One day, Uncle Zhao scratched his head in distress on a chair in the community: this week, he ended his appointment with Zhou Gong early every night, and inexplicably opened his tired eyes on time at 3 o'clock in the middle of the night.
In the room, except for the ticking of the clock, the rest was so quiet that you could hear your own breathing.
Seeing that the East was white, he silently accepted that this night, he had no chance of sleeping.
The problem is that such a situation is not Uncle Zhao's exclusive script.
This is medically well-known and academically known as intermittent insomnia.
Don't worry, let's analyze this "demon" insomnia problem a little bit.
1. Scientific explanation of intermittent insomnia
Intermittent insomnia refers to the same behavior that is common in thrillers when the brain suddenly turns on an alarm clock in the middle of the night.
To put it bluntly, it's your brain that decides to give yourself a night shift, come uninvited, and get up in the middle of the night to hang out.
Scientists have studied a lot of here, and tell you what? We all have to rely on something called a biological clock to maintain sleep.
Sometimes this product doesn't listen to the call, for example, when the pressure and anxiety are matched, it breaks the rhythm, and the story stinks and grows.
Scientists also said that waking up in the middle of the night was because the nerve transmission was too excited, like an aunt in the market encountering a promotion, endlessly.
Tell you, it's due to changes in our body's hormone levels, something went wrong with the thermoregulatory system, resulting in an overreaction.
Another simple one may be that you are less active during the day, and the body's self-adjustment system will desert, and you will remember it at night.
2. The three potential disease risks behind waking up in the middle of the night
Scientists are not vegetarians, and after investigation and research, it has been found that sisters with abnormal cardiovascular function and menopause, as well as those friends whose lungs are not very strong, are particularly prone to experience the annoyance of getting off work late at night.
Begin to talk about myocardial ischemia. Our heart is a hard-working worker, but once we run out of oxygen, our productivity plummets.
When the night should be quiet, the heart may not be able to sit still, and the signal goes straight to the brain, which makes people wake up at once, so that the blood supply can keep up with the rhythm.
Let's talk about menopausal insomnia. Ladies in the family should pay attention to the insomnia and waking up in the middle of the night that come from the "heat wave" during menopause, but the endocrine imbalance caused by the decrease of estrogen in the body brushes the sense of existence!
Finally, let's talk about lung disease. It's about breathing. If the lungs don't breathe well, there will be too much carbon dioxide inside, and the body will be like an alarm clock, informing your brain that you need to intervene, so it will cause you to sleep restlessly at night.
The wonderful thing is that these issues are not irreconcilable. Studies have shown that taking steps to combat illness can gradually restore a peaceful night.
Take Circulation, a medical journal that analyzed the sleep quality of a huge number of people, and found that those who regularly wandered at night had a small risk of heart disease, heart failure and stroke.
Therefore, insomnia is not a joke, long-term bad sleep is related to your "heart".
3. Research on the association between insomnia and cardiovascular health
When we talk about insomnia, most people may just feel dizzy and troubled the next day, but slowly, scientists have strung this string farther away.
According to an article in the authoritative medical journal "Circulation", those who toss and turn in the dark have a tight heart and have a much more chance of getting sick than others.
To be specific, if you don't sleep well for a long time, our coronary arteries and heart muscle may have to work overtime, overwork, and finally suffer from heart disease, heart failure, and even stroke.
This research is not a fantasy, it speaks with data. Researchers tracked thousands of sleep patterns and compared their rates of cardiovascular disease.
The results showed that prolonged sleep problems are not only nightmares at night, but also a potential volcano for cardiovascular events.
This also explains why Uncle Zhao and his friends who have been for many years, once they have insomnia, the doctor will first ask them to check their hearts.
Fourth, the wrong concept and correct attitude towards insomnia in the middle-aged and elderly
Among the middle-aged and elderly population, there is also a saying that insomnia occurs naturally with age, like falling leaves in autumn, and does not need to be paid much attention to.
Tell me, can this idea work? It won't work. Why? Because this is equivalent to letting the root of the disease slowly go deeper, and our health is not child's play.
Yes, insomnia may be related to older age, but that doesn't mean it's normal. Rather, it could be the body ringing alarm bells.
"When you're old, you shouldn't be able to sleep", this view lets go of many potential cardiovascular diseases, and how can children turn a blind eye.
Understanding the nature of insomnia is a lesson that each of us should do. It's not just because the body is getting older, it's more likely to be a sign of hormonal changes and disease.
We have to treat our bodies like expensive antiques, and we can't ignore any sign of abnormality. You know, it is much more effective to prescribe the right medicine wisely than to endure the early morning when the alarm clock does not go off.
5. Non-pharmacological interventions: natural conditioning methods of traditional Chinese medicine
By studying the wisdom of Chinese medicine for thousands of years, we have learned that insomnia is not a trivial matter, and Chinese medicine has its own unique treatment method for this. Regulating the heart and nourishing the temperament, smoothing the qi and strengthening the spleen are mostly the means of treating insomnia in traditional Chinese medicine.
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that "the heart is the main god", and adjusting the mind is equivalent to stabilizing the rudder of sleep.
A strong heart and a lack of blood may be the reason for the unstable sleep.
The solution lies in regulating heart function and nourishing the heart and blood. For example, the use of traditional Chinese medicine herbs to calm the mind, such as sour jujube kernels, cypress kernels, etc., are good helpers to deal with difficult dreams.
In addition, it is also extremely important to adjust daily habits, such as maintaining a moderate amount of exercise, combining work and rest, and not overexerting. Exercising during the day can help you fall asleep better at night.
Don't forget the art of food therapy, there are many secrets about food and health in Chinese medicine. A well-timed diet can help the body get proper energy and avoid gastrointestinal fatigue, which in turn can help you sleep.
Ingredients such as lotus seeds, barley, and lilies are commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat insomnia, they are mild but not dry, nourishing the heart and spleen, and attracting dreams.
6. When to choose medication
Although natural remedies are good, sometimes the situation is urgent, and medication is necessary. This is where the doctor's advice comes in.
Medication should be used when non-pharmacological therapies such as lifestyle adjustments, dietary adjustments, or traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are not effective, insomnia interferes with daily functioning, or has led to severe emotional problems.
The choice of medication is very particular and must be tailored to the specific situation of the patient. Some need to use chemicals in the brain to help sleep, such as antidepressants, sleeping pills, etc., while others need drugs to control the symptoms of other diseases in the body to avoid nighttime symptoms affecting sleep.
However, the side effects and addictive nature of the drug should not be ignored, so it is necessary to strictly follow the doctor's instructions when using it, and do not increase or decrease the dose or stop the drug easily.
summary
In conclusion, I would like to tell you that insomnia is like the tip of the iceberg, and behind it lies a deeper health message in the body.
In the silence of the night, it should not be the norm to have insomnia.
Listening to the whispers behind every insomnia, paying enough attention to it, and taking appropriate measures is a sense of health responsibility that everyone should have.