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Li Meng, a 30-year-old bank clerk, has found herself waking up at 3 or 4 a.m. in recent months, having trouble falling back asleep. At first, she thought it was just a temporary insomnia caused by work pressure and didn't pay much attention to it. But as time went on, instead of getting better, the situation became more and more serious, and even began to affect work and life during the day.
"It's not okay to go on like this, I have to go to the hospital. Li Meng made up her mind and came to a well-known local sleep medicine center.
In the hospital, Li Meng met Dr. Wang. Dr. Wang, an experienced sleep expert, patiently listened to Li Meng's description and asked, "Apart from sleep problems, do you have any other discomforts lately?"
Li Meng thought for a while and said, "In the past few months, I have indeed felt more fatigued than before, and my mood is not very stable, and sometimes I have heart palpitations. However, I thought it was all caused by staying up late, so I didn't pay much attention to it. "
Dr. Wang nodded and said, "These symptoms of yours suggest that we need to consider several possibilities. One of the most important is sleep apnea syndrome, which causes frequent awakenings during the night and lethargy and fatigue during the day. This is followed by mood disorders such as depression and anxiety, which are also often accompanied by sleep problems. Then there is hyperthyroidism, which can cause palpitations, irritability and other manifestations. "
"Sounds complicated. Li Meng frowned, "How can I determine which situation it is?"
"Don't worry, we can go through a series of checks to check them one by one. Dr. Wang reassured, "Today you should do a sleep monitoring and blood test to see if there are any signs of apnea or hormonal disorders. As for emotional problems, we can judge them through scale assessments and psychological interviews. "
In the following week, Li Meng completed various examinations. She was relieved that her sleep monitoring and thyroid function were fine. However, Dr. Wang's psychological evaluation found that Li Meng had obvious depressive tendencies.
"In your case, frequent waking up is most likely caused by depressed mood. Dr. Wang explained to Li Meng, "Depression can disrupt our biological clock rhythm, resulting in an easy tendency to wake up in the second half of the night. At the same time, it can also cause a series of physical discomforts such as fatigue and heart palpitations. "
"I see. Li Meng suddenly realized, "Then what should I do?"
"In terms of treatment, we can consider a combination of medication and psychological interventions. "Taking some antidepressants can help improve mood and sleep." At the same time, regular psychological counseling and learning some relaxation techniques are also very helpful for adjusting your mentality. "
Following the doctor's instructions, Li Meng began to take medication and conduct psychological counseling once a week. To her delight, just one month later, her sleep quality has improved significantly. Although I still wake up occasionally, I am generally able to fall asleep and no longer feel tired and sleepy the next day.
In today's fast-paced, stressful world, we often ignore physical and mental health warnings and take insomnia for granted. As everyone knows, behind the frequent night awakenings, there may be an imperceptible health "killer".
In fact, waking up at 3 or 4 a.m. is no accident. This is the time when our rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is most concentrated. During this time, the brain undergoes an autonomous "repair" process that consolidates memories and integrates emotions. If this process is disturbed, it can easily cause sleep problems. Sleep disorders are often closely related to a variety of diseases.
In addition to the depression experienced by Li Meng, mental illnesses such as anxiety disorder and bipolar disorder are often accompanied by symptoms of nocturnal awakening. These disorders can disrupt the balance of neurotransmitters in the body, leading to sleep rhythm disruptions.
At the same time, endocrine disorders such as diabetes and thyroid disease may also be the "culprit" of night awakenings. They can cause physical discomforts such as hunger, thirst, and heart palpitations, and interfere with normal sleep.
In addition, we cannot ignore the most common culprit of broken sleep – sleep apnea syndrome. This disorder, characterized by recurrent apnea during sleep, is one of the main causes of nocturnal awakenings.
If left untreated, it can lead to daytime sleepiness, cognitive decline, and even cardiovascular disease.
In the face of the problem of waking up at night, we must not take it lightly. If insomnia persists for more than a week and has begun to affect daytime function, you should seek professional help promptly. Through sleep monitoring, biochemical examination, psychological assessment and other means, doctors can systematically check the potential risk of diseases and customize personalized diagnosis and treatment plans for us.
Of course, prevention is better than cure. We should pay more attention to sleep hygiene and cultivate good work and rest habits. Between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. is the time when deep sleep is most concentrated, and you should try to fall asleep during this time.