How to Deal with Insomnia

Transcript Hi. My name is Dr. Priyanka Yadav, and sleep medicine physician at Somerset Medical Center located in Somerville, New Jersey. I specialize in both adult, and pediatric sleep disorders. I got my start in sleep medicine after I completed by sleep medicine fellowship at UT Southerwestern. I think it’s a very interesting field, because …

Transcript Many times when a patient comes to me with complaints of insomnia, I ask them about their sleep history. I ask them what time are they falling asleep? How long is it taking them to fall asleep? How many times are they waking up from their sleep? And do they feel that they’re getting …

Transcript So what is insomnia? Insomnia is defined as the inability to fall asleep, stay asleep, or having non-restorative sleep. It’s a very common disorder seen in our population affecting about 58 percent of Americans at one time or another. It can also be a sign or a symptom of another disorder, medical disorders such …

Transcript So one of the best tips to help children and teenagers fall asleep at night is to avoid electronic use starting an hour before their bedtime. Now this includes avoidance of electronics, such as TV, the computer, and the phone. Light from these devices can suppress melatonin levels, and melatonin is a hormone which …

Transcript Sleep tips in babies are tough because you might not be aware of what might be causing their difficulty in falling asleep. It’s important to learn cues of sleepiness in your baby such as if they’re rubbing their eyes or starting to yawn. This is the best time to put your baby to sleep …

Transcript Insomnia in children can be a little trick to treat. Medications are generally contra-indicated in children, so you need to maximize their sleep hygiene to help them sleep better at night. This includes keeping a strict sleep schedule adequate amount of sleep. Children generally need more sleep than adults at night. The reason why …

Transcript So the amount of sleep that your child needs does vary greatly from the newborn state to teenagers. When they’re newborns, they sleep about ten to 18 hours on an irregular schedule but stay awake for about two to three hours at a time. Now, this can also depend on their feeding pattern. When …

Transcript Common sleep disorders seen in teenagers, and childhood include insomnia due to poor sleep hygiene, but they can also include primary sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea where you are not breathing well while you’re asleep. So you’re brain senses that, and keeps waking you up. This in turn causes sleep deprivation, and …

Transcript So the different types of insomnia in childhood include insomnia due to inadequate sleep hygiene. You know children have computers, TVs, phones in their bedroom, and all those devices do delay sleep onset. What they don’t realize is that these activities can hamper their sleep for two different reasons. One is if you’re using …

Transcript Insomnia might be hereditary, but in very rare cases there is a form of insomnia called fatal familial insomnia, and it’s so rare there are only a few cases seen in the world. However, your case of insomnia is very unlikely to be due to that. In most cases, anxiety and depression are found …

Transcript So there are different ways to avoid insomnia with jet lag. Some of the non-pharmacologic ways is to try to adjust your sleep schedule according to the time zone that you’re flying to starting a few days before your actual flight. Now, it is easier to acclimate to flying to the West because it’s …

Transcript Nocturia or better known as frequent urination at night is a common cause of insomnia. There are medical disorders that can be causing this which include benign prostatic type hyperplasia or diabetes. Taking better control of these health problems can help improve frequent urination at night. There are medications that can also contribute to …

Transcript So a common cause of sleep onset insomnia is that people have racing minds and thoughts at bedtime. Now this is a quiet time where you are able to think about what you’re supposed to do for the next day, or everything that occurred that same day. One of the things that I tell …

Transcript So, there are certain ways to eat and drink better, to help you sleep better at night. Avoidance of eating fatty meals closer to bedtime can help prevent heartburn, which is a common cause of insomnia at night. There are certain food products that are out there, that will help you sleep a little …

Transcript There are certain activities that you might want to avoid to help with sleep onset and maintenance of sleep. Watching TV and computer is something that you would want to avoid, because not only does it engage you and stimulate you which helps with prevention of sleep onset, but light from these devices can …

Transcript So there are many things that you can do to help your bedroom be more conducive to help you sleep better at night. So one of the things you can do to help you sleep better at night is keeping your bedroom cool. A cool environment will help you sleep better at night. Research …

Transcript Insomnia is a common complaint amongst shift workers. The problem in shift work is that you’re trying to sleep against your body’s own [inaudible 00:13] rhythm you’re, trying to sleep in the daytime when there is a lights and activities surrounding you, preventing you from falling asleep and staying asleep. The first thing that …

Transcript Insomnia is a common complaint during pregnancy. Up to 78 percent of pregnant women do complain of having insomnia at a point in their pregnancy. Certain contributors to insomnia include reflux. You know, when your uterus is full it’s pushing up against your esophageal sphincter causing contents from your stomach to push up. Lower …

Transcript So there are many over-the-counter products that are used to help treat insomnia and help with sleep. A lot of these are H1 antagonists and what these class of medications do is that they work on histamine. They block it and histamine is a weight promoting agent. So by blocking it, they’re inducing sedation. …

Transcript Sleep restriction is a commonly used, non-pharmacologic method of treating insomnia and what you’re doing with sleep restriction is taking away a time that a person is lying awake in bed. For example, if they’re laying in bed for eight hours but sleeping only six hours, you’re trying to take away those two hours …

Transcript So an over-the-counter medication called melatonin is commonly used to treat insomnia, especially if it’s sleep onset insomnia. Melatonin is a hormone that’s secreted by our own body during bedtime and it helps with the sleep onset process. Taking supplemental melatonin will help you fall asleep but not stay asleep. Now, it is also …

Transcript Priyanka S. Yadav: Some of the common side effects of sleeping pills are day-time sleepiness. Now, they are doing what they are supposed to be doing, but their sedative effects can last well into the day-time hours and make you feel sleepy during the day. Now, other side effects of sleeping pills can include …

Transcript So insomnia can be treated with the use of medications. These medications include benzodiazapines. This class of medication affects your neurotransmitter that helps promote sleep called gaba. And these are commonly known as Valium or Ativan or Xanax. They have a sedative affect of sleepiness which will help you sleep a little bit better …

Transcript So cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the best ways to treat insomnia. It’s been shown to improve insomnia much better in the long run than the use of medications. This involves different aspects of cognitive behavioral therapy, which include relaxation techniques, using medication, or relaxation therapy, imagery to help you relax and night …

Transcript So insomnia can cause weight gain because, essentially you are sleep deprived when you do have insomnia. Now sleep deprivation in general causes an imbalance of hormones that control your appetite. You have two hormones that control your appetite, leptin and ghrelin. Leptin is a hormone that lets you feel satisfied after meals, and …

Transcript Insomnia can contribute and cause many health problems. Not only do anxiety and depression cause insomnia, but insomnia can also lead to anxiety and depression. So an extensive history by your physician is needed to determine what can what came first. Now, in terms of medical problems, insomnia can lower your pain threshold, so …

Transcript So a lot of times I get asked if a warm bath close to bedtime will help you with sleep onset, and the answer is yes. Just like everything in your body, your body temperature is set on a circadian rhythm. It’s at its lowest point between 4:00 am and 6:00 am. Now, it …

Transcript So I often get asked does working out too close to bedtime cause insomnia? And the answer is yes and no. If you are someone who is predisposed to having insomnia, then, yes, it can cause insomnia. The theory is that when you’re working out you’re increasing your body temperature which is normally supposed …

Transcript Insomnia is a common complaint in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. Up to 50 to 63 percent of postmenopausal women do complain about insomnia at night. Now, these complaints include trouble falling asleep, staying asleep and also having daytime drowsiness. A common problem leading to insomnia at night is hot flashes. Using hormone replacement therapy …

Transcript Insomnia and depression are very closely related. Sometimes it’s hard to determine what came first. Is it insomnia causing your depression, or is it depression leading to insomnia? Now an extensive history taken by your physician can sometimes help determine if your insomnia came first. Taking an extensive history by your physician may help …

Transcript So another non-pharmacologic product used to help with insomnia is alcohol. Now, this is not recommended by doctors but it is commonly used to treat insomnia. About 15 percent of people do use alcohol to help them sleep at night. Now, what they don’t realize is that it will help them fall asleep but …

Transcript So, there are many different medications that have a side effect of insomnia and these are commonly used to treat many of the common medical problems seen in our society. One medication is beta blockers, which is used to treat hypertension and irregular heartbeats. Beta blockers tend to suppress melatonin and have the side …

Transcript Many times when patients come in with complaints of insomnia, I ask then if they’re using a computer or watching TV during bedtime. What they don’t realize that these activities can hamper their sleep for two different reasons. One is, if you are using the computer or watching TV you become engaged with what …

Transcript Some health problems that can cause insomnia include medical disorders such as benign prostate hypertrophy or diabetes, which include frequent urination, which will cause you wake up from your sleep and have to use the bathroom. Now, pain syndromes such as arthritis, can also wake you up from your sleep. When you’re uncomfortable and …

Transcript How much sleep do adults need? This is a very hard question to answer. The average person needs about seven to nine hours of sleep and sleeping less than sleep hours and more than nine hours are associated with increased risk of mortality. Now, many people tell me that they get five or six …

Transcript So some ways to stay asleep longer include practicing good sleep hygiene, which includes keeping a cool, dark environment, taking a warm bath at night, and diminishing light exposure in your bedroom, because that will help with the secretion of your melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone that helps with sleep onset. Now, other ways …

Transcript So, some of the ways to help you fall asleep and stay asleep include practicing good sleep hygiene. This includes keeping your room a cool, dark environment. Cooling the temperature in your bedroom can help you lower your own body temperature, which will help with sleep onset. Avoidance of electronics, starting an hour prior …

Transcript So some of the ways to help you fall asleep fast include practicing good sleep hygiene, which involves maybe taking a warm bath at night, which will help lower your body temperature, which will help initiate sleep onset. Keeping your room a cool dark environment. Keeping your room cool will also help lower your …

Transcript So, the best way to prevent insomnia is to practice good sleep hygiene. Keeping a strict sleep schedule throughout the seven nights out of the week is very helpful in setting your circadian rhythm and your sleep schedule. Keeping a dark, cool environment will help you fall asleep a little bit easier because your …

Transcript So, there are many different ways to treat insomnia. The first step is to improve your sleep hygiene and sleep habits at night. Taking a warm bath will help you drop your body temperature, which initiates sleep onset. Sleeping in a cool, dark environment will also help with the sleep onset and help with …

Transcript Priyanka S. Yadav: There are many different causes for insomnia. A common cause for insomnia is practicing poor sleep habits. This includes drinking caffeine too close to bed time, using electronics such as the computer or TV close to bed time, and drinking alcohol close to bed time. If you’re using the computer or …

Transcript So, some of the nighttime symptoms of insomnia include, having difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep and having non-restorative sleep. The daytime symptoms of insomnia include, feeling sleeping during the day or fatigued, having poor concentration, poor memory, an inability to perform tasks and decreased productivity at work. People also find that they are …

Transcript So, insomnia can be classified into two different types of insomnia. Acute versus chronic. Acute insomnia is when you have a known triggering factor and your insomnia lasts for less than a month. When your insomnia lasts for more than a month, it’s then called chronic insomnia. Chronic insomnia can be further classified into …

Transcript So insomnia can be classified into two different types of insomnia – acute versus chronic. Acute insomnia is when you have a known triggering factor and your insomnia lasts for less than a month. When your insomnia lasts for more than a month, it’s then called chronic insomnia. Chronic insomnia can be further classified …

Transcript Some of the ways to help you sleep better at night include practicing good sleep hygiene. The first thing you want to do is to avoid electronics, such as the computer or TV at night. Not only do they engage you and stimulate you, but light from these devices can also suppress melatonin. Melatonin …