‘I would lie there wide awake; it felt like a constant daze’: People share their struggles living with insomnia
According to a study in the National Library of Medicine, approximately 30% of the world's population report sleep disruption, while 10% report daytime fatigue along with it.
Building sleep hygiene, improving sleep environment, relaxation training, cognitive behavioural therapy and phototherapy are some available treatment methods. (Source: Freepik) Sleep evaded Biren Vora since he was nine years old, but was only diagnosed with insomnia in 2017 — over 50 years later. Always restless and struggling to sleep, things worsened for the founder of a financial service company when he started working late night shifts. “I used to toss and turn in bed the whole night trying to sleep. Disruptive thoughts would cloud my mind, which further induced anxiety,” he said, adding that his addiction to tea only worsened the symptoms.
After trying everything at his perusal, he finally underwent counselling and was prescribed sleeping pills. But, determined to resolve the issue, he even pursued a course in mental health and educated himself about the various aspects of insomnia. “In fact, I even started my journey towards spirituality and connecting with nature, all of which helped me understand the root cause of my illness better. I practiced de-stressing techniques, ate more nutritious food, and did regular exercise and yoga — and thankfully, all these helped me substantially improve my sleeping condition,” he said. Now, after years of suffering from insomnia, he is finally off medications and has developed a healthy sleep routine.
Tim Wright, 47, who developed insomnia in 2014, has also not had it easy. “No matter the time I went to bed, I would lie there wide awake and struggle to sleep. This, over time, impacted my ability to concentrate at work,” he said, calling insomnia a “constant daze”. This made things difficult at work as “my managers were just not able to understand sleep deprivation and its effects”. “They made no allowances, and I was told to either resolve the issue or look for another job,” he told indianexpress.com.
Worried about the effects, Wright tried supplements such as magnesium, melatonin, ashwagandha, valerian root, and others, but none of them had any lasting effect. He even visited a medical practitioner who prescribed him sleep sedatives, which helped him fall asleep but made it impossible for him to wake up in the morning. “Finally, what helped me was learning about the mechanism of sleep through books, podcasts, and documentaries. I also developed strong sleep hygiene by ditching all screens from the bedroom, installing blackout blinds, getting enough sunlight during the day, having a regular sleep routine, and keeping a journal to track my sleeping patterns,” he shared.
After overcoming insomnia, Wright decided to help others and became a sleep coach who uses a combination of ancient wisdom and the latest scientific techniques to support people in sleeping well.
But they are not the only ones. According to a study in the National Library of Medicine, approximately 30 per cent of the world’s population report sleep disruption, while 10 per cent report daytime fatigue along with it.
What is insomnia?
Insomnia is characterised by the sustained difficulty in initiating and maintaining sleep during the designated diurnal time. (Source: Freepik)
“Insomnia is characterised by the sustained difficulty in initiating and maintaining sleep during the designated diurnal time. The most common reason for insomnia is attributed to the hyperarousal model, which means that stress, interpersonal disharmony, frequent irregularity in sleep onset habits, late-night heavy meals and alcohol consumption can all contribute to insomnia by impeding the natural rhythm of sleep biology,” said Dr Joy Desai, Director of Neurology, Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre.
“But there is a new contributor — exposure to blue light due to long screen times,” he added, further explaining that insomnia enhances the risk of metabolic disorders like high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity and increases the chance of driving accidents and neurodegenerative disorders in elderly.
Along similar lines, Dr Rishi Gautam, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, USA, said that there are two types of insomnia — short-term insomnia, which is generally in response to an acute stressor and lasts less than three months, and chronic insomnia which lasts for a longer duration.
Explaining the symptoms, Nishtha Khurana, Counselling Psychologist, Lissun noted that there are psychological, social, and biological factors. “This includes difficulty falling asleep at night, waking up during the night or waking up too early, daytime tiredness, sleepiness, increased errors at work, ongoing worries about sleep, difficulty paying attention, irritability, depression and anxiety,” she noted. The expert said that building sleep hygiene, improving the sleep environment, relaxation training, cognitive behavioural therapy and phototherapy are some available treatment methods.
Has COVID-19 exacerbated insomnia?
A 2021 study conducted in India, published by the National Library of Medicine, showed that the prevalence of insomnia was 36.9 per cent before COVID-19 and 47.1 per cent during the pandemic.
Explaining this phenomenon, Swathi J Bhat, Clinical Psychologist, Even Healthcare said, “Coronasomnia is a combination of the words coronavirus and insomnia, which is used to describe the broad scope of sleep problems related to the COVID-19 pandemic. A colloquial rather than an official or medical term, it reflects the fact that sleep problems during the pandemic occur for many reasons beyond just an infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.”
Adding, she mentioned that the pandemic-induced social confinement produced unprecedented changes in our daily routines. “Besides the stress and anxiety, associated concerns pertaining to health, finances, employment, fear of infection, and the social isolation disrupted daily routines that were typically used to maintain sleep-wake rhythms,” Bhat said.
The psychologist further stated, “Research has found notable changes in sleep patterns, including altered bedtimes, difficulty falling asleep, and reduced sleep quality during the pandemic. These sleep disruptions have also been linked to daytime sleepiness,” highlighting that simple routines typically performed at fixed times such as waking up in the morning, showing up at work, eating meals, and maintaining social and leisure activities have all been disrupted by the pandemic and social confinement. All these factors have aggravated insomnia.
What is sleep hygiene?
Building sleep hygiene, improving sleep environment, relaxation training, cognitive behavioural therapy and phototherapy are some available treatment methods. (Source: Freepik)
Experts stress that psychoeducation about sleep hygiene is among the top treatments for insomnia. “It includes a set of general recommendations about lifestyle (eg. diet, exercise, substance use) and environmental factors (eg. light, noise, temperature) that may promote or interfere with sleep,” said Bhat.
Dr Gautam recommended the following tips to build good sleep hygiene:
*Consistency is key. Go to sleep at the same time and wake up at a regular time throughout the week, including weekends.
*Make sure your bedroom is quiet, dark, relaxing and at a comfortable temperature.
*Remove electronics from your bedroom.
*Avoid large meals, caffeine and alcohol before bedtime. Dinner must be consumed at least 2 hours before the intended sleep time. If you feel hungry again around bedtime, have a light snack or a glass of milk.
*Exercise for at least 30 minutes during the day.
*Use the bed for sleep activities only. Avoid working, studying, or lounging in bed.
*Try low-stimulation activities before sleeping such as reading. Resist the urge to pick up your phone.
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