Tips for Talking with Your Doctor About Insomnia and Why It Matters
Chronic insomnia can affect daily life. To prepare for a doctor's visit to discuss treatment for your insomnia, track your sleep habits and write down any questions you may have.
There's a long list of health complications linked to long-term lack of sleep. Chronic insomnia can also seriously affect your quality of life, from constantly feeling tired to an increased risk of depression.
The occasional bout of sleeplessness is no cause for alarm. But if you go night after night without getting a full night's sleep, that's a wake-up call to reach out to a doctor for help.
When to talk with your doctor about chronic insomnia
Most doctors understand that sleep disorders are a major health concern.
Try to raise the subject of sleep if you're having issues with your doctor if they don't bring it up. If you have chronic insomnia, you shouldn't sweep it under the rug.
You can try a few things at home first to improve your sleep before reaching out to your doctor. This includes, but isn't limited to:
keeping regular sleep-wake and meal schedules, even on weekends
limiting screen time before bed and reducing light in your sleep space
exercising regularly, at least 5 to 6 hours before bedtime.
cutting down on caffeine, alcohol, and other drug use, especially before bed
avoiding smoking, if you smoke, or trying a smoking cessation program
avoiding daytime napping
practicing relaxation techniques before bed, such as meditation, gentle yoga, or light stretching
leaving bed if you can't sleep, then return to bed when you feel tired again.
If these steps don't resolve your insomnia, you should discuss your sleep concerns with your doctor.
You should talk with your doctor if you consistently:
have trouble falling asleep
can't stay asleep
wake up earlier than you want to
don't feel refreshed after sleep
have excessive sleepiness during the day
Tips to prepare for your doctor's visit
To make your doctor's visit as productive as possible:
Write down your sleep-related questions.
Record your sleep and sleep-related activities by hand or app and share it with your doctor.
Detail any self-help techniques you've tried and what the results were.
Make sure you know the name and dosage of any medications you're taking.
Some questions you may want to ask are:
How can I fall asleep again after waking up at night?
Can exercise help with my insomnia?
Can I take any supplements to help me fall asleep? What are the side effects?
What over-the-counter medications can help me? What are the side effects?
What prescription medications can treat my insomnia? What are the side effects?
Is insomnia genetic?
What can my doctor do for my chronic insomnia?
Your doctor may be able to recommend behavioral therapy to help you overcome your chronic insomnia, such as cognitive b e havioral therapy.
Medications can help restore typical sleep patterns.
'I recommend using cognitive behavioral therapy as the first-line treatment for insomnia since it is safer, more lasting, and at least as effective as any sleep medication,' says Pietro L. Ratti, MD, a neurologist and sleep specialist.
Takeaway
Chronic insomnia is a serious health condition. It can lead to or worsen other physical and mental health disorders.
Talk with your doctor about any chronic sleep problems. You can prepare questions ahead of time and use an app or paper to track your sleep habits to discuss with your doctor.
Self-help techniques may be effective in resolving chronic insomnia, but your doctor also can recommend treatments for chronic insomnia, including behavioral therapy and medication.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
20 minutes ago
- New York Times
Insurers Pledge to Ease Controversial Prior Approvals for Medical Care
Facing regulatory crackdowns and intensifying criticism from patients and doctors, the nation's biggest health insurers said on Friday that they would retreat from tactics that have delayed medical care and led at times to denials for necessary treatments. For years, the widespread practice known as prior authorization has vexed patients who might not have been notified until the day of surgery whether a procedure would be covered by their insurance or if a prescription medicine would be denied for no clear reason. Insurers often send unintelligible form letters, leaving patients to puzzle out the basis for the denial or what their next steps should be. Patients may delay or even abandon necessary medical care because they may not even be aware that they can appeal the decisions. Lawmakers, regulators and public outrage have drawn attention to abuses of the system, leading to mounting calls for reforms. Insurers have also been the target of myriad lawsuits, some of which attributed patient deaths to those denials and delays. The murder of Brian Thompson, a UnitedHealthcare executive, last December renewed criticisms of the tactic, unleashing a barrage of complaints that the practice was deployed to avoid covering care. 'Prior authorization is a huge issue for people who are in managed care plans because it is one of the ways plans use to control their costs,' said David A. Lipschutz, co-director for the Center for Medicare Advocacy. He pointed to several studies showing that insurers may have inappropriately denied care, particularly in private Medicare plans. Various reports from federal regulators and researchers show that the vast majority of appeals are successful. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Fast Company
30 minutes ago
- Fast Company
Neuroscientists find brain cells that explain why stress keeps you up at night
If your anxiety before a big test or a high-stakes presentation has ever kept you up at night, you can rest easier knowing that scientists are trying to get to the bottom of things. A new study published this month in The Journal of Neuroscience explores how stress interferes with sleep, causing cascading negative effects on memory and other cognitive processes. By pinpointing the specific neural mechanisms involved in stress-related memory problems and sleep disruptions, scientists hope to figure out stress-zapping treatments in the future. A group of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine's Chronobiology and Sleep Institute simulated human stress in lab mice, restraining the animals so they couldn't move. They then observed the animals' neural activity while they slept and gave the mice a spatial memory test. Much like a human stressed out before a big test, the mice slept poorly and showed memory deficits. The researchers went on to simulate the effects of the stress scenario without actually restraining the mice. By activating neurons that release the stress hormone corticotropin in a specific part of the hypothalamus known as the paraventricular nucleus, the research team stressed the mice out and went on to observe the same sleep and memory issues as if the animals had actually been restrained. When they blocked the same stress hormone-releasing neurons during the stress-inducing event, the mice slept a little better and had significantly less trouble during their spatial memory test – a hopeful finding understanding how to mitigate the problems that stress creates in the human brain. The researchers called the findings on the pathways of corticotropin-releasing hormone neurons in that region of the hypothalamus 'an important step toward improving sleep and ameliorating cognitive deficits associated with stress-related disorders' – a conclusion that anyone tired of having that one same stress dream can definitely get behind.
Fox News
31 minutes ago
- Fox News
Eating more fruits and vegetables linked to surprising effect on sleep
Your daily meal selections could influence the quality of your sleep, new research says. A study from the University of Chicago Medicine and Columbia University found that increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables could help promote more restful sleep. Previous research has shown that people who lack quality sleep may be more likely to indulge in unhealthy foods that are high in fat and sugar — and now this new finding sheds more light on how consumed foods impact sleep. In the small study — which was published in "Sleep Health: The Journal of the National Sleep Foundation" — 34 healthy young adults reported their daily food consumption and wore a tracker to measure how often they woke up or changed sleep patterns during the night, according to a press release. Those who reported eating more fruits and vegetables during the day were found to have "deeper, more uninterrupted sleep." Greater amounts of healthy carbohydrates, like whole grains, were found to have that same benefit, the study found. "Dietary modifications could be a new, natural and cost-effective approach to achieve better sleep," said co-senior author Esra Tasali, MD, director of the UChicago Sleep Center, in the release. "The temporal associations and objectively-measured outcomes in this study represent crucial steps toward filling a gap in important public health knowledge." Based on the study findings, the researchers concluded that people who eat at least five cups of fruits and veggies per day could have a 16% increase in quality of sleep compared to those who eat none of those foods. "Small changes can impact sleep. That is empowering — better rest is within your control." "16 percent is a highly significant difference," Tasali said in the release. "It's remarkable that such a meaningful change could be observed within less than 24 hours." "Based on current data, the experts confidently advise that regularly eating a diet rich in complex carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables is best for long-term sleep health," the release stated. The American Heart Association provides the following examples of fruit and veggie servings that equate to 1 cup of produce. Dr. Chelsie Rohrscheib, head sleep expert at Wesper in Michigan, said that most sleep professionals recognize that a healthy diet supports overall well-being, including sleep quality — "so the findings of this study are not entirely unexpected." "However, it's important to note that this was a relatively small study composed primarily of young adult male participants, which limits generalizability," Rohrscheib, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital. "While the results were statistically significant, the overall reduction in sleep fragmentation was modest, about 16%." The study was also observational in nature, she noted, which means it lacked the control of a randomized trial. "Ideally, future research would compare a group consuming a fruit- and vegetable-rich diet to a control group with limited intake to better establish causality," the doctor added. The researchers plan to conduct more studies to confirm that eating produce causes better sleep and to determine the "underlying mechanisms of digestion, neurology and metabolism" driving this impact, the release stated. For more Health articles, visit "People are always asking me if there are things they can eat that will help them sleep better," said co-senior author Marie-Pierre St-Onge, PhD, director of the Center of Excellence for Sleep & Circadian Research at Columbia, in the release. "Small changes can impact sleep. That is empowering — better rest is within your control."
