Insomnia: the neurologist warns that the problem is a frequent complaint in the office

Insomnia: the neurologist warns that the problem is a frequent complaint in the office


Specialist Ana Carolina Dias Gomes explains that insomnia can become chronic when the disorder interferes with the patient’s quality of life, making their daily life worse.

The Brazilian Sleep Association (ABS) highlights that 73 million Brazilians suffer from insomnia. The singers Claudia Leitte AND Sandyfor example, they have already publicly declared that they suffer from the problem. The body also states that factors such as age, gender and socioeconomic status are decisive in identifying the population suffering from insomnia. The problem is more common among women, as it is possible that there is a hormonal influence on this pattern, as rates of insomnia begin to increase in women. Towards men, from puberty onwards.




The neurologist Ana Carolina Dias Gomes (CRM-SP 171.300 and RQEs 60.963 and 609.631), a specialist in Sleep Medicine at the Sleep Institute, states that insomnia can become chronic when the disorder interferes with the patient’s quality of life, making daily life worse. The doctor explains that, in early insomnia, the person will have difficulty falling asleep, which is usually related to anxious symptoms. Maintenance insomnia is associated with other sleep disorders, particularly apnea, but may have other causes, such as anxiety itself, or no cause at all.

“All of these subtypes of initial, maintenance and early loss insomnia can be primary, without having any obvious cause. Rarely is there no comorbidity together, there is no other change that ends up facilitating the onset, what we call perpetuation of the onset of insomnia. Furthermore, there is terminal insomnia or early awakening, the patient wakes up earlier than he would like, and this is generally related to depression,” he explains.

Mental health

According to the expert, insomnia can be linked to mental health because the patient ends up sleeping less than he should, worsening psychiatric symptoms. Ana Carolina underlines that, generally, in chronic insomnia, the patient has symptoms for more than three months and may experience a worsening of mood, a depression that can worsen the insomnia.

The doctor points out that in addition to sleep deprivation, there are other problems, such as hypervigilance. Remember that insomnia causes an activation in the individual in which the fight or flight system is maintained and this worsens the patient’s quality of life. “It’s as if he’s on high alert, more prone to stress and anxiety. There are related secondary symptoms, such as increased blood pressure,” he points out.

Strategies to avoid insomnia

The neurologist emphasizes that the main strategy is sleep hygiene. Ana Carolina recommends paying attention to the use of stimulants in the evening, trying to keep the circadian cycle healthy, exposing yourself to light in the morning when you wake up and reducing the lights at night, inducing sleep with relaxing routines and physical activity (especially if possible in the morning).

According to the specialist’s recommendation, the individual should avoid staying in bed without sleeping. This creates stress and ends up making the patient’s sleep induction even worse. “Even if it’s the middle of the night, it’s better, it’s more effective to get up and do something that usually makes you sleepy, like reading with the lights dimmed until you fall asleep,” he concludes.

Source: Terra

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