There will be times when our sleep cycle will be disrupted or experience small changes, every now and then. But what about when we’re not able to “rest in peace” or sleep a normal sleep cycle and healthy sleep regiment for long periods of time? Insomnia is described simply as the inability to sleep through the night, constantly awaking throughout a sleep cycle or awaking too early, not getting enough sleep and feeling tired upon waking. During an illness, insomnia is not all too uncommon. Absent of an illness or medically related condition, insomnia can wreak havoc on a person’s life.
Types of Insomnia
There are two types of Insomnia: Primary and Secondary.
Primary Insomnia relates to experiencing a sleep disorder not related to other medical conditions or illnesses.
Secondary Insomnia is typically related to an illness, medical condition, injury or a possible reaction to medicine consumed. Things like depression, arthritis, indigestion, cancer, etc., are examples of medical conditions that may easily disrupt our sleep cycle.
Acute or Chronic Insomnia
The length of time and when Insomnia occurs in a person’s life is key to understanding whether or not it is a sign to a greater problem and how to correct it’s linger effects.
*Acute Insomnia will usually last for a limited amount of time, may be the result of stress (job, finances, emotional) and will likely resolve itself once the stress is over (typically over within a few days or weeks).
*Chronic Insomnia will linger much longer (several nights a week continuing for months) and is likely to interrupt a person’s life, health and livelihood.
Depression, anxiety, life changes (divorce, job loss, overwhelming responsibilities, etc.) can each contribute to Chronic Insomnia and if left untreated, can invite illness into our lives.
The "factory" within
So why is it so important to stop Insomnia before it stops you? Our bodies are like a factory that must shut down every night so that the engine (mind, body and spirit) can be renewed and restored.
If you’ve ever worked in a factory, then you’ve noticed how parts of the factory will shut down for routine maintenance at a certain time, usually at night when activity or production is reduced or has halted. During that time the machinery not only gets a rest, it receives a routine maintenance check so that it can start working efficiently the next day. When anything runs without rest it eventually wears down more quickly, doesn’t it?
Our bodies are the same way: Without adequate rest (7-8.5 hours at night), our bodies will not be adequately prepared to go to work the next day. If we work the night shift it’s harder for our bodies to “shift” into healthy sleep patterns.
Side effects and symptoms of Insomnia can include:
*Yawning
*Poor performance
*Irritability
*Inability to concentrate and perform simple common tasks
*Illness, injury/accidents occurring during routine performances (tripping, falling down, misjudging distances)
Insomnia is a sleep disorder and can very likely be linked to other hereditary conditions/disorders. Insomnia often appears to be very common genetically but shouldn’t be accepted as just a genetic pre-disposition. More than likely, it’s related to stress in your life which can also be the pre-cursor to illness and disease.
Treatment for Insomnia can range from sleep aids, to dietary and lifestyle changes. If you’re constantly going to bed late (after 11pm), handling too many responsibilities (leadership roles, multiple jobs, single parenting, care-giver to others) or simply stretching yourself thin (overspending, over committing) then you need to start changing your lifestyle and commitments before they start robbing you of your wellness. Sleep disorders are treatable but often the result of our lives being out of order and overwhelmed by external circumstances (not always but more often than not).
If you have found yourself off-course, unable to sleep, and starting to feel the side effects disrupting your life here are a few things you can do immediately to help your body help you:
*Stop eating or drinking ANYTHING 3 hours before bedtime (8pm at the latest)
*Stop watching television and/or being on the computer/cell phone 1 hour before bedtime
*Meditate and pray right before you fall asleep (calming your mind and releasing your thoughts can make a huge difference on how you fall asleep)
*Sleep should occur in a dark, slightly cool (70 degree) room in a comfortable, clean bed and pillow
*Clean the room where you will be sleeping (what we see before we go to sleep has an effect on how we feel as we go to sleep)
*Prioritize sleep! If you have trouble going and staying asleep (Chronic Insomnia), start taking inventory of your life!
If it’s related to a medical condition, ask your doctor for help. If it’s related to an emotional condition, seek counseling, therapy or guidance to find the internal peace you need. Regardless of what internal factors may be causing your Insomnia, your external environment feeds your internal condition.
Make sure that your life is in order and balanced as much as possible and within the realm of what you can control (you can’t control other people but you can control how you allow them to impact and influence your life).
Create a clean slate – Clean up, clear out and shut down your mind
For example: If your room is messy, cluttered and trash is lying everywhere, then your mind will feel overwhelmed as it attempts to rest and when it awakens the next day. Just the visual reminder that your life is out of control adds stress to your emotional wellbeing.
Turning down the “volume” in our lives through external forces (computers and cell phones) at least an hour before we rest helps to begin the releasing process. When our minds are constantly active, they are hard to shut down. Taking control over our mind first helps to take control over our bodies. Cleaning the "slate" internally helps our body function more thoroughly.
Shut down slowly – Watch how you unwind before you rewind your internal clock.
Anything that comes to an abrupt “halt” will usually leave tracks, doesn’t it? If I am constantly slamming on the breaks in my life then I will have a hard time “winding” down when it comes time to stopping at night. Either that or I’ll simply crash and burn each time I come to a stop.
Manage stress with an open mind - Learn to take control over what you can and manage your life from that perspective. If external forces are driving you crazy, discipline your mind to separate your thoughts from what you can and cannot control.
The key to understanding the difference between the two is simply this: If I can control it, then I can change it. If I can’t change it, I can’t control it. If you find yourself experiencing the latter of the two, then learn to release it to God and ask for His help. You’ll be amazed at how much better you will feel once you realize what you can and cannot control. The onus transfers from your shoulders to His shoulders, instantly.
Quick Tips for Wellness: Rest In Peace is a term meant for the living.
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