INSOMNIA

By OLIVENE GODFREY

Since I suffer from chronic insomnia I'm always interested
in learning more about it. The sleep experts say that insomnia
is considered chronic if it occurs on most nights and last a month or more. They say that insomnia isn't defined by the number of hours of sleep a person gets or how long it takes to fall asleep. Even if a person's sleep is short or disturbed there is no problem unless daytime fatigue occurs and a person can't function normally.

I decided this week to research the subject and I found data
going back to 1977 in my files. Then, son Barry, researched
the subject on the web and the new info was about the same
as the old stuff I had in my files which surprised me.

One difference was that the 1977 article related that
chronic insomnia affected about 30 million Americans, according to a study by Stanford University Center for Educational
Research. Then, according to the U.S. Dept of Health and
Human Services about 60 million Americans now suffer from
insomnia. They added that insomnia tends to increase
with age and affects about 40 percent of women and 30 percent of men. A number of seniors that I know suffer from chronic
insomnia.

Insomnia is classified as transient (short term),
intermittent (on and off) and chronic. Almost everyone
has experienced insomnia when they are under stress, or from extreme temperatures or jet lag or medication side effects.
Other causes listed in the Internet literature are drinking excessive amounts of coffee or alcohol, smoking too many cigarettes and excessive afternoon napping. Such persons need to talk to their doctors to be certain they don't have
a primary sleep disorder such as sleep Apnea or Narcolepsy.

Now, we come tot he treatment of insomnia. The long term
use of sleeping pills for chronic insomnia is controversial. I think it is a decision that a patient and his or her doctor need to make. Also, trying behavioral techniques to improve sleep, such as relaxation therapy, sleep restructive
therapy or reconditioning can be helpful, according to the experts.

A few years ago, I started having a quiet time for myself about an hour before my bedtime. The relaxation has helped me to fall asleep quickly most nights. I try to clear my mind of worry thoughts and think of pleasant things that won't stimulate my mind. After that, if I am not interrupted, I can fall asleep.
But, alas, I wake up in the early hours of the morning and am rarely able to go back to sleep. Often, an overactive mind and physical pain may be the cause of such a pattern, the
experts say, and I agree.

I've concluded that insomnia may just be a part of advanced age and am grateful for the good night when I sleep about six hours.

See you next time.