Why doesn't the brain sleep? Bad sleep: a comprehensive solution to the problem

“The monotonous battle of hours, the tedious story of the night...” sometimes drive a person to despair. He talks about the difference between insomnia, insomnia and sleep deprivation, as well as how to learn to sleep happily at night. Svetlana Sergeeva, neurologist at the Cecil Plus clinic, Ph.D., associate professor at the First Moscow State Medical University named after. I. M. Sechenova.

Oddly enough, there is no medical term for “insomnia.” This name was considered incorrect, since studies by our and foreign scientists did not reveal a complete lack of sleep in people who complained of being unable to fall asleep. If you really don’t sleep enough and you don’t like it, you constantly experience fatigue, daytime sleepiness, decreased concentration and performance, then you have insomnia.

Insomnia is defined as a deficiency in the quality and quantity of sleep needed for normal daytime activities. Moreover, it is necessary to fulfill both conditions, because in order to get enough sleep, a healthy adult, depending on his personal and psychophysiological characteristics and current state, needs from 4 to 9 hours.

What is deprivation?

If a person deliberately deprives himself of sleep or someone deliberately prevents him from falling asleep, then this situation has the scientific name “sleep deprivation.” Individuals practice various sleep deprivation techniques to achieve an altered state of consciousness. Perhaps this is safer than drugs that also alter consciousness, but a significant deterioration in the well-being of sleep experimenters is guaranteed. After such experiments on yourself, you cannot drive vehicles or perform work that requires constant attention, since the brain seeks to make up for lack of sleep by uncontrollably switching off for several seconds. This phenomenon is called “microsleep”.

Anxiety on a schedule

Anxiety is often associated with increased fatigue, and increased fatigue is provoked by insomnia - the result is a vicious circle. If exhaustion is primary due to, say, excessive workload, plus there is an increased sense of responsibility and a desire for high results, then such a person must adhere to a strict regime. Everything should be planned according to the clock: war is war, and lunch and sleep are on schedule. The working day is over - away are all thoughts about work.

But, oddly enough, the habit of overwork is difficult to give up, especially when deadlines are pressing and bosses tease you with a promotion. There’s no time for sleep, and the next morning you’re exhausted, it’s more and more difficult to concentrate, slowness appears... and now you’re annoyed with your colleagues. When leaving home, check several times to make sure the door is closed and the iron is turned off. Causeless anxiety, tightness in the chest, a feeling that your heart is about to jump out of your chest, are visiting you more and more often, a headache from time to time wraps itself like a hoop around your head... What successes are there? All of the above is called “manager syndrome” in the West, but in our country it is simply called “neurasthenia.” If your portrait is higher, then you need two specialists: a neurologist and a psychologist.

Shift work and frequent changes in time zones can also cause insomnia. Moreover, some easily rearrange their biological rhythms, while for others they are stable, preventing them from quickly adapting - for such people, working at night and constant business trips are extremely undesirable.

I can't sleep!

But still, there are many more who suffer from insomnia not of their own free will, saying: “Oh, if only sleep would overtake me sooner!” These, according to various sources, range from 28 to 45%. Medicine has divided insomnia into three categories: presomnic, intrasomnic and postsomnic disorders.

Presomnia disorders are difficulties in initiating sleep. The most common complaint with such “insomnia” is problems falling asleep. As soon as such a person finds himself in bed, painful thoughts and memories arise. He mentally replays the events of the day or looks for a way out of some situation, constantly tosses and turns in bed in an effort to find a comfortable position. The coming long-awaited doze is interrupted by the slightest rustle. Often the brain paradoxically ignores falling asleep: the time spent in bed is presented as continuous wakefulness, although in fact sleep has occurred.

With the long-term presence of presomnia disorders, the phobias “fear of bed” and the fear of “failure to sleep” - insophobia - develop, and pathological “bedtime rituals” are formed.

Intrasomnia disorders are frequent awakenings at night, after which it is difficult to fall asleep for a long time, a feeling of “superficial”, “shallow” sleep. Both types of disorders are characteristic of increased levels of anxiety. Accordingly, you can cope with them by overcoming anxiety. But don’t rush to the pharmacy to buy valerian; first visit a neurologist or somnologist. A somnologist is a special doctor who treats sleep disorders. These specialists will figure out what's wrong, and you may not need to take any medications.

Post-somnia disorders are a problem of early morning awakening. It’s only 4 in the morning, I’m not going to work soon, but I’m all asleep, I have no energy, and I don’t want anything, except maybe a piece of cake... And so it goes every day! Such disorders are typical for people living in a state of depression, which, as a rule, is a consequence of a long-standing anxiety disorder. It should be noted that depression in the modern world does not necessarily manifest itself in total depression. Often it is hidden under the guise of chronic pain, digestive problems and other disorders of the autonomic nervous system. In any case, if you have post-somnia disorders, you should consult a neurologist. At this stage, the specialist will most likely prescribe an antidepressant, and within one to four months after starting to take it, the problem will be solved in the vast majority of cases.

Magic pill

“What about the miracle sleeping pills?” - you say. The modern approach involves treating the cause of insomnia, which should not be considered as a separate disease. Sleeping pills are prescribed only in case of emergency for a maximum of three weeks. During this period, as a rule, dependence and addiction do not form, and the doctor selects therapy for the underlying disease. Herbs and tinctures have a certain hypnotic effect, mainly due to their relaxing effect and reduction of anxiety.

There are a number of non-drug methods for treating insomnia: phototherapy - exposure to bright white light 2500 Lux, calming exercises - stretching, self-massage, breathing exercises, individually selected therapeutic music and “natural noises”. You can practice imagination exercises: it is useful to imagine the face of a sleeping person, to imagine what your own face should look like when falling asleep.

Interesting!

Sleep hygiene

The most important condition for treating insomnia is maintaining sleep hygiene. To sleep correctly, you need to: go to bed and get up at the same time, eliminate daytime naps (especially in the afternoon), avoid drinking tea and coffee at night, and also follow a number of simple and logical recommendations:

Organize physical exercise in the evening, but no later than 3 hours before bedtime.

Water procedures before bed are highly recommended: take a cool shower, because a slight cooling of the body is one of the elements of the physiology of falling asleep.

It is recommended to sleep on a wide, firm bed, have a comfortable mattress with a flat surface, darker tones of linen, and comfortable nightwear. Use your bed only for sleeping: this is necessary to create and reinforce the association between bed and sleep.

Don't go to bed until you feel drowsy. If sleep does not occur within 20 minutes, it is recommended to get up and do a quiet activity until drowsiness sets in. If your attempt to fall asleep this time is unsuccessful, repeat the procedure.

It is advisable to get up at the same time, including weekends, despite the desire to “sleep off”.

It is important to ventilate the bedroom; if the air is dry, use a humidifier.

It is advisable to keep your head cool and your feet warm during sleep.

It is important to reduce the stress load in the evening: avoid watching TV news programs and aggressive films.

In general, full-fledged, personally satisfying activity, a harmonious combination of mental and physical activity, intensive work and periods of rest are the key to a good night's sleep.

If you neglect the principles that should help your brain work actively, then do not doubt that it will definitely take revenge on you and simply refuse to work. Sometimes we forget words, sometimes we can’t get our act together, sometimes there are simply no thoughts in our heads. How can you improve your thought process? Everyone knows that the brain requires oxygen to function, but how else can we wake up a relaxed brain to get down to business?

So, your brain will not work if:

1. You don't get enough sleep

In addition to the fact that chronic lack of sleep can cause a host of health problems, it seriously impairs concentration and brain function. Most people need at least 8 hours of sleep every day, but this figure varies from person to person. In addition to the duration of sleep, its quality is important - it must be continuous. The stage in which we dream (rapid eye movement or REM sleep) has a strong impact on how we feel during our waking hours. If sleep is interrupted frequently, the brain spends less time in this phase, causing us to feel sluggish and have difficulty with memory and concentration.

Read also:

2. You don't know how to cope with stress.

There are many ways to manage stress, including meditation, journaling, counseling, yoga, breathing practices, tai chi, etc. They all have their benefits in terms of helping the brain function. ()

3. You don't move enough

Physical activity increases blood flow, and at the same time, the flow of oxygen and nutrients to all tissues of the body. Regular physical activity stimulates the production of substances that help connect and even form nerve cells.

If you have a sedentary job, periodically get distracted and stretch your neck - bend to the sides. Alternate any mental activity with physical activity. If you sit at the computer, sit down 10 times or walk along the corridors and stairs.

4. You're not drinking enough water

Our body is approximately 60% water, and the brain contains even more water - 80%. Without water, the brain malfunctions - dizziness, hallucinations, and fainting begin from dehydration. If you don't drink enough water, you will become irritable and even aggressive, and your ability to make good decisions will decrease. Can you imagine how important water is for the mind? Often, a constant desire to sleep, fatigue, and fog in the head are associated precisely with the fact that we do not drink enough. That is, we can drink a lot - soda, coffee, sweet teas, . But many of these drinks, on the contrary, only deprive the body's cells of fluid, leading to dehydration. Especially drinks containing caffeine (tea, coffee, Coca-Cola). As in the joke, “we drink more and more, but we feel worse.” So what you need to drink is water – drinking water. But you shouldn’t “pour” water into yourself either. Just drink as needed. May you always have drinking water at hand. Try to drink at least half a glass of warm water every hour throughout the day. read in.

5. You're not consuming enough glucose.

For us, food is both salad greens and harmless chicken breast. But for the brain all this is not food at all. Give your brain glucose! And the main suppliers of glucose are carbohydrates. Chicken with vegetables will not let you faint from hunger, but coming up with something ingenious... this diet dinner will not be enough. You need bread, sweets, (ideal). A person who needs mental activity is by no means suitable for a carbohydrate-free diet. A piece of dark chocolate or dried fruit is perfect for work.

IMPORTANT

Carbohydrates are also different - simple and complex. Ordinary sugar (simple carbohydrate), although it is glucose, will not add much “mind”. It quickly breaks down, causing first a sharp rise in glucose, and then a sharp drop, without having time to “feed” the nerve cells. But complex carbohydrates - grain bread, cereals, vegetables (yes, they also have a lot of sugar), pasta - are broken down slowly and provide the body with energy for a long time. On the road and for a snack, the ideal option for complex carbohydrates is a banana! You should eat pasta if your next meal is not soon.

6. You don't have enough healthy fats in your diet.

Avoid processed, hydrogenated fats, called trans fats, at all costs, and minimize your intake of saturated animal fats. Reducing your trans fat intake is not that difficult if you remember a few rules. First of all, you need to eliminate margarines from your life - they all contain a lot of trans fats. Be sure to check the labels on baked goods (cookies, cakes, etc.), as well as chips, mayonnaise and other foods containing fat. Unfortunately, Russian manufacturers do not yet indicate the content of trans fats on product packaging. If any hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil is listed as an ingredient, the product contains trans fats.

But polyunsaturated fats - Omega-3 and Omega-6 - are essential fatty acids. You can only get these fats through food. They improve blood circulation and reduce inflammation in the body and are very beneficial for the brain. Found in salmon, herring, mackerel, sardines and trout, as well as sunflower seeds, tofu and walnuts.

Monounsaturated fats are also healthy. Monounsaturated fats lower cholesterol levels. They are found in many nuts, olive oil and avocado oil.

7. Your brain doesn't get enough oxygen.

The brain can survive without oxygen for about 10 minutes. And even when nothing prevents us from breathing, the brain may not have enough oxygen. In winter, there are radiators and heaters all around, they consume oxygen, crowds of people and rooms where there are a lot of people also deprive us of the necessary amount of oxygen. A cold, a stuffy nose - we seem to be breathing, but it turns out that it’s not good! In all these cases, have you noticed that you are starting to feel sleepy? This is how lack of oxygen affects the brain.

What to do? Ventilate the rooms, open the windows, and be sure to take a walk.

8. You're not training your brain.

Learning new subjects and languages, acquiring additional skills, and intellectual hobbies help preserve and increase brain resources. Constant "training" ensures that he will perform at the highest level throughout his life.

People call healthy sleep sound, peaceful, sweet. After such a dream, a person will wake up energetic, in a good mood, ready to move mountains.

Sound sleep speaks of a healthy body and a healthy lifestyle. Shallow sleep, and even interrupted by frequent waking up, signals like a flashing light that not everything is in order in the body and help is needed. Since you are reading this article, it means that you are worried about the question “why can’t I fall asleep and often wake up at night?” Let's figure out what a bad dream tells us. What to do to restore quick sleep without frequent waking up.

Poor sleep can be caused by various factors

Types of night rest disturbances

Sleep disturbance is manifested by difficulty falling asleep and frequent waking up or, conversely, drowsiness. Types of sleep disorders:

1. Insomnia is a sleep disorder characterized by difficulty falling asleep or waking up frequently.
2. Hypersomnia – increased sleepiness.
3. Parasomnia is a malfunction of organs and systems associated with sleep.

The most common sleep disorder is insomnia. In everyday life it is simply called insomnia. All types of sleep disorders require treatment after examination using polysomnography.

Causes of insomnia

With insomnia, the question often arises: “why do I often wake up at night?” The most common cause of insomnia is a nocturnal lifestyle, in which a person works or has fun at night and then sleeps all day. The change from night to day is unnatural for humans. The biological rhythms of owls and predatory animals are adapted to hunting at night and are determined by the natural laws of survival and continuation of life. The functions of their organs are tuned to a nocturnal lifestyle - acute night vision. Human biological rhythms are genetically tuned to active life during the day and rest at night. The human brain produces the sleep hormone melatonin at night. With insomnia, the hormone decreases to a critical level, and thus insomnia becomes chronic.

The main hormone of the pineal gland is melatonin.

Insomnia can also be caused by short-term or permanent conditions or diseases.

The most common factors that lead to insomnia:

• situational insomnia due to emotional overexcitation;
• mental or neurological diseases;
• chronic alcoholism;
• long-term use of sleeping pills and sedatives, as well as their withdrawal syndrome;
• somatic diseases are disorders in the functioning of organs and systems that lead to insomnia for various reasons.

Elderly people quite often complain to the doctor, “I wake up at night, prescribe a remedy for good sleep.” In old age, disruption of night rest is natural. Herbal medicines help older people get rid of light sleep. When treating sensitive sleep in older people, taking a vasodilator (for example, vinpocetine) is also recommended.

What diseases interfere with sleep?

If a person says, “I wake up often,” then he should think about what causes sensitive night rest. The causes of frequent waking up and poor sleep are the following somatic diseases:

• cardiopulmonary failure;
• restless legs syndrome;
• obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in people who snore;

Sleep apnea disease

• enuresis (bedwetting).

In case of cardiopulmonary failure, the cause of a sensitive night's rest is oxygen starvation - hypoxia, which forces the body to take an elevated position to facilitate breathing.

The problem of “waking up often at night” occurs with restless legs syndrome. Very often, varicose veins manifest as vascular insufficiency of the legs. If blood circulation in the legs is impaired, the need to move the lower extremities reflexively arises to restore it. It is this unconscious desire that causes restless legs syndrome. If during the day a person moves his legs without noticing it, then at night involuntary movements cause the person to wake up frequently. Timely measures taken to treat your feet will help get rid of insomnia.

One of the serious reasons for a sensitive night's rest is obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA) in people who snore. It is caused by dangerous stoppages of breathing at night due to diseases of the nasopharynx. A person wakes up from suffocation due to the cessation or restriction of air flow through the nasopharynx. The causes and treatment of sleep disturbances due to snoring are dealt with by somnologists and neurologists. If you are concerned about the problem of “I often wake up at night,” you should contact these specialists. Treating snoring will relieve you of insomnia.

Treatment with prepared drugs

Ready-made remedies for insomnia in drops, tablets, capsules and solutions are very popular. The following medications will help get rid of insomnia or light sleep:

• Novo-passit is a combined mixture of medicinal herbs and guaifenesin. This remedy not only calms you down, but also relieves anxiety, making it easier to fall asleep. Novo-passit is often used to treat insomnia.
• Phytosed has a calming effect and makes it easier to fall asleep.
• Corvalol and Valocordin drops also soothe and help get rid of anxiety, thus improving the quality of night's rest.
• Motherwort Forte tablets contain not only the plant, but also magnesium and vitamin B6. This composition of the drug relieves irritability and will help get rid of the problem of difficulty falling asleep. Treatment with motherwort is effective with light night rest.
• Donormil tablets speed up falling asleep and increase sleep duration. They should be taken 15–30 minutes before going to bed for two weeks.
• Valocordin-doxylamine has proven itself well as a mild sleeping pill. Its use is indicated for situational sleep disturbance after nervous tension.
• Melatonin is a hormone-like drug. Just like a natural hormone, it regulates sleep. Its use is recommended at the very beginning of treatment for insomnia in order to start the correct rhythm of life - work during the day, rest at night. It is recommended to take the drug together with medications, preferably of herbal origin.

Ready-made products for good sleep can be purchased at any pharmacy without a prescription.

Using herbs for insomnia

Sedative herbs

For mild cases of sleep disturbances, herbal remedies are very effective. They can be prepared at home in the form of a decoction or infusion. The following popular herbs are used to treat insomnia:

• valerian root;
• Melissa;
• motherwort;
• lavender and oregano;
• peppermint.

The pharmacy has ready-made herbal mixtures for the treatment of insomnia. To prepare the infusion, you should brew 2 tbsp. l. dry collection with a glass of boiling water, place in a water bath for 15–30 minutes, then leave for 45 minutes. The product should be taken strained 3 times a day. Take the last dose of infusion 40 minutes earlier before going to bed. Infusions help deepen shallow and sensitive sleep.

Use of synthetic sleeping pills

Benzodiazepine drugs are used to treat insomnia. We give preference to the following medications:

• Triazolam and Midazolam are recommended for difficulty falling asleep. These are short-acting sleeping pills.
• Relanium, Elenium and flurazepam have a longer action. It is recommended to take them when waking up in the early morning hours. However, they cause daytime sleepiness.
• Medium-acting hypnotics: Imovan and Zolpidem. These drugs are addictive.

Sleeping pills

• Amitriptyline and doxemine belong to the group of antidepressants. They are prescribed by neurologists for depression.

The disadvantage of this group of funds is that they are addictive. If the medication is discontinued after prolonged use, insomnia may develop.

As a result, we looked at the most common causes of sleep disturbances in people. We learned how to get rid of bad, unproductive sleep with the help of herbs and ready-made pharmaceutical preparations. Remember, chronic insomnia needs to be treated, and for this you should consult a neurologist.

• Or rather, you first wake up in the morning - and at that very second, the cells begin to produce the neurotransmitter adenosine. One of its tasks is to accumulate during the day to a sufficient concentration, in the evening, together with other substances, it impudently penetrates the brain and makes you feel slightly drowsy.
• After sunset (and when you do turn out the lights), the brain's pineal gland produces the sleep hormone melatonin. He gives the whole body a signal that it is time to go to Morpheus.
• Finally, the main inhibitory substance, gamma-aminobutyric acid, is released, which turns on the sleep center in the brain stem. The next station is “Hrrrr”...

In a few minutes

• You don’t give up and give yourself a debriefing: what would be better to say, what to do, and what else remains to be taken care of. Big mistake. Even though you seem to be lying calmly under a warm blanket, your brain triggers the typical fight-or-flight stress response.
• The adrenal glands do what they do best - release adrenaline, which activates the entire body. The heart beats faster, body pressure and temperature rise, breathing becomes faster and shallower.
• In addition, adrenaline triggers another stress hormone, cortisol, which raises your blood sugar and gives you a little more anxiety.
• The game has begun: the brain centers of sleep and wakefulness enter into a fierce battle.

After a couple of hours

• You look at the time and growl. In response to this, the body releases a new portion of the adrenaline-cortisol cocktail. To calm your agitated mind, begin to breathe slowly and deeply.

In three hours

• You give up and turn on your favorite tablet. Blue light and colorful high-resolution pictures stop the production of melatonin in the body, and the brain decides that it’s already morning and it’s time to stay awake. Plus, if you start reading a book or watching a movie, your mind becomes active.

After five hours, five hours later

• The sleepy center has finally overcome the waking center - you pass out. But you plunge only into superficial, intermittent oblivion, because brain activity occurs in high-frequency waves. This prevents you from sleeping soundly and fully recovering.

In about seven hours

• When the brain finally switches to delta waves, which plunge you into the deepest sleep phase, the joyful alarm rings. Rising from this state is the most difficult.
• You get up, and the terrible sleepiness (the remnants of adenosine accumulated from yesterday, which should have dissipated during the night) forces you to turn on the coffee maker. Yes, caffeine can counteract this effect.

Morning of a new day

• Due to lack of rest, the amygdala (your emotional centers) are more active than usual. You get irritated with or without reason, you hate all living things. Or vice versa - you are in the clouds, forgetting about your affairs and those around you.
• Meanwhile, the prefrontal cortex (the motivational and coordination center) is doing well. You can't concentrate on anything, everything falls out of your hands. There is only one way out - go to bed on time today and breathe deeply to relax and fall into a deep, restorative sleep.