Biofeedback therapy can be an effective long-term solution for sleep disorders, and because it works by harnessing and amplifying the body’s self-healing abilities, there is no intervention, no pain and no side effects. Today’s hectic, stressful lifestyles also mean that most people do not get the right amount and quality of sleep.
As a result, in addition to the constant feeling of exhaustion, fatigue and lack of concentration, the regenerative capacity of sleep is not able to take effect, which sooner or later manifests itself in the form of physical complaints and symptoms.
How much sleep do adults need?
Is it worth saying exactly how much sleep adults need? Well, experts say that a minimum of 7-9 hours of restful sleep is ideal for young adults and adults, and 7-8 hours may be adequate for older adults.
The quantity and quality of sleep is as important to the health of the body as the nutrients, water, vitamins and minerals we take in.
Not only the quantity of sleep, but also the quality of sleep is a very important factor, because if we sleep sloppily, toss and turn, our brains are always racing, then even if we spend the necessary 7-9 hours in bed, our body cannot regenerate properly, we will still be sleepless.
Sleep disturbances mean that neither our brain nor our muscles can regenerate properly, our immune system can’t function properly and a whole host of health problems can come through our doors.
Symptoms of sleep disorders
It’s always a good idea to see a specialist and have your sleep problems checked if you experience any of the following:
- the sleep disorder is negatively affecting your daily life
- Feeling tired, sleepy, irritable all the time
- We feel tired, drowsy, sleepless
- we don’t know the cause of the sleep disturbance
- sleep disturbance is accompanied by strange, unusual behaviour
- hallucinations and dozing off during the day
- our sleep disturbance is accompanied by physical symptoms, such as blood pressure problems
Among the most common symptoms of sleep disorders are:
- tiredness, feeling sleepless
- daytime sleepiness
- headaches
- morning high blood pressure
- poor memory
- irritability
- decreased libido
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Types of sleep disorders
There are 3 types of sleep disorders, which should not be taken lightly.
List of sleep disorders:
- insomnia
- sleep disorders of nervous origin
- deep sleep sleep disorders (parasomnias)
Insomnia is when falling asleep or going back to sleep is difficult, or early awakening occurs regularly, so poor quality sleep is achieved. The patient is tired, irritable, depressed, sleepy during the day.
Sleep disorders of neurological origin may cause daytime sleepiness or even sleep apnoea, i.e. no breathing at night during sleep. This airway obstruction, which usually lasts for a few seconds, is caused by the respiratory muscles, but can make sleep shallow and even wake the person up with an interrupted sleep cycle. They also tend to doze off during the day and cannot concentrate well.
Other neurological sleep disorders include restless leg syndrome, where a sensation of spinning in the limbs interferes with sleep, causing the person to move their legs all night, and narcolepsy, where a person is almost immobile immediately after waking or hallucinates before sleep. In their sleep periods, fragmentation and frequent awakenings interfere with the restful sleep cycle.
Parasomnias include sleepwalking, nightmares, bedwetting in children, and in general a group of unusual phenomena during sleep.
What are the most common causes of sleep problems?
The causes of sleep problems can be varied, sometimes some lifestyle changes that we can make ourselves can help us to overcome sleep problems, but sometimes we may need the help of a specialist to identify and treat the causes of sleep problems.
The causes of sleep problems are most often:
- stress, anxiety
- mental problems
- side effects of certain medications
- stressful life events
- health problems
- lack of a healthy, well-established bedtime routine
- inadequate nutrition
- sedentary lifestyle
Biofeedback therapy for sleep disorders
Biofeedback therapy, a therapy based on the principle of biological feedback, can be an effective method for treating sleep disorders that does not overburden the body, but actually teaches it to function in a balanced way, to fight stress effectively.
During biofeedback therapy, a computer system with special sensors detects our brain waves, pulse, sweating, breathing, in short, all the parameters that change immediately and independently of our consciousness in the event of stress. Displayed on a screen, the system shows us how we are functioning and how we should be functioning to return our bodies from a state of imbalance to a healthy state.
Biofeedback therapy is also effective in treating sleep disorders because people with insomnia often show increased arousal, and this level needs to be reduced!
During biofeedback therapy, when the therapist treats sleep disturbance, patients learn a so-called sleep protocol and stress management protocol, which enables them to react to stressful situations in a more relaxed and conscious way, but also to learn to relax before falling asleep.
Biofeedback can also help with sleep disorders, but because it can be used to learn to consciously control our body’s unconscious responses, it can actually be used to treat a range of other health problems and complaints.
Of course, before you start biofeedback therapy, you should consult a specialist in somatology to find out the cause of your sleep disorder! If the cause of the sleep disturbance is not stress or anxiety, but an underlying medical condition, it should be treated to eliminate the sleep disturbance!