Tales Of Teens

• Insomnia •

     

Insomnia

Hello everyone, It's me Sakshi back with an update for today.
Let's see what is our topic for today.

“Insomnia”, What is it? Let me tell you a short tale to know more about it.

“Ridhi go to sleep dear, it's quarter past 12 already! Didn’t I tell you to sleep early at least today? How many times will you be late to school bus and get scolded by the driver?”,Ridhi’s mom shouted at Ridhi who was still watching some random show on the television.

“Mom! I am not feeling sleepy at all. Though I try to sleep, shut my eyes tightly and count numbers also. I don’t get sleep”,she complained.

“Ridhi, tell me that you want to watch that show, why do you give me lame reasons?”,her mother yelled at her and went back to her room.

While Ridhi sat there helplessly. It's not that she did not want to sleep. Even though she wanted sleep she couldn’t sleep. She was a night owl. All the night time, she wasn't able to sleep and when it is early in the morning she finally gets some sleep but she has to wake up as she has to go school.

Time passed by and Ridhi was still having sleeping disorders, she was neither able to concentrate on her studies nor able to do anything. She had dark circles round her eyes and she was often very prone to be sick.

Her mother noticed this and took her to the hospital.

“Dear, do you use any gadgets more than required?”,the doctor asked.

“Yes doctor,during night times no matter how much I try to sleep. I don’t get sleep so I use either phone or watch something on television”,Ridhi said.

“Research shows that teens need at least 8½ hours of sleep a night. You don't need to be a math whiz to figure out that if you wake up for school at 6:00 a.m., you'd have to go to bed at 9:00 p.m. to reach the 9-hour mark. Studies have found that many teens have trouble falling asleep that early, though. It's not because they don't want to sleep. It's because their brains naturally work on later schedules and aren't ready for bed”,he started explaining.

“But doctor, I don't feel like sleeping during night times that too at 9 pm is next to impossible for me”,Ridhi said restlessly.

The below are the things for chronic and normal insomnia :

So, teens have a harder time falling asleep. Sometimes this delay in the sleep–wake cycle is so severe that it affects a person's daily activities. In those cases it's called delayed sleep phase syndrome or "night owl" syndrome.

This isn't the only reason teens lose sleep, though. Lots of people have insomnia — trouble falling or staying asleep. The most common cause of insomnia is stress.  But all sorts of things can lead to insomnia, including physical discomfort (the stuffy nose of a cold or the pain of a headache, for example), emotional troubles (like family problems or relationship difficulties), and even an uncomfortable sleeping environment (a room that's too hot, cold, bright, or noisy). Exposing your eyes to excessive light at night — through mobile devices for instance — also makes it harder to sleep.

It's common for everyone to have insomnia from time to time. But if insomnia lasts for a month or longer with no relief, then doctors call it chronic. Chronic insomnia can be caused by a number of different problems, including medical conditions, mental-health problems, medication side effects, or substance abuse. People with chronic insomnia usually can get help for it from a doctor, therapist, or other counselor.

Worrying about insomnia can make it even worse for some people. A brief period of insomnia can build into something longer lasting when a person becomes anxious about not sleeping or worried about feeling tired the next day. Doctors call this psychophysiologic insomnia.

The most common sleep problems include :

Nightmares

Stress

Narcolepsy

Sleep walking [ very rare ]

Common remedies for insomnia :

Treatment for sleep problems can vary. Some can be treated with medicines, while others can be helped with special techniques like light therapy (where someone sits in front of a lightbox for a certain amount of time each day) or other practices that can help reset a person's body clock.

Doctors also encourage teens to make lifestyle changes that promote good sleeping habits.  You probably know that caffeine can keep you awake, but many teens don't realize that texting and using mobile devices, playing video games, or watching TV before sleeping can, too.

“So, Ridhi, I can give you a few medications as of now. I suggest you stop using your phone for at least an hour before going to bed and try to reduce your time on screen”,he said and Ridhi nodded.

Thoughtful writeup by @Sakshidevi_712

With love,
Teen_Fix