If you have one or two sleepless nights per month, this is probably not a major cause for concern. But if you experience increasingly frequent bouts of insomnia, it might be time to consider seeing your doctor about your sleep issues.
But before you make an appointment, it may be helpful to track your sleep patterns so you can give your doctor as much meaningful data as possible. In this way, he can get to the bottom of the reasons for your insomnia and offer the most effective treatment suggestions.
A Sleep Diary
A sleep diary can be one of your best tools in your battle against insomnia. In it you will track your sleep habits, things you try in order to relieve your insomnia, and anything on your mind or in your life that you think might be contributing to your insomnia.
Once you have tracked your symptoms for several weeks or so, you will be able to bring your sleep diary with you to share your findings with your doctor.
Partner Support
If you live with other people, such as a romantic partner or spouse, their input can often be invaluable. For example, they might notice loud snoring, which could be a sign of the medical condition sleep apnea.
With sleep apnea, a person will wake up because they are gasping for breath. They might not even realize they are doing it, but this wake-sleep cycle can take its toll because it will prevent a person from achieving the deeper levels of sleep that are the most healing and restorative.
A partner might also notice nightmares, talking in your sleep, sleep walking, and other behaviors while asleep that might indicate something else is going on beside just trouble sleeping.
Life Changes
Note down any significant recent life changes such as a new job or loss of a job, a new relationship, family problems, and so on. Also write down feelings associated with these, such as stress, as this could affect your insomnia.
Personal Health History
Give a detailed personal health history in relation to medical conditions, medications being taken, vitamins, minerals and supplements used, and so on. Note down the name of each medicine and the doses.
Also be specific about anything you might be taking for your insomnia, and how effective (or not) it has been in dealing with your issue.
Spotting Your Patterns
Your doctor will ask you several questions related to your insomnia in order to try to get to the cause of it. Answer these in your sleep diary:
- How often do you have trouble sleeping?
- When did the insomnia begin?
- Was there any triggering event that you can think of? Trouble at work, new baby, and so on.
- How long does it take you to fall asleep?
- Do you snore?
- Do you wake up in the night feeling as though you are choking for breath?
- How often do you awaken at night?
- How long does it take you to fall back to sleep?
- What do you do when you can’t sleep?
- What things have you tried in an effort to improve your sleep?
Some people struggle with falling asleep. Others struggle to stay asleep. Some have issues with both. Which issue/s do you have?
After trying to sleep:
- Do you feel refreshed when you wake up?
- Do you feel tired during the day?
- Do you doze off or have trouble staying awake while sitting quietly or driving?
- Do you nap during the day?
If you’ve tried a range of natural and prescription remedies and still not gotten relief, it might be time to dig deeper with your doctor to cure your insomnia.