To understand the state of your sleep, take the following test.

1. At night, your family have all gone to sleep. But often you are not sleepy at all in the middle of the night, even when there is no outside nuisance. Yes? Or no?

2. You can only sleep for a short time. You wake up before dawn, before your family. Yes? No?

3. When you sleep, you can be woken up very easily and rarely sleep soundly. Yes? No?

Analysis
(1) If your answer was yes to one question or all of them, you may have insomnia. In that case, you have to find out the reasons for this and resolve them as soon as possible. Further down the column, the "Tips for getting to sleep" section will provide you with some methods to combat insomnia.

(2) If you answered no to all the questions, congratulations! Insomnia is not your problem. However, do you want to know if your sleeping time is adequate, or whether you get any quality sleep?

See if you have the following problems.

i) When you wake up, do you still feel tired, yawning all the time and feeling sluggish?

ii) Even if you sleep longer, you wake up still feeling sleepy?

iii) You wake up a few times at night without obvious reason (i.e. not because you are hungry or go to the toilet).

Sleep is a routine physiological state. Your activities are reduced and all your muscles will relax. Everyone needs different sleeping time depending on age, physique, health, habits and environmental factors. As long as you wake up with a clear mind, you are no longer tired and are full of vigor, then you have had enough sleep.

When you sleep, the fact that whether the whole body can rest is more important than the duration of sleep. Falling asleep naturally rather than by taking drugs makes you more vigorous and happy. Therefore, if you have the above-mentioned problems, it means you are not letting yourself rest completely when you sleep. Take a look at "Tips for getting to sleep", it may help you.

Causes of Insomnia
(I) Primary:

About 10 to 20 per cent of sufferers cannot find the cause. Actually, it may be because some patients do not need much sleep. For example, the elderly or retired people. They lead a more relaxed life so they need relatively less sleep. However, they still want to sleep more and naturally they claim to have insomnia.

(II) Secondary:

(1) The common cause is disease. For example: (i) People with a skin disease are irritated by their itchy skin. (ii) Asthmatic attack. (iii) Mental illness, such as anxiety neurosis, melancholia, neurasthenia, senile dementia and schizophrenia. (iv) The patients of duodenal ulcer may wake up with pain in the night. (v) Hyperthyroidism.

(2) Excessive consumption of alcohol, caffeine, or other stimulants.

(3) An unfamiliar or noisy environment.

(4) "Habitual insomnia" or "incidental insomnia": Some people have more difficulty getting to sleep or need less sleep than others. However, there are no abnormalities in other aspects. Thus, it is not a symptom of disease and does not require treatment.

Tips for getting to sleep
(1) Regulate your life: Sleep at fixed hours. Do not sleep through the day to avoid interfering with your night's sleep.

(2) Overcome the fear of insomnia: Don't worry that you can't sleep or how long you sleep. This will only worsen the problem.

(3) Speak out about your worries and sorrow: Share your concerns with your family and friends. Seek their advice and solve the problem together.

(4) Exercise regularly: Doing exercise regularly can relax you physically and mentally. Avoid rigorous exercises before sleep. Taking a walk quietly at night may help you relax.

(5) Advice for sleep preparation: Take a hot shower before you go to bed. Try a glass of hot milk, it may also help you to relax. Don't over or under eat. In addition, avoid smoking or drinking coffee, cola or alcohol before you go to bed.

(6) Go to sleep in a cozy setting: Keep your surroundings quiet with the appropriate lighting and temperature. The bedding should be soft and warm. Keep your room well ventilated.

(7) Don't depend on sleeping pills.