Major causes of insomnia in ageing population

Insomnia is a medical condition in which there is a difficulty in sleeping. According to health reports, it is common problem in aged people. In this condition, Normal sleep patterns are disturbed and it greatly affects sleeping and waking hours. People who suffer from insomnia may show symptoms like memory loss, irritability, depression.

Major causes of insomnia:

Insomnia may be secondary-disorder developed from some other health condition. It can also be caused by medications, and sleeping habits or the sleep environment also result in insomnia.

The most common causes are as under:

-Stress and Anxiety: Work-related pressures, death of a loved one, or other significant life changes that cause apprehension and distraction may affect sleep.

-Poor Sleep Hygiene: Behaviors, pre-sleep habits, the bed or surrounding environment may not be optimal for sleep.

-Irregular Sleep Schedule: It may be due to travel, jetlag, or unpredictable hours that disturb the body's internal clock.

-Consumption of Stimulants such as coffee, nicotine or other stimulants. 

-Consumption of Alcohol: Alcohol has a sedating effect initially promoting sleep, but later inhibits REM and fragments sleep.

In aged people, there are some additional causes for developing insomnia:

-Phase Advance: With age, the brains internal clock shifts to an earlier sleep cycle.

-Polypharmacy: Excessive medications can create side effects and a greater chance for drug interactions.

-Depression: It is more common cause of insomnia in the aged people.

-Pain. Arthritis, osteoporosis or other conditions causing physical pain or discomfort.

-Frequent Urination may lead to insomnia.

-Movement and Sleep Disorders: Restless leg syndrome, periodic limb movement disorder, snoring, sleep apnea, and others are associated with insomnia.

-Neurodegenerative Disorders: Dementia, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, Lou Gehrig's disease and other similar disorders can cause insomnia.

Symptoms of insomnia: People may show the following symptoms of insomnia.

-Harder time falling asleep.

-Awaken more often (3 to 4 times each night) and have greater memory of being awake.

-The difference between being asleep and awake is unexpected. This can make people feel like they are a light sleeper.

-People experience that they not getting enough sleep because less time is spent in deep, dreamless sleep.

-Confusion between day and night.

Diagnosis of insomnia:

Medical practitioners conduct several tests to diagnose insomnia in patients.

-Physical Exam: Doctor conduct physical examination through scanning a medical history, list of current medications, and description of sleeping habits of family members. The physical checkup may include one or more of the following tests.

EEG sleep studies.

Overnight oximetry.

Overnight polysomnography.

Mini-mental state exam.

Cardiopulmonary exam.

Upper airway exam.

Neurologic exam.

Musculoskeletal exam.

Blood or urine lab tests.

-Sleep Diary: A sleep diary, in which sleep and waking times, disturbances, habits, and feelings are recorded for 1-2 weeks, is also a useful tool to assess factors affecting sleep patterns.

-Sleep Study: If more information is needed, a polysomnogram, or sleep study, may be conducted and usually involves an overnight stay. The time taken to fall asleep and enter REM are measured; the stages of sleep are observed; and twitching, seizures, breathing patterns, oxygen saturation, heart rate fluctuations, and other conditions are monitored by a sleep specialist.

Effective treatment of Insomnia: 

Some medications are helpful in treating insomnia. These medications must be taken under the guidance of doctors. 

Treatment of insomnia should be started with nonpharmacologic therapy, addressing sleep hygiene issues and exercise. It has been observed that patients respond positively to cognitive behavior therapy. This therapy assists in changing inappropriate beliefs and attitudes about sleep such as misconceptions, intensifying consequences of sleeplessness. Key techniques include reattribution training (i.e., goal setting and planning coping responses), decatastrophizing (aimed at balancing anxious automatic thoughts), reappraisal, and attention shifting.

In relaxation techniques, patients are guided to tension and relax the major muscle groups sequentially, while observing the sensation of tension and relaxation.

Pharmacological treatment is also advised for Insomnia patients. It consists of the use of hypnotic drugs that induce sleep, mainly because they act on the main inhibitory system of the central nervous system, the GABA system. It is the last option.

To bind up facts about insomnia, it is appraised that Insomnia is mental syndrome that is pigeonholed by difficulty in falling asleep or maintaining sleep. Additionally, insomnia is also linked to displeasure with the quality of sleep, thus resulting in daily physical and emotional symptoms that have substantial impact on social and cognitive performance of person.  Insomnia is preventable medical disorder. It is imperative that people suffering from sleep disorder must immediately visit to doctor. It is well established in medical reports that cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a standard treatment for primary insomnia. Relaxation techniques also proved to be successful in many cases of insomnia. People must not afraid with insomnia. They can lead normal life through changing lifestyle, and getting best treatment.