He noted that insomnia is "a feeling of poor quality or insufficient sleep."
“That is, in order to say whether a person has insomnia or not, it is necessary to listen to the patient himself: if he is dissatisfied with his sleep, he has insomnia.
To consider this in a medical context, it is necessary that insomnia occurs often enough (at least three times a week) and that these nocturnal disturbances have daytime consequences, for example, drowsiness, decreased performance, decreased attention, tendency to make mistakes, ”the doctor said.
According to him, most often sleep disturbances occur against the background of almost daily everyday situations, stress.
“At the same time, sleep disturbance is present as long as we feel the effects of stress.
For example, we had a fight with someone, think over this situation, think about how to get out of it - the nervous system is excited, so we cannot fall asleep for a while.
Once the relationship is restored, insomnia goes away.
That is, in most cases, insomnia is a transient phenomenon that does not require the intervention of doctors.
According to statistics, a quarter of people in the general population have stressful insomnia during the year.
Short-term insomnia has no health consequences, ”the specialist emphasized.
The expert drew attention to the fact that significant sleep disorders develop against the background of rather serious disorders of the nervous system.
“If you haven't slept for one or two nights, if you're stressed, it's okay.
The stress will end - you will start sleeping.
Do not put the struggle for sleep at the forefront.
It's another matter if insomnia is constant, if a person does not sleep for a week or two or three, then, of course, you need to see a doctor.
In chronic insomnia, other mechanisms, not stressful, already come into play, ”the somnologist explained.
He added that chronic insomnia is self-sustaining.
“A person begins to constantly worry about his sleep, he has a constant fear of bed ... A psychological feeling of fear of sleep, sleep inferiority, fear that he will not be able to work normally during the day - these psychological factors begin to determine and maintain this insomnia, so you need to contact to the doctor, so that he breaks this vicious circle and prescribes treatment that will allow you to quickly get out of this state, ”the doctor said.
If the stress lasts, the sleep disturbance does not go away, then the first stage - even before going to the doctor - may be an attempt to establish a more correct sleep regimen and more strict adherence to sleep hygiene rules, Poluektov said.
“Before going to bed, it is necessary to provide a certain transition period of at least one hour, during which both the brain and the body relax, while eliminating any active mental stress, watching exciting television programs, physical exercises, so that the body can prepare for a relaxed an existence characteristic of sleep.
The second rule is mode.
You need to teach your body to relax and activate in the morning at the same hours, ”said the interlocutor of RT.
The third rule is the correct behavior in bed after going to bed, the expert explained.
“The bed is a place to sleep, so you shouldn't train yourself to watch TV or work at a computer in bed.
We don't even recommend reading or listening to the radio in bed.
An exception is sexual activity, since there is a hormonal release that has a positive effect on the nervous system, ”he concluded.
Earlier, the expert told how to establish sleep patterns after COVID-19.