Sleep and
sleeplessness
The
wonder of sleep is often praised, after losing it. Sleep is a treasure to human
beings, which cannot be achieved all the time, when needed by all. If you wish
to sleep, the harder you try and concentrate on going to sleep the more
horrible it will be and impossible it becomes. It is just like walking towards
the rising sun, which will go up, as you walk towards it and finally it settles
on your back and vanishes.
Homeopathy
gives much importance
to general
symptoms of the body i.e. symptoms that affect a person as a whole. For example
thirst, appetite, sweat, urine, stool, sleep, menses, etc. Since sleep is one
among the general symptoms that affect a person in mind and body as a whole,
Homeopathy gives much importance to it.
Before discussing sleeplessness, everyone should know what sleep is? Why do we
sleep? What are its advantages? What is the minimum requirement of sleep?…&
so on.
What is sleep? The rest taken by the human brain is called sleep. Nature
switches on the automatic mode for body functions and provides rest and
refreshment for the brain, for doing better work on the next day. The brain’s
learning, retrieval and communicating skills get refreshed during this period.
Sleep is essential for all and it plays a major role in normal body functions
and in development and maintenance of health. To have good health, everyone
should eat well, work well and sleep well.
Nature has programmed everything with its own biological clock. It implies that
man must work or be active in the daytime and take rest at night. But in this
tensed, hurried and greedy world, man overworks day and night with overwork or
overtime, disturbing or discarding sleep. Deprivation of sleep results in many
psychological and physical complaints. With sleep-deprived money, people buy
costly waterbeds or some other costly beds and decorate bedrooms to make a
pleasant atmosphere for getting good sleep. But the fact is, even in a queen’s
bed, thorns (hands) of the biological clock would make anybody feel uneasy,
restless and sleepless. i.e. you can buy a bed, but cannot buy sleep.
Everyone would like to sleep for a long time peacefully, without any
disturbance of light, sound or emotion. It is for a relaxed old age that people
work overtime during the younger days. Overtime work makes one work hard by
avoiding sleep but finally makes him to spend much of the money earned, to get
peace and sleep. Overtime workers voluntarily lose sleep and later run behind
it.
The general benefits of sleep are:
- It relaxes the mind
after a hurried, tense day time
- It relieves
tiredness accompanied by relaxed muscles
- It slows and
steadies the pulse and blood pressure
- It is more
refreshing than anything else
- It is really good
for physical health and the mind
- It is the best
medicine either for physical or psychological complaints
- All harbored
thoughts get released during sleep
- Sleep gives peace
Occurrence
Length and depth of the sleep is an age
related phenomena i.e. it varies from childhood to old age. All through life,
its rhythm and frequency changes constantly. In the first year of the child,
the sleeping period rapidly decreases from 20 hours to 16 hours and after that
till the adolescent period, it gets slowly decreased from 16 to 8 hours. Then
it gets slowly increased for some period followed or alternated by long waking
periods.
In old
people, it decreases slowly to frequent naps followed by long waking periods
i.e. the classical sleep of the aged. Sometimes the increased sleeping mode in
the aged continues and people sleep continuously like a child. The occurrence
and time of sleep varies. The minimum requirement of sleep also varies,
depending on the age. For an adult it is 6-8 hours. In general
- Children sleep more
- Women sleep more
than men
Occasions
where sleep is more
- Tiredness
- Alcoholism
- Vitamin deficiency
- Febrile period
- Neurological
complaints
- Excessive sexual
indulgence
- Sleeping sickness
(African trypanosomiaisis – spreads through tsetse flies)
Factors which
favour sleep
- Night time
- Light music
- Cool climate
- Hot bath
- Warm milk
- Heavy meal
- Reading
Sedative
drugs
How
it occurs
Usually a
person slips into sleep when he/she is exhausted physically or mentally. As
soon as he/she feels sleepy, he/she yawns, voluntary tightening and relaxing
the muscles by holding a deep breath. The eyelids feel heavy and droop. These
are all responses to the signal of the brain to the body to get ready for
sleep. If there is no disturbance, execution of sleep takes place smoothly under
the favorable situation. It needs nothing more than shutting the eye window and
mind door. Now the brain can take rest comfortably. This process of execution
is done with stimulus from the sleep center in the brain.
Sleep center
The hypothalamic region in the basal part of
the brain, called Reticular Activating System (which consists of upper medulla,
pons and mid brain), is the centre of sleep. It is the recipient of highest
blood supply in the brain. It regulates the autonomic functions of the body
i.e. regulates the body temperature, food intake, thirst, sleep, emotions,
gastric acid regulation and sexual behaviour. Sleep is induced or controlled by
serotonin, a hormone produced by the Raphe nuclei of this system which regulates
the human biological clock. Serotonin secretion is more in the case of a child
and gradually decreases as age advances. Hence, due to lack of serotonin, old
people suffer from sleeplessness.
When the time of the biological clock is altered, it creates a jet lag
situation. This situation often occurs in persons who travel for a long time
abroad where there is difference in time. This situation leads to more
tiredness, even after long sleep, instead of the person feeling refreshed. This
type of unsatisfied sleeps leads to insomnia (sleeplessness). It can also occur
due to emotions, depression, deep thoughts, stress, painful disease conditions,
and hormonal changes.
Symptoms
During start up
- Fatigue , tiredness
& drowsiness
- Deep breaths
- Drooping eyelids
- Yawning (contracts
and relaxes the muscles or respiration and abdomen)
- Lack of
concentration and learning process is diminished
During
sleep
- It provides rest or
slow relaxed process for all parts of the body
- Slow contraction and
relaxation of the muscles
- Slow pulse rate,
heart rate and respiratory rate
- Dreams are like live
show; everyone can note the smile of children during sleep
- Bedwetting in deep
sleep
For good
sleep Do’s
- Do regular exercises
or meditation
- Take light diet
- Take warm milk
before bedtime
- Go to bed in a
relaxed mood
- Wear loose garments
- Keep the light dim
- If your work is
sedentary, go for a walk in the evening
- Keep away all your
work from the bed or bedroom
- Sleep regularly at a
particular time and wake up at a particular time
- Keep the room cool
and well aerated
Have soft bed
spreads, pillows and bed covers
Avoid
- Sleeping in the day
time or evening
- Eating heavy meal
before bedtime
- Loud music
- Emotional or
thrilling serials or movies
- Change of place
- Coffee and tea
- External stimuli –
smoking, alcohol, lights & loud music
- Fear of any kind or
irritability
Types
of sleep
Sleep
has been under continuous research for centuries. There are two types of sleep
patterns depending on EEG changes. They occur usually in an alternate manner.
1) Slow wave sleep – It is the initial period of sleep where
there is slow & steady breathing without any eye movement. It is followed
by short REM sleep which is again followed by slow wave sleep. During this type
of sleep, muscles are relaxed. Disorders of this slow wave sleep are automatic
or like sleep talking and sleepwalking. It cannot be recalled or recollected by
the sleeper. Self-talking and sleepwalking is common in children and rare in
adults. Likewise, after getting alternated with REM sleep on the second or
third occasion, in the slow wave sleep – dreaming about terrors, screaming and
violent behaviour can occur. The reasons for talking, walking and dreaming is
less understood and unexplainable. The length of slow wave sleep is more in
aged people.
2) REM (Rapid eye movement) – Active or Paradoxical sleep –
This type of sleep usually follows after an hour of slow wave sleep. Then for
every 1 to 1½ hours, it recurs alternating with slow wave sleep. These cycles
repeat several times throughout the night. The period of rapid eye movements
prolongs one after another and leads to waking up. During this period, the
brain activity will be fast and irregular, and is accompanied by REM. When the
brain gets activated by this sleep, we dream and recollect undone work or deep
emotions. Twitching or jerking movements can occur during this stage. Usually,
in the case of males, this period of sleep is accompanied by penile erections.
Even though REM looks like shallow sleep due to dreams, the arousal threshold
is higher, during this pattern. REM is vital in providing ultimate needs to our
mental health and refreshment. Lack of REM will lead to tiredness and
irritability. Drug induced sleep is mostly deprived of this type of REM sleep.
So it always leads to tiredness, hallucinations, behavioral changes and impaired
memory. The length of REM sleep is more in children. The newborn or children
smile with peaceful dreams during this sleep. Disorders of REM are nightmares,
sleep paralysis and hallucinations – it mostly occurs in the early stage of
sleep or while getting up. The dreams of REM can be recollected after waking
up.
Investigations
of sleep
Sleep laboratories investigate about body position, brain activity,
trace for sleep apnoea, snoring, pulse rate, heart rate, respiratory movement
of chest and abdomen, from the period of lying for sleep to waking up from
sleep.
EEG is a graphical representation of the electrical activity of the
brain, by means of waves, namely alpha, beta, delta, theta, lambda, MU, etc. In
case of triggers or epilepsy, spike wave pattern occurs in EEG. The sleep
bundles usually occur in EEG, during slow wave deep sleep.
Researchers conclude that sleep is the ultimate biological requirement and
quote it as unpredictable and unexplainable. Its inadequacy leads to physical
and psychological complaints. They further say it can also cause premature
ageing.
Then, what is sleeplessness or insomnia?
Sleeplessness
– insomnia
Silence is a
great treasure. Silent sleep is more than that. Sleeplessness (owl’s night) is
a condition where people used to keep awake at night due to difficulty in
sleeping. It is called insomnia in medical terminology. t is the condition
where sleep is unable to be performed perfectly and peacefully for an expected
proper time in a continuous manner. Generally, sleeplessness varies from
reduction in sleep time to complete sleeplessness. Mostly, it is accompanied
with tiredness, sleepiness and restlessness in the mornings with lack of
satisfaction of having slept well.
Initially, these persons find difficulty in falling asleep, followed by
restless and difficult sleep and also in continuing or maintaining the sleeping
for the required time. Even a single sleepless night, amidst sleepers, will
have an impact on the person in the sense the person will feel bad about it.
Sleeplessness indicates…
- You are in trouble,
either with your mind or body
- You are hiding
secrets
- You are
overconscious
- You are a silent
sufferer
Incidence
Sleeplessness
is more common in old people. Its beginnings are mostly seen after retirement
or emotional stress. The most common sufferers are the unemployed, divorcee or
widow or a hospitalized person. Usually, women sleep more than men. In the same
manner, they are the leaders in suffering from sleeplessness also.
Causes
As a general
rule, there is no smoke without fire. Likewise, without any causative factor or
precursor, there won’t be sleeplessness. Sleep can be disturbed for everyone
due to urination or thirst. But insomniac patients will have any one of the
following triggers that drowns them in a sleepless state.
- Habits of overwork
or extended sleeping schedule
- Over excitement or
anxiety or depression
- Thoughtful and
restless
- Nightmares
- Drugs and smoking
- Excess coffee or tea
intake
- Painful and chronic
diseases
- Fear of strangers
- Fear of sex, due to
failures
- Fear or change of
environments due to strange places, loneliness, hospital stay, etc.
- Fear of any other
cause
Diseases
which often cause sleeplessness
- Nervous disorders –
Any nervous stimulation of reticular system will disturb the person and
keep him/her awake. Any lesion of mid pontine area which separates lower
portions from cortex will prevent going to sleep, causing complete
sleeplessness.
- Respiratory
disorders – Any breathing difficulty can cause arousal from sleep
- Circulatory
disorders – lack of oxygen, due to poor circulation
Symptoms of sleeplessness
- Sufferer feels –
time passes very slowly and finds it difficult to face nights
- Restlessness
- Frequent urination
- Thoughtfulness
Effects
of sleeplessness
In
children, sleeplessness can cause
- Dullness
- Lack of
concentration
Behavioural
changes
In adults
- Restlessness
- Psychological
impairment
- Accidents in case of
restless, waking drivers
- Violent behaviour
- Suicidal tendency
- Leads to rewinding
the thoughts of the day and finding fault with what has happened and
brooding
- Losing health and
wealth by spending a lot on medicines and hospitals, sometimes, loss in
business too, due to lack of concentration
The
complaints that can occur on sudden waking
- Palpitations
- Headache
- Giddiness
- Tiredness
Disturbances
in maintaining or getting deep sleep may be due to
In children
- Habit of grinding
teeth and rolling in bed
- Deliriousness –
sleep talking
- Somnambulism- sleep
walking
- Nose block due to
adenoids or polyps
- Heavily enlarged
tonsils obstructing the airway
- Coughing and
wheezing at night or lying posture
- Hyperactivity –
being restless, they cannot maintain a position to get sleep
- Nightmares
- Aching muscles and
aching bones· Frequent urination due to urinary tract infection or
bedwetting
In
adults or the aged
- Frequent urination
due to diabetes or urinary tract infection
- Snoring or
respiratory disorders causing sleep apnoea
- Hunger pain or acid pain
of peptic ulcer
- Headache
- Hypertension
- Wheezing
- Painful joints or
muscles (cramps)
- Abdomen or digestive
disorders
- Prostate enlargement
and Priapism (persistent painful erection condition of penis)
- Cholesterol stones
of gall bladder which float and obstruct the bile duct in lying posture
To
get immersed in good sleep and making sleeping easy
Do’s
- Better take a walk
before sleep
- Relieve tension,
anxiety, fear and expect tomorrow’s dawn of brightness
- Take a warm bath
- Read mind relaxing
books for sometime before sleep
- Take a light meal,
if there is any digestive or abdominal disturbances
- Get treated for
diseases, if any – nose block, snoring, sleep apnoea, sinuses, diabetes,
urinary tract infection, psychological complaints
- Stay in comfortable
position and situation to get a good start-up.
Avoid
using
- Habit forming
sleeping pills
- Stimulants
Sleep
promoters
Natural – fruits, nuts, milk & heavy foods usually act as sleep
promoters
Artificial – alcohol and drugs (tranquilizer – which calms a person’s brain
without clouding consciousness, i.e. diazepam group of drugs)
Diagnosis
Being
mostly psychological, diagnosing sleeplessness is very much difficult, unless
patient reveals everything to the doctor. To do quality service, in an
effective manner, analysis of the cause should be done in every case for
removing it or getting cured. To attain easy solutions, analyse the physical
and mental state of the patient with the history of the patient, from start-up
of the complaints which will mostly guide the case. In case of a child, it is
much more difficult to find the cause, unless there is a visual pathology or
otherwise the child must be analysed in a sleep lab with EEG changes.
Treatment
In allopathy,
sedative treatments (which provide tranquilizers) are given for all types of
insomniac patients. The tranquilizer works very temporarily. Also, most of the
hypertensive patients, psychologically disturbed patients and diabetic patients
are given sedative drugs with their routine drugs, in order to avoid tension.
In the same manner, allopathic medicines used for allergic rhinitis or allergic
skin diseases and cough have sedative soothing effects.
Sleep
disturbances related to physical problems like pain, breathlessness or
psychological problems like anxiety, drug withdrawal, nightmares and depression
are not analysed in detail, but given habit-forming sedatives to get temporary
relief. The effects of these drugs, in due course, will diminish. Then again,
to get better sleep, doctor and patient go on adding the dose and frequency of
the medicines.
Likewise, all the chronic disease sufferers suffer from sleeplessness, which
may be due to diseases or drug-induced. They are also given nothing but
sedatives. In case of local pathology-like adenoids, tonsils, painful arthritis
and cough, allopaths provide antibiotic and anti-inflammatory drugs, which work
only for a week or so. After that, the complaints usually re-start. Sometimes
people resort to surgery, to eliminate pathology.
Side-effects
of sedative drugs
Sleeping
pills always give only artificial, temporary sleep, which will not refresh us
fully due to lack of REM sleep. Also, taking merely sleeping pills is just like
shutting off the light, instead of removing the cause. If you are going to take
sleeping pills, don’t forget your next day is going to be more sleepless than
the present-day. Since patients use it as a routine, they are not aware of this
symptom. If pills are prescribed for depression or other complaints, the
patient can take those drugs only if they are ready to go to sleep even in the
daytime, to calm themselves.
Sleepiness and drowsiness are the common side-effects. Also all sleeping pills
can cause serious side-effects like tremor, stupor, coma, weakness, dizziness,
clumsiness, hallucinations, confusion, depression, rashes, slow heart beat,
constipation or diarrhoea and sometimes even death can occur with heavy
overdoses. The sleeping pills work in all ways to make the brain dull and
sleepy. So, you cannot give those drugs to children or persons whose alertness
is important in learning or working (for example – drivers, pilots, etc,).
Also, the most distinguishing feature of all sleeping pills is habit forming.
Homeopathic
approach on sleeplessness
Sleep arises from the balance of the inhibition and arousal stimuli. First of
all, calm your mind and shut all your thoughts, then sleep will not or never
get away. Some people go on changing the place and positions, covering the
face, legs, ears, hands and eyes, switching off the lights, etc., for getting
good sleep. Every tic of the clock will alarm, trigger and wake them up. Sleep
is not the matter of all those things, but it is in the calmness of the mind.
Removing the actual cause could help.
Usually, in Homeopathy, the remedy is selected on the basis of symptoms of the
patient, including physical, mental (emotional states, depression, anxious,
etc) and family history. Homeopathy treats the patients, rather than the
diseases or its effects. Homeopathy acts neurologically and helps the brain
attain calmness. So it can give a permanent solution. It gives psychological
support to withstand emotional conditions. Homeopathy, with its dynamic
approach, can cure sleeplessness wonderfully. The major credit point with
Homeopathy is its nil side-effects and also its effective cure which is
permanent without any persistent usage of drugs or dependency or habit-forming.
In Homeopathy, the choice of medicine differs for early awakening, sleeping
late, frequent awakening, sleeplessness after midnight or before midnight,
sleeplessness at night and sleeping in the morning, etc. The complaints which
recur after sudden awakening can also be cured completely. Likewise, Homeopathy
considers even dreams for choosing the correct and apt medicine. There are lots
and lots of medicines in Homeopathy, particularly fear of snakes, ghosts,
strangers, etc., – for every type of dream, the choice of drug differs.
The ultimate secret is no magic prescription can cure all your sleeplessness,
unless you reveal everything you feel, including the causative factor and take
effort in removing it. So, longing for longer sleep ends here with apt
Homeopathy treatment and counselling. One important thing for patients used to
tranquilizers – it is better to stop it or withdraw slowly or otherwise there
will be a rebound of sickness or more sleeplessness. Likewise, the stimulants should
also be withdrawn slowly, under the supervision and advice of the doctor.
The results of Homeopathy treatment are not drowsiness but will be very
peaceful refreshment. Homeopathic medicines commonly used in case of
sleeplessness are Aconite, Arg Nit, Ars alb, Chamomilla, Gelsemium, Hyosyamus,
Ignatia, Kali phos, Nat mur, Nux Vom, Opium, Passiflora, Pulsatilla, Rauwolfia,
Staphysagria, Rhus Tox, etc. These Medicines should be taken under the advice
and diagnosis of a qualified Homeopath. So, you don’t have to suffer from
sleeplessness any more.
for
new hope
Dr. S.
Chidambaranathan, BHMS, MD (Homeo)
Laxmi Homeo Clinic
24 E. New Mahalipatti Road
Madurai, TN 625 001
India
Tel: +91-984-319-1011 (Mob /
Whatsapp)
Clinic : +91-452-233-8833 |
E-mail: drcheena@gmail.com
(Disclaimer: The contents of this column are for informational
purpose only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional
healthcare advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of
healthcare professional for any health problem or medical condition.)