Dysomnia or sleep disorder is a more common problem every day that can arise from various causes related to the lifestyle adopted by each person. Sleep is a vital necessity, therefore, the lack or alteration of sleep implies a deterioration in certain sectors of people’s lives. In this Psychology-Online article, we are going to give you the necessary keys so that you can identify if you suffer from any type of sleep problem, as well as offer you some guidelines for its treatment. We’ll see now What is dyssomnia, its symptoms, causes and treatment.
What is dyssomnia
The term dyssomnia is used to encompass the sleep problems associated with the quantity of hours of sleep, their quality and/or the schedule. Dysomnia includes different sleep-related disorders, such as: primary insomnia, primary hypersomnia, narcolepsy, breathing sleep disorder, circadian rhythm disorder, and dyssomnia not otherwise specified.
- He primary insomnia refers to the inability to achieve restful sleep due to difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep. Therefore, the difference between insomnia and dyssomnia is that insomnia is a type of dyssomnia or sleep disorder. In this article, you can see the .
- The primary hypersomnia It is characterized by an exaggerated need to sleep, causing periods of prolonged sleep on a daily basis. In this article, we also talk about the .
- The narcolepsy It involves a sudden desire to sleep that leads the person to experience periods of deeper but shorter sleep. This disorder may be accompanied by auditory and/or visual alterations and loss of muscle tone.
- He sleep disorder linked to breathing It is considered a problem of drowsiness or insomnia due to difficulties in ventilation during sleep.
- He circadian rhythm disorder It arises from inadequate coordination between external demands and the endogenous circadian system, producing an alteration of the sleep-wake rhythm.
- The unspecified dyssomnia It is used to designate sleep disorders that do not have the clinical characteristics of the disorders defined above.
Symptoms of dyssomnia
The main symptoms of dyssomnia are:
- Drowsiness or excessive need to sleep
- Difficulty falling or staying asleep
- Inexorable desire to sleep
- Dream in inappropriate situations
- Breathing disorders during sleep
- Involuntary movements when falling asleep
- Sleep irregularities
- Changes in the sleep-wake rhythm
- Discomfort due to the inability to fall asleep
These symptoms can trigger complementary symptoms such as increased tension or anxiety due to the impossibility of sleeping, self-medication to be able to fall asleep, increased irritability during the day, decreased concentration and/or lack of sleep. of energy to carry out daily tasks.
Causes of dyssomnia
The causes of dyssomnia can be classified into two groups:
Psychological causes
Among the psychological causes are imbalances or emotional disturbancesthe style of thoughts, the ruminationhe stress and/or emotional intensity
Environmental causes
Among the environmental causes, it is worth highlighting a accelerated pace of lifepoor diet, harmful habitsthe use of screens and/or the lack of routines and schedules.
Dysomnia treatment
The most appropriate treatment to treat dyssomnia is usually psychological and/or behavioral in nature due to the typology of the causes that generate said sleep disorder. The most effective techniques to carry out this type of treatment are classical conditioning, cognitive restructuring, progressive relaxation, sleep hygiene, sleep restriction and paradoxical intention.
- He classical conditioning It consists of associating lying in bed with sleep, in order to facilitate sleep conciliation.
- The cognitive restructuring technique It is based on modifying dysfunctional beliefs or thoughts associated with sleep.
- The progressive relaxation, specifically the , is characterized by carrying out focused breathing that allows the relaxation of the muscles. This relaxation facilitates induction and, therefore, falling asleep.
- The sleep hygiene It is a technique widely used in this type of problem since it allows you to acquire healthier habits and routines that will have a positive impact at bedtime.
- The sleep restriction It consists of first reducing the hours spent in bed in order to progressively adapt the duration of sleep.
- The paradoxical intention It is based on thinking just the opposite of what we want to do, for example, “I don’t want to sleep.” This reduces the level of anxiety generated by not being able to sleep and, therefore, facilitates falling asleep in a more natural way.
Although all these psychological techniques have been scientifically proven effective, it is necessary to know how to put them into practice. Thus, go to a psychology professional that can help you manage this situation. Since, dyssomnia or sleep disorder is a problem that must be controlled as soon as possible to prevent it from having a negative impact on our life, decreasing its quality. We leave you a relaxation video that can help you learn to relax.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Cobler-Ibancos, G. (2015). Life is a dream: DISOMNIAS. A clinical case.
- Manríquez, M. (2003). Sleep disorders. SPECIAL BULLETIN SOCIETY OF PSYCHIATRY AND NEUROLOGY OF CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE, 37.
- Peraita-Adrados, R. (2005). Advances in the study of sleep disorders. Rev Neurol, 40(8), 485-91.