Management of insomnia
By Caitlin de Kok
According to Dr Kevin Rosman, chairman of the South African Society of Sleep Medicine, management of insomnia depends on the cause. Practising good sleep habits will benefit everyone, while depression or anxiety should be treated with the appropriate medication. Sleeping pills may be used occasionally, but your body will quickly adapt to them, which means…
According to Dr Kevin Rosman, chairman of the South African Society of Sleep Medicine, management of insomnia depends on the cause.
Practising good sleep habits will benefit everyone, while depression or anxiety should be treated with the appropriate medication. Sleeping pills may be used occasionally, but your body will quickly adapt to them, which means they'll lose their efficacy when taken every night.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, which involves re-training your body to follow its natural rhythms, is a far better option than the long term use of these drugs.
Obstructive sleep apnoea patients need to be tested in a sleep laboratory. Discuss different options available to open and support the airway during sleep with a medical professional. Once this is achieved, sleep normalizes, and the insomnia disappears within a couple of weeks.
Restless leg syndrome is treated with medication to suppress the abnormal movements, allowing the sufferer to get a normal night's sleep - once again, a professional should be consulted.
