Insomnia can be a debilitating condition that takes a severe toll on one’s health over time. For this reason, attempting to curb this issue is paramount to ensuring a patient’s long-term health. Given this, it is important to recognize the lifestyle choices that one might be making that can contribute to the development of insomnia over time. Learning to identify what may be leading to your insomnia can give you more power to treat it.
If you have insomnia, this overview of the lifestyle choices that contribute to insomnia may help you decide whether you need insomnia treatment in New York.
Insomnia in a Nutshell
Many people have had some experience with insomnia—difficulty or an inability to fall asleep, and as such, insomnia takes many different forms. As the condition persists, it can wreak havoc on an individual’s mental and physical health.
A normal adult needs about 7 to 9 hours of healthy sleep a night. Many individuals will suffer from insomnia at some point in their lives; however, the larger problems occur when someone experiences insomnia chronically. If left untreated for some time, the health consequences of insomnia can be quite severe.
The Symptoms of Insomnia
There are many diverse symptoms of insomnia. However, many cases include the following symptoms:
- Waking up frequently in the night
- Experiencing difficulty falling asleep at night
- Waking up at odd hours
- Feeling tired during the day
- Experiencing heightened levels of anxiety or depression
- Making numerous errors throughout the day
You should attempt to receive treatment for your insomnia if you notice that it’s beginning to interfere with your daily activities and ability to function normally. If you do seek out clinical help, your physician will try to identify the exact source of your insomnia.
What Contributes to Insomnia?
Insomnia is a fairly common problem, and it’s estimated that it affects as many as about 35-40% of all adults. Some of the sources of insomnia that have been identified include the following:
- Irregular sleep schedule
- Mental health disorders
- Physical illnesses and pain
- Irregular sleep schedule
- Physical illnesses and pain
- Medications
- Stress
- Travel and work schedules
- Eating habits
- Certain medications
- Usage of caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol
Treatments for Insomnia
There are many different kinds of treatment for insomnia. Which one would work for your particular situation will have much to do with the specifics of your case. In more intense cases, your doctor may end up prescribing sleep medications to improve your situation. However, other types of treatments could be beneficial prior to trying medication.
- Adjusting your sleep patterns
- Changing your daily habits and activities
- Making changes in your health
- Engaging in more exercise
You can do a great deal to prevent the development of insomnia in yourself by engaging in some basic lifestyle changes.
Preventing Insomnia
There are quite a few habits that one can engage in to curb the likelihood that you will develop insomnia. Some of the more effective ones include the following habits:
- Staying active with regular exercise
- Try to avoid engaging in naps
- Do not use caffeine, alcohol, or nicotine
- Don’t eat large meals or drink excessive fluids before you go to bed
- Adjust the lighting and setting of your bedroom so that it is comfortable
- Engage in relaxing activities prior to going to bed
None of these activities are a guarantee for fixing an individual’s problems with insomnia. However, they do have the potential to offer some relief for individuals who are chronically suffering from this issue.
Discussing With Your Doctor
You can meet with a sleep professional to discuss what treatment plans are available to you to improve your situation. During this time, you can discuss with your physician in-depth the exact specifics of your experience with insomnia and how it impacts your life.
Going into detail can give your physician a stronger sense of how to treat your insomnia. This represents the best time for you to engage with a medical professional to increase the success of whatever treatment is prescribed by your physician.
New York’s Best Choice for Sleep Aid
Sleep MD NYC is one of the best sleep clinics in New York for developing effective therapies for insomnia. If you are interested in discussing your condition with a professional who knows how to help, contact our office today to set up a consultation and see why we’re known as New York’s sleep specialists.
