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Treating Insomia

Written by: David Castillo on September 30th, 2009

Treating Insomia | read this item

In a CNN article titled “How to solve 9 sleep problems”, Sally Wadyka cited the case of Meredith Crowell—a single real estate property manager/yoga instructor who suffers from insomnia.

Crowell began having sleep disorder problems after a stressful breakup two years ago. She says that she often wakes up in the middle of the night filled with sadness and anxiety. Despite being over the breakup emotionally, her sleeping problems continued.

She sleeps around 10:30 in the evening, only to wakeup three to four hours later. She then struggles to get back to sleep; and wakes up 6AM to start her day.

“I never wake feeling well rested, because it feels like I don’t get more than about four hours of truly deep sleep,” narrated Wadyka.

She has tried several remedies, including warm baths, hot milk, relaxation techniques, and prescription medicines—all to no avail.

When analyzed by sleep medicine expert Dr. David Neubauer, he identifies one positive thing about the case.

“The good news is that Meredith’s insomnia seems to have a clear precipitant—the breakup,” explained the doctor.

Dr. Neubauer says that Wadyka’s condition is called “conditional arousal.” He explained: “Her sleep problems may have been initially caused by an external trigger, but over time the sleep problems become self-propagating. Eventually she became conditioned to become anxious about her sleep.”

Dr. Neubauer prescribed several treatments that can help Wadyka with her condition, like cognitive therapy, acupuncture, as well as avoiding wine and accepting awakenings.

For more on the CNN article, click here.

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