I’m Not Sleepy, Should I Be Worried? Causes, Symptoms And Treatment
Sleep is often linked to satisfaction, being synonymous with rest and recovery, both physical and mental. Likewise, most of us know how unpleasant it is to not get enough sleep.
And sleep is a basic human need, which if not satisfied can have consequences on health and even in the case of complete absence for long enough, death. Sleeping difficulties are very annoying for most human beings and some people may feel restless due to this difficulty. It is not uncommon for thoughts like “is something bad happening to me?”, “Why is it so hard for me to fall asleep?”, to appear in your mind. “I’m not sleepy, should I be worried?”
In order to try to answer some of these questions, in this article we are going to try to reflect on why lack of sleep appears, what problems it can cause and how to treat it.
“I’m not sleepy” is an expression that we usually use and that usually refers to the fact that our body remains in a state of activity such that the desire to sleep does not appear, or that even though these exist we are not able to reconcile it. Although this lack of sleep does not necessarily have to be pathological, it is generally associated with the existence of insomnia, which is defined as the inability to initiate or maintain sleep or the fact that it is not restful for at least three nights. weekly for at least three months.
Sleeping less than we need (which is calculated to be around seven or eight hours a day in adults) has relevant effects for us.
In general, not being sleepy at the right time will actually cause us to sleep less, something that will mean that our body and brain cannot fully repair itself, have problems finishing development, have a hard time reorganizing and storing the information acquired during sleep. day and not be able to restore the body’s energy levels
Ultimately, it can cause problems such as tiredness and daytime fatigue, a weakening of the immune system that makes us more vulnerable to infections, physical and/or mental slowing, a decrease in the capacity for attention, judgment and reasoning, and an irritable mood. or depressed. Also increases the possibility of suffering from diabetes and cardiovascular diseases and in the long run it can reduce cognitive capacity and even life expectancy.
There are many possible reasons why a person may not be sleepy or have difficulty sleeping, generally being a multifactorial phenomenon. Among the multiple causal agents that can participate or directly cause sleep problems, we find the following.
1. People with little sleep need
Each and every one of us is unique and has a different configuration, with some people naturally getting less sleep than others. This does not mean that they have insomnia: They do not have problems getting or staying asleep nor does the difference in hours slept compared to others generate any symptoms.
Of course, this implies that there is no sudden change in the ability to sleep, but rather that it generally remains stable (beyond the changes inherent to age).
2. Anxiety, restlessness and worries
Probably one of the most common causes of most sleep difficulties is worry, stress or anxiety.
The nervousness that certain types of thoughts or situations that we are going to have to face or those that we could encounter can cause the body and mind to remain active and cause great difficulties in falling asleep, resulting in insomnia.
3. Non-association of the bed as a specific place to sleep
Many people have problems sleeping because they are unable to associate sleep with the specific place they use for it: the bed. This may be due to the fact that they use it in a general way to work or study while lying on it, have fun or carry out various activities in addition to sleeping or having sexual relations. So, By not associating bed with rest, our mind wanders and remains active something that makes us not sleepy when the time comes.
4. Physical activation
Everyone knows that regular exercise helps you sleep better. However, this effect only occurs if the exercise performed is not done just before sleep, since physical activity can increase the body’s activation and cause problems falling asleep. This is why it is not advisable to do physical exercise shortly before going to sleep, since the body may have problems detecting that it is time to sleep due to physical activation and the synthesis of neurotransmitters that this causes
Another common cause of lack of sleep is in people with bipolar disorder, specifically when they are in a manic or hypomanic phase. In this state, although they do end up falling asleep, they usually perceive a lower need for sleep and remain awake for much longer.
6. Use of certain drugs
Many medications have some type of sleep disturbance as a side effect. Although these effects generally involve drowsiness or sedation, other drugs can cause difficulty falling asleep. Especially relevant are those that affect the functionality of the autonomic nervous system, such as some psychotropic drugs, antihistamines or corticosteroids
7. Effects of substance use
In addition to the above, another possibility for the absence of sleep can be found in the effects of substance consumption, being something secondary to its consumption.
Generally, lack of sleep is associated in these cases with phases of intoxication in psychostimulant substances such as cocaine or amphetamines, or in withdrawal or tolerance of depressant substances such as heroin or opium. Alcohol can also cause insomnia and difficulties sleeping after the first few hours after consumption.
In addition, drinking coffee, tea, soft drinks or chocolate They can have activating effects that make it difficult to sleep.
8. Possible brain damage
The lack of sleep may have as one of its causes the existence of damage to different parts of the brain linked to wakefulness or the fact of going to sleep. One of them would be the thalamus Another is found in the descending reticular system, a part of the brain that inhibits wakefulness and attention to environmental stimuli and which allows us to sleep. Damage to these areas would cause severe difficulties in sleeping, or even the inability to do so. Excessive or even pathological activation of the amygdala can also cause these difficulties.
9. Medical illnesses
Another possible reason for not being sleepy is suffering from some type of illness which secondarily generates sleep disorders, including insomnia. An example of this are people with diseases associated with pain, or diseases of genetic origin.
Probably the clearest and most serious case is that of fatal familial insomnia, a strange genetic disorder present in a few families that begins causing the patient to only have microdreams and little by little it causes the total cessation of sleep, something that ends up leading to death for those who suffer from it. However, this disease is extremely rare, so in the vast majority of cases there is no cause for alarm.
There is not always true insomnia, but sometimes the problem may lie in the fact that our circadian rhythms are out of adjustment, potentially entering into conflicts with our socio-occupational obligations and demands. It is why nighttime insomnia and daytime sleepiness may occur
Treatment
The treatment of sleep lack or difficulties will depend greatly on the type of causes that generate them. In general, one of the basic steps will be to first assess where we consider this lack of sleep comes from, and if necessary perform a polysomnigraphy to check if during sleep we enter all phases of sleep or have some type of difficulty in a specific one.
At the level of therapy itself, at a psychological and behavioral level, it is common to carry out sleep hygiene, analyzing and using different guidelines through which to promote the existence of quality sleep through our behavior and habits. Among them would be the regulation of meal or sports times in relation to the time of going to sleep, the control of light and sound or using the bed only to sleep or have sex. Also Learning relaxation, mindfulness or meditation techniques may be useful
If the cause is anxiety, the above therapies may be useful, along with training in the management of anxiety, frustration and stress, cognitive restructuring or biofeedback. It is common for the fact of thinking and worrying about one’s own inability to fall asleep to generate even greater difficulty in doing so, something that makes techniques that cut off the active search for sleep make it easier.
Additionally, it may also be useful the occasional or temporary use of some type of psychotropic drug Indicated by the doctor to help facilitate sleep, sedative-hypnotics such as zolpidem or benzodiazepines are generally used. If the cause is organic or derived from drug consumption, the disease must be treated or the doctor should be approached about the possibility of changing treatment. Regarding drugs, intoxication or withdrawal syndrome must be treated.
