Andrew Jones’ Blog

The Insomnia sleep disorder is an inability to sleep, or to sleep for long enough to get a proper night’s rest. It can have the effect of making you feel constantly tired. Lack of sleep can lead to poor concentration and coordination as well as irritability.

Secondary Insomnia has an underlying medical cause whereas Primary Insomnia does not. Secondary insomnia can be caused by any condition causing pain or discomfort, or directly causing anxiety or other mental disturbance, or specific conditions such as Sleep Apnea or Seasonal Affective Disorder. If you suspect an underlying medical or mental condition you should seek medical advice as soon as possible.

Duration of a period of insomnia can vary from transient (a few nights) to short term (up to 3 weeks) to chronic, long term insomnia (over 3 weeks)

After failing to sleep for a few nights, you may become anxious and worry that you won’t sleep again, which can prevent the onset of natural sleep – this is termed Fear Insomnia.

Normal foods or behaviors can act as obstacles to sleep: Caffeine and other chemical stimulants. Stress and anxiety from work, watching exciting TV programs, reading real exiting novels in bed can all hinder sleep. You should look at removing any obstacles to sleep.

There are three main areas where you can encourage sleep: Sleep Environment, Sleep Discipline and Sleep Conditioning.

You cannot force sleep and two things which often cause problems are worry that you won’t get to sleep, or won’t get enough sleep and your mind being too active. Hot drinks, warm baths and other relaxation techniques can help.

That’s it in short!

Cheers,

Andy