What to Tell Your Doctor About Your Insomnia
Frank communication is often the ticket to finding sleep solutions that work for you.
每个人都有偶然睡觉不会来的夜晚。But if lack of sleep is affecting you during the day as well as at night, and improving your sleep habits hasn’t helped, it might be time to see a doctor, advises Nathaniel F. Watson, MD, co-director of the UW Medicine Sleep Center in Seattle, Washington. “An insomnia disorder involves not only nighttime sleep complaints, but also daytime symptoms such as fatigue, sleepiness, memory problems, impaired job performance, and moodiness.”
近年来睡眠已经有大量的研究，现在可以使用许多新技术和治疗方法。与您的医生一起使用，您应该能够弄清楚让您获得深度和恢复睡眠的内容。
It’s All in the Details
你去睡眠专家可能会a little different from visits to other doctors. Your sleep doctor will take the usual medical history—asking about any other health issues you may have and what illnesses may run in your family—but will also want to know a lot about your daily life.
“I usually ask what a typical 24-hour period is like—not just at night. I’ll want to know when and what you eat, when and how much you exercise, what your daily routine is like,” says Gopal Allada, MD, a sleep specialist and an associate professor at Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine in Portland.
Obtaining complete information about your habits and routines will help your doctor figure out why you’re having sleep issues. Some doctors will ask you to fill out a questionnaire before your visit, but even if yours doesn’t, “it’s a good practice to keep track of your sleep patterns and share that with your team,” says Jean Tsai, MD, PhD, a sleep disorders specialist and an associate professor in the neurology department at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora.
To do this, keep a paper or digital sleep diary, and record what time you go to bed, how often you wake up, how long you are awake in the night, and what time you get up in the morning. Additionally, make a note of anything unusual that occurs during the night, such as having especially vivid dreams or sleepwalking.
寻找原因
If your doctor suspects that an underlying health condition is contributing to your sleep troubles, they may order blood tests in order to learn more. “Many illnesses, such as thyroid disease, for example, can contribute to sleep problems,” says Dr. Tsai.
“Insomnia due to a medical condition is most common in older adults because people tend to have more chronic health problems as they age,” notes Dr. Watson.
Chronic pain, no matter what your age or the reason for the pain, can also make it difficult to sleep. Fibromyalgia, arthritis, and other painful disorders are common sleep thieves as well.
即使您分享与您的健康有关的一切，医生有时会订购睡眠学习以了解更多信息。作为这种隔夜评估的一部分，您的氧气水平，心率，血压，脑活动和眼部运动将在睡眠时测量。
你的医生想知道什么
你吃什么药？Many common medications can inhibit sleep, while others can cause you to feel extra sleepy. (One reason older people tend to experience sleep issues is that they’re more likely to take multiple meds, some of which may interfere with sleep.) Make sure to bring a list of everything you take, including over-the-counter drugs and any supplements.
What other health problems do you have?Many health conditions can cause sleep problems, while insufficient sleep can make many conditions worse. Your doctor will need a complete picture of your overall health in order to determine what’s causing your sleep difficulties. If you have undergone any previous sleep studies, your doctor will want to see those results.
Do you have a regular nighttime routine?The things you do immediately before getting into bed can impact sleep. Your doctor may be able to show you how to improve your shut-eye simply by making a few surprisingly simple changes to your routine, such as keeping lights low in the evening to allow for the release of melatonin, a naturally occurring sleep-inducing hormone (bright light suppresses it).
你担心睡得足够吗？急于睡着可以让失眠变得更糟。你的医生想知道你的困难是否已经睡着了，因为你在睡眠期间开始的焦虑来源 - 由于特定原因（如受伤或疾病），你开始了担心你的睡眠问题是永久性的。
你的睡眠合作伙伴说了什么？Tossing and turning, snoring, and talking in your sleep can all point toward specific sleep problems. Although you probably don’t know while you’re asleep if you’re doing any of these, someone who shares your bed likely does. Before your visit, ask your sleep partner to tell you about any of these signs or to go to your appointment with you.
