Sleep disorders: refers to abnormalities in the quantity of sleep and abnormalities in the quality of sleep or the occurrence of certain clinical symptoms during sleep, such as reduced sleep or excessive sleep, and dreamwalking disorder. The most common clinical condition is insomnia.
Several types of insomnia.
1. Transient insomnia (less than one week)
Most people experience transient insomnia disorder when they experience stress, stimulation, excitement, anxiety; when they are ill; when they go to high altitude; or when their sleep patterns change (e.g. jet lag; shift work, etc.). This type of insomnia usually improves with the disappearance of the event or the lengthening of time, but some transient insomnia can lead to chronic insomnia if not treated properly.
The main treatment principle for transient insomnia is the intermittent use of low-dose sedative sleeping pills or other sleep-aiding drugs such as antidepressants and good sleep hygiene practices.
2.Short-term insomnia (one week to one month)
Severe or persistent stress, such as major physical illness or surgery, the death of a close friend or family member, serious family, work or relationship problems, etc. may cause short-term insomnia. There is a clear correlation between this insomnia and stress.
Treatment is based on the short-term use of low doses of sedative sleeping pills or other sleep-aiding drugs such as antidepressants and behavioral therapy (e.g., muscle relaxation). Short-term insomnia can also lead to chronic insomnia if not treated properly.
3.Chronic insomnia (more than one month)
The causes of chronic insomnia are complex and difficult to discover, and many chronic insomnia is the result of a combination of causes. The possible causes of chronic insomnia are as follows.
(1) Physical diseases can lead to insomnia; (according to research, many chronic diseases are related to insomnia)
(2) Insomnia caused by mental illness or emotional disorders.
(3) Insomnia caused by drugs, alcohol, stimulants, or drugs.
(4) Insomnia caused by disorders or irregularities in the sleep-wake cycle.
(5) Insomnia caused by an uncomfortable sensation in the calf before sleep or involuntary foot twitching during sleep.
(6), insomnia caused by snoring, irregular breathing or other breathing disorders in sleep.
(7) Primary insomnia. (Excluding the above secondary insomnia causes)
Insomnia can be seen in the following cases.
1, insomnia due to mental factors: mental tension, anxiety, fear, excitement, etc. can cause transient insomnia, mainly for the difficulty in falling asleep and easy to wake up, insomnia can be improved after the lifting of mental factors. Patients with neurasthenia often complain of difficulty in falling asleep, not sleeping deeply and dreaming a lot, but the EEG records show that the time of sleep is not reduced, but the time and number of awakenings are increased, and these patients often have symptoms such as headache, dizziness, forgetfulness, fatigue and agitation. Depression insomnia mostly shows early awakening or poor sleep, and the EEG tracing shows that the waking time is significantly prolonged. Mania shows difficulty in falling asleep or even sleeplessness throughout the night. Schizophrenia can be affected by delusions and can show difficulty in falling asleep and not sleeping deeply.
2, somatic factors caused by insomnia: various somatic diseases caused by pain, itching, nasal congestion, breathing difficulties, shortness of breath, cough, frequent urination, nausea, vomiting, bloating, diarrhea, palpitations, etc. can cause difficulty in falling asleep and sleep.
3, physiological factors: due to the change of living and working environment and the first time to a foreign country, unaccustomed to the environment, drinking strong tea and coffee can cause insomnia, insomnia can be improved after short-term adaptation.
4, insomnia caused by drug factors: lisinopril, amphetamine, thyroxine, caffeine, aminophylline, etc. can cause insomnia, insomnia can disappear after stopping the drug.
5, diffuse lesions of the brain: chronic poisoning, endocrine diseases, nutritional metabolic disorders, cerebral arteriosclerosis and other factors caused by diffuse lesions of the brain, insomnia is often an early symptom, showing reduced sleep time, intermittent easy to wake up, deep sleep period disappears, and when the condition worsens, drowsiness and impaired consciousness can appear.