EVERY night, when we turn off the light, our mind continues to work. It’s a kind of second life. Explain Luigi De Gennaro, one of the leading experts in sleep disorders and professor of psychophysiology of normal and pathological sleep at the University of Rome La Sapienza.
Sleep, “there are a hundred reasons that don’t make us sleep”
“Sleep is a fundamental physiological function and takes a third of our life, on average 30 years – he explains – A complex need, which for this very reason involves a series of disturbances. The most recent international classification defines up to 100 sleep disorders grouped into six broad categories: insomnia; hypersomnia, excessive daytime sleepiness; parasomnia; altered manifestations associated with sleep; sleep-related breathing disorders; movement disorders in sleep ”
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The most prevalent disorder is insomnia which one in 8 people worldwide suffer from. More frequent in adulthood. There are several life events that can trigger insomnia. Examples include the onset of a medical or psychiatric illness, stressful life events, lifestyle or work changes, bereavement.
Therapies: Medicines only if insomnia is chronic
“Except in its chronic form, however, all international scientific societies recognize insomnia as primarily treatable by non-pharmacological therapies – explains Professor De Gennaro – In other words, it must be faced with cognitive-behavioral therapy”. It is a question of framing the sleep disorder in a broader diagnostic framework that also tends to evaluate the presence of anxiety and mood disorders or other psychological disorders related to insomnia. .
How long should we sleep?
There is no one-size-fits-all, restrictive and peremptory rule. In the so-called ‘normal sleep’ there is a varied range of possibilities that we can define as “bell” – underlines De Gennaro – So, if the average recommended hours is 7 and a half-8 hours, in reality it is considered a sleep normal even if we sleep less (short dorms) or more (long dorms). The important thing is to evaluate how we face our waking life “.
Advice
Maintain a regularity of sleep and wake up times and, if possible, try not to widen the gap between holidays and working days too much; do not take stimulants in the evening. In addition, physical activity, which is generally beneficial for sleep, has negative effects when it is too close to bedtime. Of course, it is different when we are dealing with chronic insomnia because there, unfortunately, we cannot get by with a set of rules.
Therapy
“Except in its form chronic, insomnia is recognized by all international scientific societies as treatable primarily by non-pharmacological therapies – explains Professor De Gennaro – In other words, it must be faced with cognitive-behavioral therapy ”. This involves framing the problem in a broader diagnostic framework that also tends to assess the presence of anxiety and mood disorders or other psychological disorders that can cause sleep problems. “It is necessary to intervene with drugs only when it’s about chronic insomnia, when it has lasted for about six months. Under strict medical prescription.
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