Sleepless in Broomfield CO? Summit Medical Care Center Can Help
If you're suffering from all the classic signs of insomnia, from daytime grogginess and migraines to digestive distress, you're certainly not alone. As many as 35% of the adult population experiences at least occasional bouts of insomnia. Some 15 to 20 percent experiences insomnia for up to 3 months at a time, while 10 percent of the population struggles with insomnia for even more extended periods.
As you might imagine, this scale of affliction impacts not only individuals but society as a whole. Insomniac workers are estimated to lose about 8 days of productivity per working year -- contributing to a staggering $63 billion loss for U.S. employers. If you're fed up with being counted among the sleepless but you don't want to drug yourself with sleep medications that may do more harm than good, you'll be excited to learn about the natural, non-pharmaceutical insomnia treatment options here at Summit Medical Care Center in Broomfield CO.
Understanding Insomnia
Insomnia may be defined as the inability to achieve sufficient restful sleep on a regular basis. There is no single cause of this issue, which can make identifying your own insomnia triggers difficult. The most common general contributing factors include:
- Medical conditions - Medical conditions that make your physically uncomfortable can make sleep elusive at best. These conditions may range from clogged sinuses or acid reflux to back/neck pain from arthritis or a recent injury. Restless legs syndrome and neurological ailments can distract you from your attempts to sleep. One of the more dangerous conditions, sleep apnea, can cause numerous episodes where breathing stops altogether, disrupting sleep quality.
- Lifestyle factors - Keeping non-traditional or inconsistent bedtime hours can confuse your body and brain. Working late into the night, for instance, can extend your alertness past your bedtime, especially if you're staring at a computer screen's blue light. (Blue light affects levels of melatonin, which in turn governs alertness.) Consuming caffeine, sugar or other stimulating products can also keep you awake.
- Mood problems - Stress, depression, and anxiety can all have an impact on your ability to get to sleep and stay asleep. In fact, insomnia and depression appear to be linked to the point that either condition that brings on the other. Anxiety may keep the body flooded with fight-or-flight stress hormones that make relaxation impossible. After a few consecutive sleepless nights, you can even develop anxiety about not being able to sleep, which only fuels your insomnia further.
Insomnia symptoms go far beyond simply "not being able to sleep." Sufferers may experience:
- Daytime mood swings or extremes
- Concentration or memory impairment
- Coordination problems and a tendency to make mistakes
- Fatigue/lack of energy
- Stomach and intestinal problems
- Migraines
Drug-Free Insomnia Treatment in Broomfield CO
Many insomniacs turn to sleep medications to relieve their sleeplessness -- only to find that relief in short supply. Sleeping pills often make a minimal difference in sleep quantity/quality while actually increasing morning-after grogginess. Under certain circumstances, they can be downright unsafe. Most importantly, they fail to address the underlying issues that cause your brain to keep your body awake. Our Broomfield CO clinic can provide safer, more effective forms of insomnia treatment through two state-of-the-art techniques: brain mapping therapy and neurofeedback therapy.
Brain Mapping Therapy
Every physical activity, including sleep, is governed by electrical impulses in the brain. Brain mapping therapy is a means of plotting out the various signaling patterns in your brain so we can identify communication failures between one part of this complex organ and another. We place a special cap fitted with electrodes onto your head to observe the different types of brain waves. This can prove especially useful in identifying insomnia-related issues different types of brain waves produce different effects, such as the deep relaxation of alpha waves and the theta and delta waves associated with sleep.
Neurofeedback Therapy
Once we have an understanding of where and how your brain waves seem to be sabotaging your sleep, we can use neurofeedback therapy to help you retrain your brain. Your brainwaves are monitored as you watch a movie or listen to music; every time the waves start to veer toward hyper-vigilance or anxiety, you'll see or hear a signal that encourages the brain to alter its function back toward a restful state more likely to encourage normal sleep. Eventually, the brain learns how to correct itself automatically, maintaining a straight course toward healthier sleep habits.
Call Today to Schedule Your Insomnia Treatment
Both brain mapping therapy and neurofeedback therapy should be administered in conjunction with a full-scale sleep assessment. We need to identify and address all the contributing factors to your insomnia, from late-night work habits to caffeine consumption, in addition to administering these therapeutic techniques. Call Summit Medical Care Center at 303-466-3232 today to schedule a consultation and get the insomnia treatment you so desperately need!