How do they do that?
Staring at the ceiling, waking up at five o’clock, getting out three times a night to pee… You responded en masse to our appeal in Plus Magazine: what is your sleeping problem? Sleep doctor Dr. Sebastiaan Overeem gives advice.
Why don’t I fall asleep? I have trouble falling asleep. It gets worse if I don’t always go to bed at the same time, say at 11:30 PM. Then I sometimes lie awake until 3 am. I have already been to the doctor with this problem. sleeping pills I don’t use it anymore, because you become dependent on it.
Tineke (64)
Overeem: “This sounds like chronic insomnia, also known as insomnia. Insomnia can get worse if you don’t always go to bed at about the same time. It is important to continue to reduce the day. a little later, but first relax.
If the insomnia has existed for some time, sleeping pills often do not help. In fact, you become dependent on it. The best treatment is so-called cognitive behavioral therapy, in which the brain, as it were, ‘learns’ to sleep again. In this way you break the vicious circle of sleeping badly, worrying about it and not being able to relax. This therapy is offered in most sleep centers (a ward in a hospital that specializes in sleep and wake problems) and by some psychologists. Your GP can refer you.”
How come I have scary dreams if I don’t smoke? Once I quit smoking, I have a very scary, real-life nightmare. It haunts me for hours after I wake up. I wake up screaming for help. A glass of water, something to eat or something to do, it doesn’t help. Then I light a cigarette, the only thing that calms me down.
Lenny (59)
“Various withdrawal symptoms can arise when you stop smoking, including mental restlessness. Those who are predisposed to nightmares can now suffer even more. You can discuss with your doctor how you can stop smoking in a controlled manner and limit the withdrawal symptoms. If the nightmares still persist, it is advisable to visit a sleep center to see if there are other causes. If necessary, treatment can be started (sometimes with psychological therapy, sometimes with medicines)”.
Is it bad that I snore when I exhale? I have had an anti-snoring prosthesis for a year now. I’ve been waking up a lot lately because I snore anyway. I have the idea that I don’t make noise when I inhale, but when I exhale. During the day I often fall asleep when I sit on the couch.
Rinie (68)
“An anti-snoring prosthesis can be used in mild forms of snoring sometimes provide relief. If the snoring gets worse, it is often insufficient. Snoring usually occurs during inhalation, but can also occur during exhalation. The fact that you fall asleep during the day is an indication that there may be more to it. There could be sleep apnea, a condition in which breathing stops regularly during sleep. It is important that sleep apnea is detected and treated. Not only because it causes complaints such as sleepiness, but also because it can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease in the long term.”
What can be done about having to pee at night? For several years now I have had to get out of bed more and more at night to pee. It used to be once or twice, now it’s two or three times, every night. During the day this breaks me down and I sit nodding. The doctor examined my prostate, but it was not clearly enlarged. How can I avoid having to get out so often at night?
Henry (66)
“Having to go out often at night to urinate (medical term: nocturia) can have many causes. Sometimes it is a sign of a sleep disorder, such as sleep apnea. More often, the sleep disturbance is a result of having to urinate. Known causes include diabetes, heart disease or prostate problems, which you already mentioned. I think it would be good to discuss the complaints again with the doctor.”
How come I wake up so early? In the evening I fall asleep within three minutes, but in the morning I wake up at 5 am. Going to bed later does not help, then my night is even shorter. For years I have had days when I am rickety and miserable.
French (66)
“There are several causes of waking up too early. Sometimes it is a sign of depression. If you also suffer from a low mood, then that is certainly something to investigate. A less common cause is a shift in the day -night rhythm due to disruption of the biological clock. Sometimes this shifts the sleep rhythm forward, so that someone becomes an extreme morning person, as it were: going to bed early and getting up early. Going to bed later only makes the problem worse. The sleep center can be examined to see if you have a problem with your day-night rhythm”.
Why do I have such a fluctuating sleeping pattern? Sometimes I don’t sleep well for weeks at a time. Once I fall asleep, three hours later I’m already staring at the ceiling. I’m not worrying, I’m not worried. During the day I am tired, so I have to lie down for an hour in the afternoon. Then suddenly I sleep very well for a few nights, eight or even ten hours in a row, while I have done nothing else than during the weeks that I slept poorly. Of the thirty days in a month I sleep at least twenty very badly, five reasonably and five well. How can I make sure I sleep well every night?
Mieke (50, in menopause)
“This also sounds most like chronic insomnia. The severity can vary and the cause is not always clear. In some cases, someone sleeps so badly for a while that the body then ‘catches up’ for a few nights. The insomnia can worsen due to the transition. I advise you to ask for a referral to a sleep center, where you can further investigate a possible cause of the complaints, and where the right treatment can be started”.
Can’t stand those night shifts anymore? I have been working shifts for 28 years. In general I don’t have a problem with sleeping, but nowadays I do after the night shift. Previously, after two night shifts, I slept from about 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. This became until 1pm, if I was lucky until 1:30pm. But in the last few months I’ve often been awake at noon. Why has this suddenly changed?
Rob (54)
“As we age, our biological clock becomes more sensitive to disruptions and recovers less easily from disruption. Shift work is a continuous disruption of the biological clock. And people who previously had no problem with this often get it in old age. Sometimes there is nothing that can be done, but perhaps the shift schedule can be optimized, for example. You could discuss this with your employer.”
dr. Sebastiaan Overeem works as a sleep physician and medical researcher at the Kempenhaeghe Center for Sleep Medicine in Heeze, and at the Neurology department of the UMC St Radboud in Nijmegen.
Sources):
- Plus Magazine