Chronic Insomnia
Chronic Insomnia occurs when insomnia occurs on most nights and this pattern lasts for more than a month. Many people end up suffering from the problem for years, and end up relying on sleep aid medications chronically. Most of those with Chronic Insomnia are not aware that there are practical solutions to this problem that so many suffer from. Most people who end up with long term Chronic Insomnia can remember back to times when they had healthy normal sleep. This is actually a good sign that they can return to that normal sleep pattern. Another very good sign that the problem can be reversed with proper attention is when the insomnia sufferer often notes that they sleep so well when they go on vacation or sleep in a bed over at a friend's home.
There are medical and psychiatric conditions which can be causes of Insomnia and this is where a very thorough examination is very important. Examples of such conditions are Obstructive Sleep Apnea which cans disturb healthy sleep, and Depression can lead to either insomnia or over-sleeping.
Evaluation for Chronic Insomnia requires a thorough history and examination and at the Stamford Medical Centre we advise a 1 hour initial evaluation. Sleep Hygiene is analyzed for each individual; what are their sleep habits, what is being done in the bed, in the bedroom environment, what medications a person may be taking, when is that person eating, what are they dringking during the day and evening. All these things and many more are considered in a good Chronic Insomnia and Sleep Hygiene evaluation.
A lot of people don't realize that over the years they probably acquire some poor sleep hygiene habits. Having one or two, or even three bad sleep hygiene habits may not affect a person's ability to get a natural restful sleep. It often happens incrementally, and finally after an individual has been having a few bad habits, then a precipitating factor sets off the Insomnia cycle. Precipitating factors can be stress at work or school, stress in a relationship, a new change in their life, and soemtimes onset of an illnesss.
At the Stamford Medical Centre we want to achieve for each patient a return to their natural sleep health that they previously had and then lost. We try to achieve this with what is called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a systematic approach to identify negative sleep stimuli, poor sleep hygiene habits, analyzing the bedroon environment, and identifying other factors which may be contributing to their Chronic Insomnia.
Many patients take medications for inducing sleep, but the sleep that medications give is often not natural, patients can wake up still tired, as if although they slept, they did not have a restorative sleep. Taking medications everyday to induce or assist sleep is not ideal and most patients when asked, would you rather not have to buy these medications over long or even indefintie periods, which is over the long term costly and bothersome, and not natural. We offer a way to restore your natural sleep pattern through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
Some patients who cannot achieve this return to those days of natural sleep, can still benefit from these measures from a full and thorough evaluation, as there is also what is called a Combinational Therapy approach where improvements in Sleep Hygiene go hand in hand with the limited use of some sleep aid medications and the doctors at the Stamford Medical Centre are experienced at performing these Chronic Insomnia evaluations.
Mark L. Siefring M.D. M.S. ABIM
Chronic Insomnia occurs when insomnia occurs on most nights and this pattern lasts for more than a month. Many people end up suffering from the problem for years, and end up relying on sleep aid medications chronically. Most of those with Chronic Insomnia are not aware that there are practical solutions to this problem that so many suffer from. Most people who end up with long term Chronic Insomnia can remember back to times when they had healthy normal sleep. This is actually a good sign that they can return to that normal sleep pattern. Another very good sign that the problem can be reversed with proper attention is when the insomnia sufferer often notes that they sleep so well when they go on vacation or sleep in a bed over at a friend's home.
There are medical and psychiatric conditions which can be causes of Insomnia and this is where a very thorough examination is very important. Examples of such conditions are Obstructive Sleep Apnea which cans disturb healthy sleep, and Depression can lead to either insomnia or over-sleeping.
Evaluation for Chronic Insomnia requires a thorough history and examination and at the Stamford Medical Centre we advise a 1 hour initial evaluation. Sleep Hygiene is analyzed for each individual; what are their sleep habits, what is being done in the bed, in the bedroom environment, what medications a person may be taking, when is that person eating, what are they dringking during the day and evening. All these things and many more are considered in a good Chronic Insomnia and Sleep Hygiene evaluation.
A lot of people don't realize that over the years they probably acquire some poor sleep hygiene habits. Having one or two, or even three bad sleep hygiene habits may not affect a person's ability to get a natural restful sleep. It often happens incrementally, and finally after an individual has been having a few bad habits, then a precipitating factor sets off the Insomnia cycle. Precipitating factors can be stress at work or school, stress in a relationship, a new change in their life, and soemtimes onset of an illnesss.
At the Stamford Medical Centre we want to achieve for each patient a return to their natural sleep health that they previously had and then lost. We try to achieve this with what is called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a systematic approach to identify negative sleep stimuli, poor sleep hygiene habits, analyzing the bedroon environment, and identifying other factors which may be contributing to their Chronic Insomnia.
Many patients take medications for inducing sleep, but the sleep that medications give is often not natural, patients can wake up still tired, as if although they slept, they did not have a restorative sleep. Taking medications everyday to induce or assist sleep is not ideal and most patients when asked, would you rather not have to buy these medications over long or even indefintie periods, which is over the long term costly and bothersome, and not natural. We offer a way to restore your natural sleep pattern through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
Some patients who cannot achieve this return to those days of natural sleep, can still benefit from these measures from a full and thorough evaluation, as there is also what is called a Combinational Therapy approach where improvements in Sleep Hygiene go hand in hand with the limited use of some sleep aid medications and the doctors at the Stamford Medical Centre are experienced at performing these Chronic Insomnia evaluations.
Mark L. Siefring M.D. M.S. ABIM