Have you ever felt these things:
I was so energetic late at night that I couldn't sleep; I was dazed during the day and couldn't wake up......
Sleep and wake up, sleep is irregular......
Seeing this, many people may think that this is just lazy or playful?
There are also people who think of this as insomnia, but it is not!
This may be a circadian rhythm sleep disorder. It is often confused with ordinary insomnia, resulting in many people not getting timely and targeted improvements.
The first thing to do is to figure out what a circadian rhythm is. In order to adapt to the cyclical changes in the environment, most physiological processes of organisms show periodic fluctuations for about 24 hours, which is called circadian rhythm.
When our circadian rhythm is disturbed, our sleep rhythm also changes, mainly manifested as not being able to fall asleep when we need to sleep (difficulty falling asleep, difficulty maintaining sleep), or drowsiness and drowsiness at times and places when we should not sleep (increased daytime sleep). In psychiatry, we call it a circadian sleep disorder.
People with circadian rhythm sleep disorders often feel tired and sleepy during the day, have difficulty concentrating, and may even experience symptoms such as headaches and discomfort. At night, you may experience problems such as difficulty falling asleep, frequent and early awakenings, and poor sleep quality.
That is, there is a significant delay in the time of falling asleep and waking up, which is common in adolescents and young adults.
Compared with the regular or socially accepted schedule, the sleep-wake cycle is delayed by more than 2 hours, i.e., late bedtime-late wake-up type.
Generally speaking, the occurrence of DSPS is affected by genetic factors, and it is also easy to cause the occurrence of DSPS due to the large amount of homework done at school, the use of mobile phones or computers for a long time before bedtime, and excessive use of caffeine.
01 Behavioral therapy
Just like we adjust the time of our watch, according to the rules of the body's biological clock, gradually delay the time to go to bed until we find the best time for us.
During the course of treatment, it is necessary to try to overcome the urge to doze off, avoid other distractions, and adhere to a regular sleep-wake plan.
02 Phototherapy
Light has an important impact on our circadian rhythms, and insufficient light during the day and too much light at night can cause circadian rhythm disruptions. Increasing light stimulation in the morning, avoiding strong light stimulation at night, and reducing exposure to electronic products such as mobile phones or computers that are prone to blue light can improve delayed sleep to a certain extent.
03Supplement melatonin
Melatonin is a hormone that regulates sleep in the human body, which has the effect of affecting the circadian rhythm, and proper supplementation of melatonin can improve circadian rhythm sleep disorders.
However, it is best to use with caution under the guidance of a doctor.
That is, the time to fall asleep and the time to wake up are significantly earlier, which is common in older people.
Sleepiness at night, early falling asleep, and waking up too early, often with excessive sleepiness in the evening, may also be accompanied by an increase in the frequency of nocturnal awakenings, and symptoms gradually worsen with age.
As the human body ages, several factors can weaken the production of circadian rhythms, resulting in a weakening or disruption of sleep-wake cycles:
1. SCN (suprachiasmatic nucleus of the anterior hypothalamus) slowly degenerates and degenerates with the aging of the human body, resulting in a decrease in the ability to regulate circadian rhythms;
2. Decreased secretion of melatonin at night;
3. Weakened sensitivity to external factors or changes in external factors: For example, the elderly do less outdoor activities and are not often exposed to bright light. A large body of data suggests that older people have significantly less exposure to bright light compared to younger control populations.
First of all, we must make it clear that early sleep phase syndrome is a common and inevitable development trend of human aging, not an internal medical disease and does not require special treatment.
If this interferes with your life and prevents you from socializing, you may be able to try nonpharmacological treatments that focus on intensifying and inducing the sleep-wake cycle, especially bright light therapy.
That is, disturbance of the sleep rhythm due to shift work. It is common in young and middle-aged people.
1. Insomnia: Difficulty falling asleep during times when you need to rest, usually during the day.
2. Excessive sleepiness: Feeling extremely sleepy during times when you need to stay awake and work, usually at night or early in the morning.
3. Difficulty concentrating: Difficulty concentrating and memory loss may occur during the day due to lack of sleep or poor sleep quality.
4. Emotional problems: such as irritability, depression, and anxiety.
It is mainly due to the nature of the work and mainly affects those who work irregular hours and need to work non-traditional hours (such as night shifts or shifts).
01Adjust the working environment and shift arrangement
Reduce night shifts and try not to make them continuous, and it is recommended that managers adopt clockwise shifts (i.e., morning, afternoon, evening) when scheduling shifts, as most people are better able to adapt to this arrangement.
02 Exercise moderately
Moderate exercise, such as brisk walking, jogging, is recommended to increase sleep volume and improve sleep quality.
Circadian rhythm sleep disorders are often treated as common insomnia, resulting in many people not being able to improve in a timely and correct manner, so it is important to pay attention to identify symptoms at an early stage.
If you have sleep-related problems, you should go to a professional medical institution for diagnosis and treatment as soon as possible.
If you need help, Anxin is always there.