Insomnia or restful sleep? Hell or heaven? In which kingdom do you spend the night? Bad news: disorders related to night sleep are on the rise. We don’t turn a blind eye to the worries related to daily life that creep into our mind at sunset or simple bad dreams.
INSIGHTS
Sleep disorders are on the rise
“The most recent investigations that have been conducted have shown that Italians’ sleep is worsening a bit compared to past years”, he reports to beraking latest news Salute Luigi Ferini Strambi, head of the Sleep Medicine Center of the Irccs San Raffaele hospital in Milan and full professor of Neurology at the Faculty of Psychology of the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, as World Sleep Day approaches (scheduled for Friday 15 March). In any case the problem of sleepless nights it brings together a growing share of the population. The numbers are impressive. «If we talk about the prevalence of the most important disorder, insomnia, we can certainly say that in Italy, true insomniacs, i.e. patients with this specific disorder, number around 7-8 million people. Then the data are not always consistent – specifies Ferini Strambi – because often the group of subjects considered insomniacs also includes people with other disorders, for example the so-called sleep deprived or people who have a circadian rhythm disorder. For example, let’s think about “Owls“, who don’t fall asleep before 3 or 4 in the morning and then would sleep until 11 or midday, but they can’t and they fall back into the condition of sleep deprived». But in the Italy that does not rest there are also other subgroups. «There is 2% of the general population who suffers from it restless legs syndromeanother problem that unfortunately is often not diagnosed correctly – highlights the neurologist – And as for the sleep apnea, we are talking about approximately 5-6% of the male population and 3% of the female population. If we put all this data together, what emerges is impressive: the people who suffer from some sleep problem or pathology in the Peninsula can be said to represent approximately 20% of the general population. A truly significant share of Italians.”
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«Treating your sleep can help prevent many possible diseases, from the most basic, such as arterial hypertension, to the more complex ones such as cognitive impairment». And the rest routine has its weight. The data, continues the neurologist, «have also shown that, beyond the duration and quality of sleep, maintaining the good rhythmicity of sleep, the sleep-wake rhythm. Very often we see it in young people, but not only: it happens that during the week we have a certain type of behavior towards sleep and this attitude then changes substantially during the weekend. Well, we’ve seen that this disconnect between week and weekend is not helpful. A study conducted on over 60 thousand people who were studied over the long term – reports the expert – demonstrated that it is not so much the quality or quantity of sleep, but a disorganization from the point of view of the sleep-wake rhythm that creates an easier tendency to contract diseases or even increases the risk of mortality».
But how can you rest and sleep well? There are some rules that are useful to follow
Good news: it is possible to rest well by following rules that can induce better sleep. We start from the hours immediately before going to bed.
It’s not a good idea to start a argument with your partner late in the evening, perhaps when you are already under the sheets. As well as stay glued at the phone, don’t stop compulsively “scrolling” social media, writing on the PC, watching TV. And the dangers of good sleep also hide in the dish. Better to chase away the danger of white nights follow the ‘bon ton’ of rest.
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The rules – in view of World Sleep Day, which will be celebrated on Friday 15 March – are summarized again by Dr. Ferini Strambi. First of all, the expert began, «two important messages must be kept in mind. The first: if we don’t function well during the day, if we have difficulties in this sense, we also think that behind this there could be a problem related to our sleep, in terms of both quantity and quality. Not having a good quality of life” before sunset “can therefore be a sign of problems related” to what happens after the sun goes down, “problems related to sleep”. Then there is a second message that the neurologist wants to highlight: «Let’s think of a person who complains about insomnia to their doctor. To help him, several hypnotics are tried and none of them work (this is the concept of“drug-resistant” insomnia). What do we do at this point? Well, in my opinion it is essential to try to study our patient’s sleep and understand why he doesn’t sleep, what the real cause is.”
Returning to the etiquette for good sleep, the first rule is timing. «You should always try to create conditions that favor falling asleep at least an hour or an hour and a half before going to bed – suggests Ferini Strambi – therefore avoid arguments, avoid bright lights, use of electronic tools. And do it not 5 minutes before going to bed.” Therefore, the specialist reiterates, «already an hour and a half before we should begin to create the good entrance towards sleep». And in this sense we can give each other a hand right at the table.
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Before sleeping, specifies the neurologist, «All those foods that cause the heart rate to accelerate significantly should be avoided, because they prevent a good slide towards sleep. In fact, to facilitate falling asleep, the cardiovascular system must be allowed to enter a condition of slowing down the frequency. The vagal system must begin to prevail. So, for example, foods rich in soy or even high-protein foods can prevent you from falling asleep well».
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