Insomnia is a common sleep disorder. A person may have difficulty falling asleep or getting good quality sleep. It is important to seek help if you have insomnia as it can disrupt your daily activities and may make you exhausted during the day. In this article, we’ll explore the best insomnia treatment options to help improve relaxation and sleep.
What are the Treatments for Insomnia Disorder?
The main approaches to treating insomnia are changing your lifestyle and sleep habits and addressing issues related to insomnia, such as stress, which will help restore proper sleep. If these treatment options don't work, your doctor may suggest other insomnia therapies like:
Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia
Cognitive behavioural therapy involves the control and elimination of negative thoughts that keep you awake. These therapies focus on your sleep patterns and thoughts so that you can sleep well. These strategies include:
Stimulus control therapy:
This therapy helps remove factors that prevent you from sleeping.
Relaxation techniques:
It involves muscle relaxation and breathing exercises which will help to reduce anxiety at bedtime. This technique controls breathing, heart rate, muscle tension and mood so that you can relax.
Sleep restriction therapy:
This therapy is done to decrease the time you spend in bed and avoid daytime naps, which will improve your sleep pattern.
Medications
Doctors don’t usually recommend relying on medications as a form of sleeplessness treatment. But in severe cases, they may prescribe medicines for long-term use to get sleep. These medicines include:
- Eszopiclone
- Ramelteon
- Zaleplon
- Zolpidem
Sleeping pills have certain side effects, so talk to your doctor before starting any medications.