Sleep is a necessity for everyone, and you should strive to get quality sleep every day. But you can develop sleep complications like insomnia where you can’t fall asleep or are getting problems staying asleep. Health practitioners offering sleep medicine in Rockville, MD, can help you understand how to get better sleep. Many people fail to seek help in advance as they do not understand when lack of sleep becomes a problem. Let the following tips help you assess if you have insomnia.
Evaluate How Long You Take to Fall Asleep
Sleep patterns differ from one person to another. But many people have a routine of falling asleep within 30 minutes after they get to bed. If it takes you over 30 minutes after your head hits the pillow and you put the lights off to sleep, you might have insomnia. Sometimes it can take up to four hours to fall asleep after you go to bed, indicating you might have insomnia. Also, you might experience lots of turning and tossing in bed while you try to sleep.
If you become anxious or frustrated because you are not falling asleep, it can worsen your situation and take longer to fall asleep. Although this can occasionally happen due to illnesses or stress, it is considered a problem if it happens three times a week.
Understand What it Means to Have a Healthy Sleep
People have different sleep routines depending on their lifestyles and occupations. However, doctors recommend everyone to sleep continuously for about 7-9 hours per night. However, some people can need about 10 hours, and other rare persons can go with less than seven hours of sleep without experiencing negative health complications. Therefore, estimate the time you are getting to sleep every day to tell if you have insomnia. In most cases, those with insomnia sleep for less than six hours even if they want to sleep more hours.
Note If I Get Up at Night.
Frequently waking up from your sleep at night is a common hallmark sign you might have insomnia. Healthy people mostly do not wake up at night, but those with insomnia will often do so, especially in the late night and wee hours. You might get out of bed due to frustration from not getting sleep, the urge to go to the bathroom, or due to physical discomfort. Therefore, understand that getting up at night is not healthy to sleep habits, and you should seek help if you do so.
Look Out for Morning Tiredness
Feeling tired in the morning should not be a normal consequence. If you are getting quality sleep at night, you should be less tired in the morning. If you have insomnia, you might feel unrefreshed every morning, and you might even feel more tired than when you went to bed. You might experience less strength, reduced coordination, slower reflexes, and headaches.
Assess Your Mood Changes
If you continue lacking enough sleep, it affects your immune system, causes physical side effects, and affects your emotions and moods. You can experience irritability, anxiety, depression, poor memory, reduced concentration, and reduced attention span. Also, you can become more aggressive or impulsive if your condition worsens.
Reach out to Sleep Services of Maryland if you have trouble falling or remaining asleep. Your provider will evaluate your symptoms and diagnose insomnia. They will also help you understand how to better your sleep.
