Youth, Can't Sleep At Night? Could be Insomnia!

Sleep is the most important part of human life as it occupies one-third of our lives. No doubt it plays a crucial role, but neglecting sleep implies grave danger to the very existence of life. In a motion, cycles of sleep the deficiency of sleep by work tension, and extra late hours can be recovered in the meantime. But long term exposure to activities occupies the very time of sleep leads to sleep problems. They majorly roots in adolescent age and symptoms and side effects starts in the early twenties and continues with time if not taken care of.

Every misleading sleep cycle factored by time, it impacts the original circadian rhythm of once body. Every individual has to rest for an average of 8hours. But in-depth, it seems to be different when categorizing according to one's age, through the development of the body, it alternates the amount of sleep it needed.

Sleep disorder is an interruption in sleep patterns that lead to distress and affect day time functioning. Of all the sleep disorders, insomnia occurs in youth most of the time with or without their knowledge.

What actually is insomnia?

Insomnia is difficulty falling asleep or maintaining sleep, even when a person has a chance to do so. People with insomnia can feel dissatisfied with their sleep and usually experience one or more of the following symptoms: fatigue, low energy, difficulty concentrating, mood disturbances, and reduction in performance at work. It is characterized based on its duration as acute and chronic insomnia. Acute insomnia happens because of life circumstances, for example, you can’t sleep due to an exam that happens to be tomorrow or on the influence of bad news. Many people may have experienced this type of passing sleep disruptions, and it tends to resolve without any treatment. Chronic insomnia is disrupted sleep that occurs at least three nights per week and lasts at least three months. This disorder as many causes –changes in the environment, unhealthy sleep habits, shift work, other clinical disorders, and certain medications can lead to a long term pattern of insufficient sleep. Some People with chronic insomnia can be helped by the change in sleep patterns.

As we are speaking of youth social media could play a role in insomnia manifestation. Increased social media activities at night decrease sleep time and long exposure of screen light delay the circadian rhythm resulting in an individual failing to sleep.

Television and computers are similar in terms of intensity of light displayed; they differ in how they are used. When in front of the television, viewers usually sit or lie down in a comfortable position around three meters from the screen, changing channels with remote control. However, in front of a computer monitor, internet users sit between fifty and seventy centimeters away from the screen and interact more actively with the device, engaging both mental and physical faculties to operate the equipment. The uses of these devices at inappropriate times, coupled with the brightness of the light that they project onto the retina, are factors that are thought to trigger changes in sleep patterns. In the case of computer displays, the light that they emitted is close to the retina.

According to Guyton, light-stimulated retina cells transmit electrical signals to the hypothalamus. In addition to controlling the glands of the body, the hypothalamus contains a small nucleus that houses the biological clock, which is essential for regulating sleep/wake cycles and rhythms. The strength, variation, and timing of light projected onto the retina by these devices disrupt the normal release of melatonin in the body (the hormone that controls sleep), resulting in changes in quality of sleep.

In youth depression, anxiety, lifestyle are the causes of insomnia.

Insomnia and depression: With insomnia caused by a psychiatric condition such as depression, it brings struggle to get sleep infecting mood with the imbalance of hormones. The risk of insomnia is severe with the people having depression, it even worsens depression. The symptoms can be known by low energy, loss of interest or motivation, low feeling for self-being sad, and helplessness. Both disorders can be treated regardless of which manifests first.

Insomnia and anxiety: The simple feeling of worries brings a change in the pattern of sleep regularly. Symptoms of anxiety-like work tension, thoughts of past and future events, overwhelming by newly formed responsibilities in youth make them restless. These factors onset insomnia, trouble falling asleep, or maintaining sleep either case the inactive night brings stressful thoughts or even fear that keep a person awake. This is how insomnia and anxiety feed on others. These can be treated by cognitive and mind-body techniques and healthy sleep.

Insomnia and lifestyle: An unhealthy lifestyle and sleep habits with poor eating lead to insomnia. Staying late at night doing work occupies the sleep time. The lights of the screen we use to manipulate our brains to stay alert to it. Taking short naps could help some of the people but in most the people causes trouble sleeping at night, this confuses our body clock. Drinking alcohol within a few hours of bedtime can lead to repeated awakening during the latter part of the night, whereas exercising in late hours make it harder to get to sleep. Caffeine and nicotine have an arousing effect and can interfere with sleep. When our working hours frequently change it makes the body difficult to adjust and disturbs the cycling hours of sleep.

Can this insomnia be treated at home?

Yes, all the symptoms of insomnia can be easily treated at home itself. To do so one has to take self-care by

• Sticking to a healthy sleep schedule 7 days a week.

• Exercising at least 30 minutes a day.

• A mindful meditation or yoga of steady slow breathing eases brainy stress, thoughts, feelings, and sensations.

• Take time to time a healthy diet consisting of proteins and carbohydrates and more fluids to keep your brain functioning actively.

• Managing work time on gadgets in the day as well as nights.

• Reduce the screen lights while working by using screen filters and dimmers.

• By limiting your activities before sleep

• Keep your phone in silent mode or switched off during nights.

• Take a shower before sleep.

• Make your sleep environment pleasant and relaxing and make yourself comfortable.

Going Forward with enlighten thoughts:

“With students, there’s always going to be irregularities with sleeping, we have to find a way to get enough sleep and still do the things we needed to do”.

“Sleep is important for keeping us physically and emotionally healthy”.

We are the Manas expertise in the different fields of psychology and we provide psychological assistance in person or online in bettering society with need and thoughts for us.

Rakesh Gorle, Youth psychologist at Manas.

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*Note: All these pictures are taken from Google free sources.