Insomnia: what are the causes and how to get rid of it? Describing the symptoms of insomnia is unlikely to provide anything new. Complaints from people suffering from insomnia relate to either decreased duration or insufficient depth of sleep, or relate to the moment when sleep is disturbed. However, the main emphasis is - it is trite to emphasize this - on insufficient rest and, as a result, on insufficient freshness and performance. Insomnia is a symptom, and not a separate diagnosis or disease. It occurs in neuroses, some cardiovascular and mental diseases, neuroinfections, as well as damage to brain formations that regulate the correct alternation of sleep and wakefulness. In healthy people, it can appear after physical or mental stress, fatigue, strong emotions, etc. Causes of insomnia: - emotional or physical discomfort; - environmental factors, such as noise, bright lights, extreme changes in temperature (hot or cold) that interfere with sleep; - certain medications (for example, those used to treat colds, allergies, depression, high blood pressure, asthma); - disruption of normal sleep patterns (for example, disruption of the body's circadian rhythm associated with an irregular work schedule); - consumption of large quantities of caffeine; - drug and alcohol use; - depression, panic attacks; - pain or discomfort during sleep. All these reasons are most likely familiar to most readers of this article. Separately, I would like to note that the main cause of insomnia, according to my observations, is the “active brain”, which scrolls anxious thoughts about the past or future in the head, i.e. . STRESS, STRESS, STRESS. Moreover, stress can be caused not only by negative events, but also by bright positive events (for example, a wedding, the birth of children, admission/graduation of an educational institution, promotion, speaking in front of an audience, etc.). Remember how we worry every time something significant happens in our lives? It also often happens that during the day we think about some events that worry us. But we don’t consciously find a way out of it. Then the problem moves to deeper levels of our psyche and at night we continue to “chew” it, internally we suffer, not finding the right solution and we suffer from insomnia. But sometimes it happens that we cannot determine exactly what has worried us. Everything seems to be in order, nothing special is happening. And we are not sleeping. What is this? One possible answer to this question is that the problem lives deep inside us, on deeper layers of the psyche than our consciousness and we simply cannot track it. Remedies for insomnia It is logical to assume that if insomnia is caused by increased excitation of the nervous system, then we need to find ways to calm her down. But the trick is that this excitation is located in the autonomic nervous system, which is not controlled by the human consciousness and lives, one might say, its own life. Most of the processes in it occur against our will. Therefore, no matter how much we persuade ourselves to fall asleep, these processes are not subject to our consciousness. What to do in this case? Indian yogis have known the answer to this question since time immemorial and came up with systems of auto-training and relaxation that are widely used in modern psychotherapy. So, if you cannot relax yourself with your consciousness (imagination, thoughts, counting, etc.) succeeds, then you can try to relax your body. And then the reflex will work - the body relaxes - the muscles relax - the nervous system relaxes - the brain calms down - the person falls asleep. In practice, this works perfectly. So, how can you conduct a relaxation session for yourself? Not difficult at all. Relaxation Lie back and relax. Breathe deeply, evenly, calmly. Try not to think about anything, concentrating on your breathing. Mentally repeat to yourself: “Inhale – exhale”“inhale - exhale”, etc. Begin to consistently tense and relax all parts of the body, starting from the heels to the top of the head. As you inhale, tense your feet, as you exhale, relax them, and so on several times in a row. As you inhale, tighten your calves and as you exhale, relax. Repeat several times. As you inhale, tighten your hips - as you exhale, relax them, and so on several times. Thus, tense as you inhale and relax as you exhale, sequentially all parts of the body from the feet to the top of the head. Pay special attention to the muscles of the face (they are directly connected to the brain), and especially to the muscles of the forehead. Alternate tension and relaxation of the forehead muscles calms our restless brain and our swarming thoughts well. If you were unable to completely relax and fall asleep in one relaxation cycle, repeat everything from the beginning. Do these exercises until you fall asleep. In principle, you can use a simplified version of relaxation: while inhaling, tense your whole body at the same time, and while exhaling, relax. If you practice this exercise every time before going to bed, then over time you will develop a conditioned reflex and you will fall asleep after several inhalations and exhalations. But even such an effective technique as relaxation does not help everyone and not always. In what cases is it not effective and what should these people do? Entries Use the methods that help you. For example, you can keep a diary and write down your thoughts. And then step back and re-read it again, trying to see the situation objectively, from the outside. You can write a letter to the offender, express your anger, pour out all your emotions on paper. And then - try to see the situation through the eyes of your opponent, try to forgive him. And then, when you calm down and understand everything, burn the fruit of your sleepless night. You can turn on the voice recorder and record yourself. Tell yourself about everything that worries you. And then rewind to the beginning and listen. It will be interesting - I promise! If it is convenient, you can try to talk with someone who will understand you. By the way, in many cities psychological assistance services operate around the clock. So, if none of the above works for you, try the following methods. Meditation Before performing the meditation itself, perform a simplified version of relaxation several times (see above). Consistently tense and relax your entire body at the same time and do this several times. Then start meditating. Imagine that you are standing on a wide, massive staircase with 10 steps. You are at the highest level - 10th step. Begin your descent. Mentally go down to step 9. As you inhale, tense all the muscles of your body, and as you exhale, relax. And so several times on each step. Then move to step 8, down to step 7 and so on, at each step tensing as you inhale and relaxing as you exhale. Breathe with your stomach, use the abdominal type of breathing (see below). When you reach step 1, after that, go down another step - to the floor - to level 0. Then mentally imagine that in front of you there is a door on which hangs a sign that says: “Interior Room.” Open this door and go through it. Behind it is your inner space, your unconscious and a sound, healthy sleep. Usually a person suffering from insomnia falls asleep during descent. But if this does not happen, do this meditation again and again - as long as it takes to forget and fall asleep. Breathing The ancient yogis had deep knowledge about the structure of our body. They also knew how to heal themselves using breathing. Some of their knowledge has survived to this day. This type of breathing has a calming and relaxing effect on the body, helps put thoughts in order, calm our feelings, return the body to a state of harmony and natural balance. Also, when using breathing exercises, we come into contact with the unconscious part of our body, which facilitates easy immersion in sleep. Associated abdominal breathing Sit or lie down comfortably, try to relax and not think about anything. Take a deep breath!