Counting Sheep and Beyond: A Brief Guide to Understanding Insomnia

Photo by Horology Hands on Unsplash

Are you tired of being tired? It’s 3 AM, and you find yourself staring at the ceiling, while your mind is racing like a caffeinated squirrel at a rock concert. Or maybe even worse, you feel confused and don’t know what to do, so you ended up back to your comfort zone: the social media scrolling sessions. We’ve all been there, tossing and turning, the covers feeling like straitjackets. These sounds pretty much like you? Well then, welcome to the world of insomnia, where sleep is like that elusive celebrity party — everyone’s talking about it, but it seems impossible to get an invite.

Insomnia Unmasked

What exactly is insomnia? Apparently, insomnia isn’t just a fancy word for a sleepless night; it’s a persistent and often frustrating condition. Insomnia is a sleep disorder characterized by persistent difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, despite having the opportunity to do so. You’re basically stuck in a real-life remake of Stranger Things, with you trying to escape the Upside Down of wakefulness, but without Eleven’s help.

Symptoms of insomnia cases usually include difficulty falling asleep, waking up often during the night, waking up too early and can’t get back to sleep, not feeling well-rested after a night’s sleep, daytime tiredness, irritability, and difficulty concentrating. Sounds a lot like a low-budget horror movie that wins Oscars. Imagine leaving all those untreated, you’ll have to get through your everyday feeling tired, grumpy, and can’t focus on anything else, ugh.

So, what’s behind this nighttime rebellion? It turns out there are many triggers: stress, anxiety, depression, jet lag (thanks, time zones), or even some certain chronic health conditions. Sometimes, it’s just your mind deciding to throw an unsanctioned 3 AM dance party.

The Symphony of Insomnia

Sleeping is one of, if not the most essential thing for us mere mortals. Imagine having to function properly without any rests whatsoever? Sounds quite terrifying already! Unfortunately, due to its’ nature of disrupting our peaceful sleeping beauty time, insomnia usually brings out other crew that’re ready to make your life worse (as if getting insufficient amount of sleep isn’t bad enough already). Insomnia usually doesn’t travel alone; it often hangs out with anxiety, depression, and the gang.

Although most of us might’ve heard of insomnia, apparently, we’ve got more flavors of insomnia than Baskin-Robbins has ice cream. Acute insomnia, chronic insomnia, onset insomnia, maintenance insomnia… you name it; it’s practically a whole band right there. Although these types of insomnias have some differences with each other based on the duration and causes, they’re all equally annoying!

So, is there a cure? Well, not exactly. But don’t let that bring you down. We all secretly hope for a magic sleeping pill, but the answer lies in our lifestyle, sleep routine, and good old-fashioned relaxation techniques. Insomnia can be managed and even defeated with the right strategies. Most people can find relief by addressing the underlying causes and making lifestyle changes. Although, in some different cases, professional help may be necessary. But don’t worry, if it’s for the sake of your good old sleepy time, pretty sure it’ll be worth it!

Before we get there though, let’s try to see several strategies that we can try!

The Path to The Land of Nod

Now, let’s dive into the serious stuff. How do you handle this sneaky sleep-thief?

1. Set the mood for slumber: Try your best to create the perfect sleep atmosphere. Remember the bedtime rituals your grandma used to tell you about? Warm milk, soothing music, dimmed lights, comfy weighted blanket? Turns out, grandma knew her stuff. Our brain recognizes patterns, so if you set up a pattern to sleep, it’ll probably help your brain to know that it’s time to hibernate.
2. Make your bed a sanctuary: This is still somewhat related to the first point. As previously stated, our brain recognizes patterns. So, not only that you have to make a pattern to tell your brain that it’s time to sleep, it’s also equally important to teach your brain that your bed is a sanctuary, not a battleground. Avoid doing other brain stimulating activities such as playing games in your bed. Use the bed for sleep and *ahem* intimate activities only. Let’s not confuse your brain.
3. The Zen Ways: There are tons of different alternatives that we can try to calm our brain down, so it gets more prepared and ready to sleep. You’ve got yoga, meditation, and mindfulness techniques. It’s your mind’s version of a spa day that you can practice before bedtime. You can even further enhance this relaxation experience! Don’t worry, it’s not counting sheep; they’re so last season and probably isn’t doing it for you anyway. Say hi to those ASMR videos! Some find whispered videos or the sounds of gentle rain tapping on leaves relaxing. It’s like a secret, soothing club on the internet. Try to find your audio remedy!
4. The Power of the Power Nap: This is somewhat, weird but when your brain gets way too tired, it can be very confused and choose to refuse to sleep. This is where power naps come to play! They can help reduce the burden on your brain, and make you feel less tense, which results in helping you to sleep better later on the night!
5. A Joyful Heart is a good medicine: This is valid. For every situation. For real! One of the main triggers of insomnia is piled up stress! So try to find your comfort series, or youtuber, or whatever it is that can help you laugh it out! Laughter is an awesome medicine. Try to spend some time every day to get a giggle before bed, it might not fully cure your insomnia, but it’ll totally be a great help! Speaking of medicine, there are some supplements such as melatonin that can also be of help. Be sure to consult it properly before consuming them, tho!
6. Professional Help: Of course, insomnias have different cases and level of severeness. So, if you’ve previously tried all the previous strategy, and still can’t find that peaceful snore, it might be time to talk to a professional. Don’t be scared, they have the knowledge and super cool gadgets to help you out!

As we wrap up this journey through the land of insomnia, remember that you’re not alone in your quest for better sleep. We’ve dived into the mysteries of sleepless nights and emerged with an understanding of what causes insomnia and how to handle it.

So, here’s to better sleep, brighter days, and a good dose of humor to lighten the night. And as you embark on this quest for restful nights, may your journey be filled with more sheep than worries.

Remember, you’ve got the power to conquer insomnia and embrace the beauty of a good night’s sleep. Sweet dreams and peaceful slumbers to you all!