitual sleeplessness or insomnia  is a common disorder although sometimes it seems that an individual who claims to suffer from insomnia is actually getting more sleep than even they may realise!  I am sure that most of us at some time or another have uttered the words “I didn’t sleep a wink”  but there are clearly differences in the way people perceive sleep.

Obviously when we first go to bed our desire and drive for sleep is stronger than it will be later on and explains why sometimes we feel refreshed and awake after only a couple of hours sleep or after a short nap.  People who suffer from insomnia should definitely avoid taking a nap as this will potentially diminish your body’s drive for sleep when you go to bed at night.

Sleep patterns

It is interesting to think about your sleep patterns.  The longer you are awake, the more your body craves sleep so you could say that wakefulness increases the sleep drive and sleep reduces the body’s drive for sleep.  There is a very clever analogy put forward by Dr William C Dement of Stanford University, California which I like very much and goes something like this:  with each hour that we spend awake we accumulate an increasing “sleep debt”.  In healthy, good sleepers this debt is repaid in full by the night’s sleep  and they awaken refreshed and back “in balance” the next morning.  Some individuals through lifestyle choices or other reasons find themselves in a state of chronic “sleep debt”.

If you suffer from sleep anxiety, it means you worry about your insomnia. Actually, you may even be obsessed about it.  It becomes a vicious cycle because you worry about the amount of sleep you had last night, then you start to worry about how much sleep you are going to get tonight and so on. It does not stop there as then you start to worry about why you are feeling so tired and whether or not you will make it through the day. The worry gets worse as you begin to ponder on whether you will start to get fatigued or develop secondary health problems due to the lack of sleep and all this starts to build your anxiety even more which in turn causes sleeping problems: a total vicious cycle starts and gains momentum.

Sleep anxiety can be attributed to stress. When people get stressed, a naturally occurring chemical called serotonin is created. Serotonin is sometimes called the neurotransmitter and it plays a leading role in analysing data in the brain. Serotonin affects the melatonin levels and melatonin is a hormone of great importance as it encourages a good night’s sleep. If melatonin levels become compromised, for example due to stress and anxiety, the outcome could be problems with your natural sleeping cycle.

Furthermore once sleeping problems occur, further anxiety builds up creating an excess of adrenalin into the bloodstream which in turn has an adverse effect when it comes to calming down, relaxing and falling asleep. The increased adrenalin levels will keep you ever alert and disturb the natural sleep cycles. A regular pattern of anxiety-insomnia can quickly occur if not addressed early. The best way to address these problems are always to seek out medical assistance sooner rather than later. An assessment will need to be carried out to identify the causes of the anxiety, whether medical or psychological.

If the cause of the anxiety is medical then there could be many reasons for this such as brain injury, heart problems, sleep apnea or even low oxygen levels. It would be helpful to work out whether the anxiety occurs during stressful periods. Smaller life changes such as new routines at work, outside noise levels whilst trying to sleep and even room temperature can have an impact on sleeping patterns, stress levels and anxiety.

If adjustments have been made and the sleep disorder persists for periods in excess of 3 consecutive weeks then perhaps it’s time to seek medical help as there may be other elements involved such as depression. For many men and women getting a good night’s sleep is a real challenge. Suffering from an anxiety related sleep disorder can be debilitating and life changing.

By Wendy Owen

Sleep anxiety disorder can be devastating and debilitating for those who are plagued by this growing sleep disorder. Anxiety and insomnia tend to go hand in hand. A lot of anxiety is caused simply be being unable to sleep. Tossing and turning and looking at the clock further adds to the frustration. Knowing that you will not feel rested when you wake up, is plenty of fuel for sleep anxiety.

Lack of sleep or sleep deprivation can cause a person to lose their ability to focus, which can affect their daily routine. Working, driving, taking care of children and household chores can be hard to do when you’re sleep deprived, causing even more anxiety and thus insomnia. Understanding the details of insomnia will certainly help us to start to correct the problem which is spreading globally.

Recent studies indicate that our young people are suffering from anxiety and insomnia too. Research also shows that this is usually inherited from a parent.

Another interesting link found among young chronic insomnia victims, was the prevalence of depression. Whether we have sleep anxiety from the stress of not being able to sleep, or from other causes, anxiety insomnia can easily become the end result.

Some sleep research experts believe that more focus should be placed on sleeping, ranking it as one of three major factors for maintaining good health, the other two factors being diet and exercise. Some sleep disorders can occur due to poor bedtime habits that may gradually lead to sleep anxiety and insomnia. Generally speaking, many sleep experts state that an individual requires six to eight hours of sleep per night. However, determining the optimal amount of time for sleep is not always easy to do.

There can be many causes for poor sleep or insomnia, including certain drugs, especially those in the antidepressant category. As stated earlier, stress and depression can also contribute to lack of sleep. In fact, doctors believe that emotional disorders of stress, anxiety and depression account for more than half of all insomnia cases. Other sleep disorders and other health issues have been determined to cause sleep problems, such as sleep apnea, allergies and asthma.

There are also the obvious roadblocks to getting a good night’s sleep, such as too much caffeine or sugar, as well as the inability to relax before retiring for the night. Addressing these issues can help calm both sleep anxiety and insomnia for the occasional sufferer.

Do you worry about not being able to sleep? Do you go to bed filled with dread over the long night ahead? Then you’re suffering with sleep anxiety disorder and I can help with that. Wendy Owen (Dip. Holistic Health Therapy) is a sleep researcher and writer with an extensive knowledge in herbal and homeopathic remedies.

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By Kenneth Douglas

Sleep is a beautiful thing. However, if you suffer from panic attacks it can be hard sometimes to fall asleep. In this article I will give you some tips on how to deal with it and get a better, longer and faster sleep.

During The Day

It’s a myth that you should watch your caffeine intake if you’re only drinking cola or coffee. If you’re also drinking energy drink you should be cautious. Do not drink more than one can. The best time to drink caffeine is between one o clock and 5 o clock. Drinking too much caffeine in a too short time span is not very good also.

4 Hours before Sleeping.

Try to take a shower around 4 hours before you are going to sleep. This helps to reduce stress and makes you more relax. Remember, anxiety is really nothing more than stress. Because, you are giving panic attacks attention, they grow. Too much stressful activities should be avoided in this period. You could try not to use the computer after 9 o clock and caffeine containing drinks should be avoided.

When you are in bed

Concentrate on your breathing, keep your eyes closed. The main thing is to keep you muscles relaxed. If you can’t accomplish this you should not lay in bed to long. Get up, drink warm milk and read your favorite magazine. The number one reason why people fail to sleep and why people are getting panic attacks is because they are not relaxed.

You are getting panic attacks and irregular sleep because you can’t empty your mind. If you can do that, life will be so much easier.

If you want to stop your panic attacks, you should read this free ebook. Instead of focusing on panic attacks, it focuses on stopping you to give attention to it. It helps to become more secure about yourself and the free ebook will help to strengthen your mind.

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By Carl Jarnell

Here, I would like to introduce the reader to sleep meditation, and how it can help reduce sleep anxiety and increase the quality of sleep for those that practice it.

Millions of people suffer from lack of sleep. Many of them don’t even know it! They go about their day more irritable than they should be. They get angry more quickly than they should do. You’ve been in front of them when they’ve honked their horn at you for not moving fast enough. We’ve all encountered people who have been sleep deprived and have probably been sleep deprived yourself. Maybe you still are…

So many of us take our restful 8 hours for granted. Do you really get 8 hours? How long does it take you to get to sleep? Many people lay awake for quite a while before entering sleep. And I mean proper sleep. Not just rest. A person’s brain emits different brainwave patterns when they are asleep, so you can’t just say “I go to bed at 11, get up at 7, so I’ve had my 8 hours sleep”. Just resting doesn’t count. We need sleep. We die if we don’t get it. Seriously.

So the question is: what can we do to prepare ourselves for proper restful sleep? How do we calm the mind in preparation for entering the “re-charge” part of our day?

Meditation has helped people relax for centuries. It’s benefits are many and far reaching. Meditation as a way to achieve a better night’s sleep, or sleep meditation is a way to clear the mind of the flotsam and jetsam of our busy days.

There are many types of sleep meditation. Some methods have not changed for centuries and some have been the result of years of scientific research and analysis. Which one is right for you? The most basic form is to just sit quietly and reduce the number of thoughts that run through your mind. In this method the practitioner will focus on one particular aspect of their body. Most commonly the breath.

Another form is to focus on something external. This method can be good for beginners as it feels like you are doing something. It’s hard for a mind that is so used to continuous thought to grasp the concept of doing “nothing”, so listening to calming music, being guided by a soothing voice, or both can really help. A further technique is the use of binaural sounds as a form of guided meditation. In this technique the practitioner used a selection of sounds to achieve an intense state of relaxation. This method is also great for the beginner. Yet another form can be using a chant or mantra to help focus the mind. This method is often used in Buddhist meditation and is also found in the western world as chants such as those used by Gregorian monks.

There are many more variations, and the details are beyond the scope of this article. The main theme is to achieve a peaceful and relaxed state that can combat the stresses and anxieties that gather in anyone’s life. Sleep meditation is a natural way to achieve a good night’s sleep.

Carl Jarnell is an Internet Marketer, Life Coach, and Consultant with a passion for self improvement, Eastern philosophies, and his family.

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By Mike W Price

Anxiety and Sleep anxiety can cause major problems in your life. Between affecting how much you sleep, and having that affect your daily life can be a real hassle. It limits the things you can do, and it makes everything more difficult for you as a person trying to live a regular life. Getting some relief from your sleep anxiety is helpful and beneficial to you, and it can help you get the swing back in your life. Don’t struggle with anxiety anymore, and let it all go. This can free up your life, and give you tons more things that you can do in life.

MUSIC

There are several tips that you can look into to for sleeping anxiety relief. One of the most popular and helpful methods is music. There are lots of music tracks and songs that are designed especially for sleep relief, developed by doctors and psychiatrists. It’s one of the most proven ways to relieve anxiety.

MEDICATION

Secondly, medication has helped many people overcome their sleep anxiety. Although medication is not the first choice to some people, and others refuse it, it has been beneficial. It helps a lot of people get to see and stay asleep, and help them wake up more excited and rejuvenated.

RELAXATION

Other kinds of tips to ease your anxiety is relaxation techniques. One of them is to slowly tighten every muscle in your body, until your whole body is rock stiff like a board. Count to 20, and then just relax. Doing this a couple of times will ease your mind and totally relax and exhaust your body. Other relaxation tips are available.

TRUST

Another tip is learning how to trust yourself, sometimes the greatest leaps in overcoming anxiety is when you improve your mental strength. You begin to trust yourself and your actions, and you get in touch with a real and worry free side of yourself. It has been one of the most beneficial methods in many cases.

WORK HARD

Finally, a big help for sleep anxiety is, as easy as it sounds, to work hard during they day. If you work hard and stay busy throughout the day, you won’t find yourself worrying. You are more tired by the end of the day, and you fall asleep faster.

A Complimentary Report has been put together to help you combat Anxiety. To download it visit [http://www.easingyouranxiety.com]

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