
How can we fall asleep quickly, sleep well, and wake up rested? Adam Wichniak, a psychiatrist from the Sleep Disorders Centre at the Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology in Warsaw, talks to Aleksandra Pezda about how to cope with sleep problems.
Aleksandra Pezda: It’s late at night. I’ve already watched the eighth season of Homeland, scrolled through my Instagram and Facebook newsfeed, and I still can’t fall asleep.
Adam Wichniak: None of these behaviours helps you fall asleep. On the contrary, each makes it even more difficult, exacerbating your sleep problems. If you’re already in bed, but decide to check email on your smartphone or watch TV, you aren’t ready to sleep. But we will discuss this later.
You might find some consolation in the fact that you are not alone. Every second Polish adult experiences some sleep problems for at least a few weeks throughout the year, whereas every fourth feels the effect of insufficient sleep during the day. There are various types of sleep disturbances, though. One might have difficulty falling asleep, wake up in the middle of the night, or wake up too early and struggle to get back to sleep. Each problem has its own consequences such as irritability, lowered cognitive performance or focus; to put it simply, thinking problems. This can happen even after one sleepless night. After a few months of not getting enough sleep, the complications might become more serious and include high blood pressure, cardiac arrhythmia, menstrual disorder, or the loss of libido. If any of these problems are observed, you should seek medical help.
What does it mean to have insomnia?
Insomnia – understood as a mental disorder – can be diagnosed only when a person experiences the above symptoms both at night and during the day for a prolonged time, which is now thought to be over three months. However, insomnia is rarely an isolated illness. In most cases, sleep disturbances result from