The nocturnal awakenings are frequent especially after the age of 40. But what do they depend on? And how can we deal with it? We asked an expert
Eugenio Spagnuolo
October 10
– Milan
The initials SMI will perhaps not tell you anything. But if you suffer from nocturnal awakenings, then it will become familiar to you. SMI is the acronym used by science to define sleep maintenance insomnia (SMI), one of the most frequent and widespread sleep disorders, especially after the age of 40. But what do nocturnal awakenings and interrupted sleep depend on and how can we avoid them?
Research seems to suggest that states of hyper-arousal, personality traits and changes of a physiological nature can contribute to insomnia. “Sleep plays a fundamental role in the growth and maturation of our body and brain. In the course of sleep we consolidate memory and learning processes as well as grow bones and muscles. It is therefore easy to imagine why over time, as our brain and body complete their maturation, these functions become less necessary and consequently our sleep can become less and less deep and can accommodate more and more nocturnal awakenings “, he explains. Giulia Miliolineurology specialist, sleep medicine expert and author of the book The sleep manual. How to learn to sleep to live better (together with Antonio Gracco and Francesca Milano, LSWR publisher).
Interrupted Sleep in Middle Age: Worries Blame?
–
“Alongside this physiological change in sleep that generally does not cause consequences on the health of our organism – continues the expert – pathological alterations in its quality and quantity can then develop, which carry heavy consequences on our health and on our daytime performance. We often take to bed the thoughts of the day that sometimes prevent us from falling asleep or they wake us up in the course of the night ”.
Hyper arousal, due to psychological or innate factors, is considered one of the major causes of nocturnal awakenings, according to several studies. Neuroimaging studies show that higher levels of brain metabolism, due to persistent arousal states, are often linked to sleep disturbances. As well as stress markers such as norepinephrine and corticosteroid metabolites are elevated in insomniacs, possibly reflecting stress-induced activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and sympathetic nervous system. And middle age may make individuals more susceptible to the arousal effects of stress, explaining the higher prevalence of insomnia in this age group.
Insomnia nocturnal awakenings: when it depends on our behavior
–
“Sometimes, however, it is our wrong behaviors that favor the fragmentation of nocturnal sleep after a certain age”, Milioli replies. hormone that prepares our brain for sleep, and therefore predisposes it to have a more discontinuous and less restorative sleep. the tendency to do little physical activity during the day, which leads us to tire our body less and by accumulating less propensity to sleep we can contribute even more to the loss of depth of our sleep. But be careful: even carrying out intense physical activity in the evening hours can collide with the ability of our brain to maintain a restful sleep, this is because, to resist fatigue, our body produces stimulating substances that reduce the ability of our brain to relax. . Physical exertion also determines an increase in our basal body temperature which inhibits the departure of night sleep “.
And what about nutrition? “Yup, diet can also negatively affect sleep at nightthe intake of alcohol in the evening or exciting substances such as caffeine and nicotine can facilitate the appearance of disturbed sleep, even having dinner too much or too late affects the activity of our sleep “.
Insomnia and nocturnal awakenings: what to do to avoid them?
–
“To try to improve these aspects – recommends Dr. Milioli – it is fundamental first of all stick to good sleep hygiene rules trying to respect the right eating habits during the day and especially before going to bed, avoiding all those behaviors that hinder the departure of night sleep such as having dinner late in the evening, taking psycho-stimulants or alcoholic substances in the hours before falling asleep, and avoiding expose yourself to bright light in the hours before falling asleep. And if, despite proper sleep hygiene, the problem persists, it is very likely that a sleep pathology may have developed which is affecting these awakenings and which therefore needs to be framed and treated in a specialist setting, by contacting a center or a sleep medicine clinic “.
In fact, there can be multiple causes of nocturnal awakenings: the evaluation of patients who wake up during sleep could reveal a respiratory disorder that the patient himself is not aware of as obstructive sleep apnea and upper airway resistance syndrome. But only a thorough examination can tell if this is the case and establish a cure.
Awakenings at night: what they depend on according to them
tistic
–
A curiosity: according to a study on sleep, the main self-reported causes of nocturnal awakenings are 4 and include:
- Need for bladder emptying (75%). Spontaneous awakening, feeling thirsty, hearing a noise (30-40%).
- Disorder by children, co-sleepers or pains (10-20%).
- Hunger or breathing problems (5%).
October 10, 2022 – 3:35 pm
© REPRODUCTION RESERVED