Seven groups of people should not use sleeping pills! Please keep these drug-free sleep aid tips!

Sleep problems have become one of the health problems that plague many people. The causes, classifications, and contraindications of sleeping pills for sleep disorders, and 8 tips for dealing with sleep disorders are shared.

How long do we need to sleep a day?

Different groups of people have different needs for sleep. Young and middle-aged people generally sleep 7-9 hours, teenagers and young children increase 1-3 hours, and the elderly reduce 1-3 hours.

What is considered a good sleep?

You can fall asleep within half an hour of going to bed, and you don’t wake up or wake up once all night, not intermittently or early. No dreams or fewer dreams, not multiple dreams or nightmares. Deep sleep, not half-asleep, or easily disturbed by the environment and awakened.

What time is suitable to go to bed at night?

The best sleeping time for humans should be from 10 pm to 6 am, 9 pm to 5 am for the elderly, and 8 pm to 6 am for children. This sleeping time conforms to the law of the rise and fall of yin and yang in nature. Long-term violation of the law of nature will cause insomnia.

Among sleep disorders, insomnia is the most common. The occurrence of insomnia tends to increase with age, and it is more common in the elderly and women. People with poor economic conditions are prone to insomnia. Its course can change over time, with a tendency to prolong and relapse. Long-term severe insomnia often has a negative impact on the patient's body, psychology, life, work, etc., and may even lead to the occurrence of malignant accidents.

What is the cause of sleep disorders?

Sleep disorders are closely related to a variety of diseases. Patients with various clinical diseases may have coexisting sleep disorders, and various diseases themselves may also have concurrent sleep disorders. In addition, environment, diet, etc. can also cause sleep disorders.

• Disease factors include:

1. Changes in sleep patterns caused by aging of the body

Due to degenerative changes in the structure and function of the central nervous system, the neurohumoral ability to regulate sleep decreases, resulting in changes in the cyclical sleep-wake rhythm. Aging renal function causes a decrease in the renal tubular reabsorption rate, causing frequent nocturia and affecting the patient's sleep quality.

2. Organic brain diseases

With age, the degree of cerebral arteriosclerosis gradually increases, which can reduce cerebral blood flow.

3. Systemic diseases

The disease itself or its accompanying symptoms can affect sleep and aggravate insomnia.

4. Mental illnesses

The proportion of elderly people with depression and depression tendency is significantly higher than that of young people. The severity of insomnia is directly related to the degree of depression.

• Non-disease factors include:

1. Drug factors

Many drugs can affect sleep, such as the use of diuretics, which leads to frequent urination and thus affects sleep.

2. Psychosocial factors

Psychosocial factors have a greater impact on sleep in the elderly than any other factors. For example, work status, income changes, loneliness, widowhood, hospitalization, or other stressful events can easily cause people to feel psychologically uncomfortable, lost, aging, abandoned, worthless, etc. Assess whether there is a long-term illness that leads to reduced self-care ability, disordered self-image, or major events in life, causing depression, anxiety and other problems that affect sleep.

3. Bad living habits

Dinner is too much or too little, drinking coffee, tea, snacks, smoking, drinking before going to bed; dozing off during the day, sleeping too late, etc.

4. Sleeping environment

Unsuitable room temperature, too much noise, too strong light, too high or too low humidity, sudden changes in living environment, etc., will make it difficult for people to fall asleep or suddenly wake up in the water and cannot fall asleep again, disrupting the sleep rhythm.

• What categories can sleep disorders be divided into?

1. Non-organic insomnia

Insomnia is a sleep disorder characterized by frequent and persistent difficulty falling asleep or maintaining sleep, which leads to insufficient sleep satisfaction. Its manifestations include difficulty falling asleep, shallow sleep, dreaming, waking up early, or difficulty falling asleep again after waking up, fatigue or daytime sleepiness, etc.

2. Non-organic hypersomnia

Hypersomnia is mainly manifested by excessive daytime sleep. It is not caused by lack of sleep, drugs, alcohol, physical illness, nor is it part of the symptoms of certain mental disorders. It manifests as persistent or recurrent daytime excessive sleep, but is not accompanied by cataplexy, sleep paralysis, and hallucinations before falling asleep and after waking up. The period of excessive sleep is not composed of rapid eye movement sleep.

3. Non-organic sleep-wake rhythm disorder

Sleep-wake rhythm disorder refers to the asynchrony between the human body's sleep-wake rhythm and the sleep-wake rhythm allowed by the environment, which leads to patients complaining of insomnia or hypersomnia. It is mainly characterized by disordered and abnormal sleep-wake rhythm. Delayed sleep-wake phase is common in adolescents and young people. Compared with the normal or socially accepted schedule, the patient's sleep and wake-up time are habitually delayed; the sleep-wake phase is advanced, which is common in the elderly, manifested as the patient's sleep period is advanced compared with the normal or socially accepted schedule.

4. Parasomnias

Parasomnias refer to involuntary physical behaviors or experiences that occur during sleep or wakefulness, including sleep-related abnormalities in various abnormal, complex movements, behaviors, emotions, perceptions, dreams, and cognitive processes of autonomic nervous system activities. Parasomnias may cause sleepwalking, sleep terrors, and nightmare disorders.

• Who should not use sleeping pills?

The treatment of sleep disorders should first clarify the cause, and carry out targeted treatment according to the cause, including drug treatment and non-drug treatment.

Drug treatment must be carried out under the guidance of a professional physician. The following groups of people are not suitable for taking sleeping pills:

1. Pregnant women

Sleeping pills are prohibited. Some sleeping pills can cause fetal malformations, and may also cause newborns to have difficulty in breastfeeding, jaundice or drowsiness.

2. Lactating women

If sleeping pills are taken during breastfeeding, the ingredients of sleeping pills may be transferred to breast milk, causing adverse effects on newborns. If the mother takes sleeping pills during breastfeeding, it is necessary to avoid continuing breastfeeding.

3. The elderly and weak

If there are more drugs left during the day, there will be side effects such as dizziness and unsteady walking. The elderly and weaker people will increase the risk of falling and injuries.

4. People with heart, liver, and kidney disorders

Sleeping pills are mainly converted in the liver and eliminated by the kidneys. Patients with liver and kidney diseases should not take sleeping pills.

5. People with sleep breathing disorders

Sleeping pills can accelerate central inhibition, so patients with obstructive respiratory diseases or sleep apnea should not take sleeping pills.

6. Patients with acute angle-closure glaucoma and myasthenia gravis

Symptoms of such patients will deteriorate sharply after taking sleeping pills.

7. People who have drunk alcohol in a short period of time

Sleeping pills should not be taken after drinking. Alcohol and sleeping pills both inhibit the central nervous system. Do not use them at the same time to avoid excessive inhibition of the central nervous system and damage.

• What are the techniques to help sleep?

1. Establish a regular sleep schedule

Regular sleep schedules can help people's bodies and brains adapt better. Establishing a regular work and rest habit can allow the body to release more melatonin and help us fall asleep faster. Don't lie down in bed before you feel sleepy. If you wake up at night and can't fall asleep, leave the bed and engage in other low-intensity activities until you feel sleepy and return to bed.

2. Maintain a good sleeping environment

Maintaining a comfortable sleeping environment can help us fall asleep better. This includes a good atmosphere, suitable temperature and light, and a comfortable bed and pillow. Before going to bed, turn off all strong light sources and try to keep the room quiet.

3. Relax your body and brain

Performing relaxing activities before going to bed can help us fall asleep faster. For example, you can do deep breathing exercises and meditation to relax your body and brain. At the same time, you can try to listen to some light music, watch some soothing movies, and do some relaxing stretching exercises to relax your body and mind, which will help you sleep.

4. Avoid irritants

Irritants such as caffeine, nicotine and alcohol will affect our sleep. Caffeine and nicotine have an excitatory effect, which will make it difficult for us to fall asleep and wake up easily; while alcohol can make people fall asleep quickly, it is not good for the recovery and health of the body, and can interfere with sleep. Therefore, we need to try to avoid the intake of these irritants, especially before going to bed.

5. Avoid using electronic devices

Electronic devices will continuously release blue light, affecting our sleep quality. We should try to avoid using electronic products 1-2 hours before going to bed, so that the brain can relax and prepare for sleep.

6. Do appropriate exercise

Moderate exercise can help us relax our body, promote metabolism and physical recovery. But we should avoid strenuous exercise before going to bed, which will make the body excited and difficult to fall asleep. The appropriate exercise time is about 1 hour a day, preferably during the day, which is good for physical health and can directly improve sleep quality.

7. Adjust the diet structure

Diet is also very important for our sleep. We should avoid being too full or too hungry, especially too much carbohydrates or high-calorie foods, which will affect our sleep quality. Before going to bed, you can choose some easy-to-digest foods that help calm the nerves and regulate sleep, such as milk.

8. Cognitive behavioral therapy has become one of the international first-line treatments for simple sleep disorders

Correctly understanding sleep and following the laws of nature can get better sleep quality and keep us physically and mentally happy and healthy. We should try to avoid some stress and anxiety in life, fully understand the importance of sleep, strive for our own high-quality sleep time and environment, and enjoy a healthy and energetic life.