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Suggest Remedy For Drowsiness And Inability To Sleep
Question: Hello - I've been struggling with my sleep schedule lately. I can't seem to get anything done during the day and the only time I can really stop and focus on getting any real work done is late at night. I've always struggled with focus, but I'm staying up later and later and then when I do finally try to sleep, my mind is still racing (sometimes about things that really aren't that important). I'm still expected to be at the office each morning, so I'm really starting to feel like a zombie or something. Not sure if this is the right kind of doc to ask - but figured it was worth a try! Thanks!
Brief Answer:
Improvement in sleep hygiene will improve sleep
Detailed Answer:
Hello thanks for asking from HCM for your health related queries
I can understand your concern. The problem of inability to sleep at proper time and then poor focus and drowsiness at day time is seen in a lot of working persons. This cause significant distress to day to day functioning. Underlying anxiety of work or day to day routine may result in similar presentation. Some individuals with such symptoms have abnormalities in sleep rhythm. In Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder (DSPD) individuals fail to sleep at normal time and then they don't get awakened at normal time in morning. Such symptoms are commonly seen in working class of people.
In most cases individuals develop anxiety that they would not get proper sleep in night and this anxiety further worsens the insomnia. The worsened insomnia further increase the anxiety and ultimately a vicious cycle of "anxiety-insomnia-anxiety" develops. To get proper sleep you have to break that vicious cycle by improving sleep hygiene and by medicines in needed.
- Try to fix your time to go to bed and to awake.
- Avoid taking tea, coffee, heavy meals or alcohol in evening. Though alcohol is a brain depressant but that cause fragmented sleep and worsens insomnia.
- If possible exercise daily and light exercise in evening really helps to relieve stress and anxiety.
- Use your bed for sleeping only and don't watch TV or read books on bed. These habits worsen the insomnia.
- Keep your bedroom cool, calm and dark. Avoid switching on bright lights in evening.
- Avoid day time naps totally. Use bright lights in morning, this will make you active.
- Don't think about not getting sleep again and again on bed because this will aggravate the anxiety only. If you fails to get sleep with in 15 minutes of going to bed then get up from bed and try to distract yourself.
- Warm water bath in evening and taking lukewarm milk in evening really helps to increase sleep.
Try to follow these steps strictly and you would start seeing improvement in sleep. Lack of sleep is resulting in anxiety and though Marijuana can help to relieve anxiety but this would not result in sleep. With improvement in sleep your anxiety will reduce in severity. If symptoms persist even after that then visit a sleep medicine specialist or a psychiatrist. Medicines like Melatonin or Ramelteon etc can help to correct the altered phase of sleep cycle and you will feel better. These drugs are free of any abuse potential and are safe drugs. Some times low dose benzodiazepines like Clonazepam or Alprazolam can help in getting good sleep. Visit a doctor for detailed prescription of these drugs.
I hope this helps you. Please don't hesitate to ask again for more doubts or questions in follow up.
Take care
Improvement in sleep hygiene will improve sleep
Detailed Answer:
Hello thanks for asking from HCM for your health related queries
I can understand your concern. The problem of inability to sleep at proper time and then poor focus and drowsiness at day time is seen in a lot of working persons. This cause significant distress to day to day functioning. Underlying anxiety of work or day to day routine may result in similar presentation. Some individuals with such symptoms have abnormalities in sleep rhythm. In Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder (DSPD) individuals fail to sleep at normal time and then they don't get awakened at normal time in morning. Such symptoms are commonly seen in working class of people.
In most cases individuals develop anxiety that they would not get proper sleep in night and this anxiety further worsens the insomnia. The worsened insomnia further increase the anxiety and ultimately a vicious cycle of "anxiety-insomnia-anxiety" develops. To get proper sleep you have to break that vicious cycle by improving sleep hygiene and by medicines in needed.
- Try to fix your time to go to bed and to awake.
- Avoid taking tea, coffee, heavy meals or alcohol in evening. Though alcohol is a brain depressant but that cause fragmented sleep and worsens insomnia.
- If possible exercise daily and light exercise in evening really helps to relieve stress and anxiety.
- Use your bed for sleeping only and don't watch TV or read books on bed. These habits worsen the insomnia.
- Keep your bedroom cool, calm and dark. Avoid switching on bright lights in evening.
- Avoid day time naps totally. Use bright lights in morning, this will make you active.
- Don't think about not getting sleep again and again on bed because this will aggravate the anxiety only. If you fails to get sleep with in 15 minutes of going to bed then get up from bed and try to distract yourself.
- Warm water bath in evening and taking lukewarm milk in evening really helps to increase sleep.
Try to follow these steps strictly and you would start seeing improvement in sleep. Lack of sleep is resulting in anxiety and though Marijuana can help to relieve anxiety but this would not result in sleep. With improvement in sleep your anxiety will reduce in severity. If symptoms persist even after that then visit a sleep medicine specialist or a psychiatrist. Medicines like Melatonin or Ramelteon etc can help to correct the altered phase of sleep cycle and you will feel better. These drugs are free of any abuse potential and are safe drugs. Some times low dose benzodiazepines like Clonazepam or Alprazolam can help in getting good sleep. Visit a doctor for detailed prescription of these drugs.
I hope this helps you. Please don't hesitate to ask again for more doubts or questions in follow up.
Take care
Note: For further guidance on mental health, Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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