You need a restful night's sleep for your health. However, some individuals struggle to go to sleep and stay asleep.
Insomnia is more common in women, elderly people, and anyone with physical or mental health issues. Your sleep may also be impacted by hormonal changes that come with menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause.
Sleep quality can also be impacted by brief or transient life changes, such as travelling or switching shifts at work.
Senior Adults
Advertisement
Older persons are more likely to experience insomnia, which is frequently accompanied by daytime impairments like mood swings, difficulties concentrating, and sensations of exhaustion and malaise. In this group, the illness is also linked to a higher risk of falls, cardiovascular disease, and other health issues.
Sleep difficulties may result from the ageing process itself, since many people discover that as they age, they get more exhausted at night and don't get enough deep sleep. Additionally, they frequently wake up during the night, which may throw off their sleep schedule.
However, it's critical to recognise the difference between "normal" insomnia and a treatable underlying medical or mental health issue. One such illness is depression, and pain from long-term ailments like gout or arthritis might keep you from falling asleep. Seniors may also have trouble sleeping if they take certain medications, such as beta blockers for heart disease or high blood pressure.
adolescents
Maintaining a regular bedtime can be challenging for many teenagers. In addition to sports, social activities, extracurriculars, and homework, they also have tasks to manage. While it may be tempting for kids to stay up late doing homework or hanging out with friends, doing so might result in restless nights and a vicious cycle of staying up ever later.
According to studies, children who experience the symptoms of insomnia during their teens are more than 2.5 times more likely than their non-insomnia parents to experience insomnia as adults. It's critical for parents to discuss sleep hygiene with their children and to support them in making good decisions.
Teens require nine hours of sleep every night in order to maintain their best physical, mental, and emotional well-being. However, mental health issues like anxiety or depression may have an impact on their desire for sleep. In order to avoid having a rough transition back to school, it's also a good idea for them to keep an eye on how their schedule changes throughout the summer.
Teens and Young Adults
When young adults don't get enough sleep, they get grumpy and exhausted. Their employment and academic performance are impacted by this. It might also affect how they interact with friends and family. Sleep deprivation can lead to moodiness, weariness, and weight gain—all of which can be detrimental to one's health.
Major life events like divorce or the death of a loved one, medical diagnoses like diabetes, cancer, or arthritis, or adjustments to everyday schedules like working shifts can all cause insomnia symptoms. Insomnia can also be brought on by ongoing stress.
Certain drugs, including those for heart disease, depression, anxiety, high blood pressure, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), can potentially cause insomnia as a side effect. People who are older are more susceptible to diseases such as obstructive sleep apnea and restless legs syndrome/periodic leg movements during sleep (PLMS), which can cause insomnia. Additionally, some older folks take more drugs than do younger adults.
youngsters
Similar to adults, children also suffer from insomnia, although diagnosing it in children is more challenging because to factors like family dynamics, co-occurring psychiatric problems, and neurodevelopmental abnormalities. Night wakings and resistance to going to bed are normal in newborns and toddlers, but preschool-aged children and school-aged teenagers are more likely to have trouble falling asleep.
Establishing a consistent bedtime and encouraging young children to use their beds solely for sleeping may be beneficial. They can also get practise with a soothing nighttime ritual that includes story reading and song singing. A strong relationship between the bed and sleep can be established by varying these activities.
Insomnia is frequently a conditioned reaction to anxiety related to trouble falling asleep or the signs of a circadian rhythm problem (such delayed sleep phase syndrome) in older school-aged children and teenagers. This group may benefit from cognitive behaviour therapy for insomnia as it can help people recognise harmful sleep-related beliefs and replace them with more positive ones.
