INSOMNIA, BACK PAIN AND CBD: CAUSES AND TREATMENT
Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder in the general population. When it becomes chronic, it can negatively affect the health, job performance, and quality of life of people who suffer from it. Therefore, in this article we explain what insomnia is, what its causes are, and what treatments exist to combat it, including CBD treatments for insomnia.
What is insomnia?
Insomnia is an alteration in the conciliation, duration, consolidation, or quality of sleep, which occurs despite the existence of suitable circumstances for sleeping, and which is accompanied by significant discomfort or deterioration in the social, work, and academic environment, among others.
The main signs of insomnia include:
- Daytime sleepiness and fatigue.
- Difficulties in attention, concentration, learning, and memory.
- Difficulty falling asleep at night.
- Increased probability of making mistakes and having an accident.
- Not having a feeling of rest after sleeping.
- Waking up during the night.
- Waking up very early.
Depending on its duration, insomnia can be classified as acute or chronic. In acute or short-term insomnia, sleep disturbance lasts from a few days to a few weeks. In contrast, in chronic or long-lasting insomnia, sleep problems appear three or more times a week for a minimum of three months.
Causes of insomnia
Acute insomnia is usually associated with a stressful event or changes in a person’s routine. Instead, chronic insomnia is related to a large number of factors, among which are:
- Stress. Worries can keep the mind active at night, making it difficult to sleep. Stressful or traumatic events can also cause insomnia.
- Trips and time changes. Jet lag caused by long commutes, night work, or frequent shift shifts alter circadian rhythms (the changes the body undergoes in a 24-hour cycle), thus potentially causing insomnia.
- Poor sleep hygiene. Irregular bedtime schedules, naps, as well as engaging in stimulating activities and using screens (computer, television, mobile phone, etc.) before going to sleep, can interfere with sleep.
- Large meals before going to sleep. An excess of food can cause discomfort when lying down, making it difficult to fall asleep.
- Diseases and disorders. Cancer, diabetes, heart disease, asthma, hyperthyroidism, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, anxiety, and depression are examples of diseases or disorders related to insomnia.
- Certain medications. There are medications that can alter sleep, such as some antidepressants, antihypertensives, and those that contain caffeine in their composition (eg, some anti-flu preparations).
- Caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol. The caffeine in coffee, tea, or mate, as well as the nicotine in tobacco, are stimulants that can disturb sleep. On the other hand, alcohol, although it can make you drowsy and help you fall asleep, also prevents the deepest phases of sleep from being reached, which often causes you to wake up in the middle of the night.
- Old age. With aging, there are changes in sleep patterns, changes in activity level, deterioration of health, and taking medications, which promote the appearance of insomnia.
Insomnia treatment with CBD, therapies, and lifestyle
Currently, the treatment of insomnia is based on lifestyle changes, therapy, and medications.
Regarding lifestyle, it is important to have nice sleep habits, such as avoiding or limiting naps, exercising regularly (avoiding doing it just before going to bed), avoiding the consumption of caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol as far as possible, etc.
Regarding therapy, it has been observed that cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can help control anxiety associated with insomnia, as well as negative thoughts that make it difficult to fall asleep.
Finally, there are several medications indicated for insomnia, most of which have to be prescribed by the doctor. However, there are also some that do not require a prescription, for example, formulations based on doxylamine are indicated to treat occasional insomnia since they act by reducing the time to fall asleep and increasing its depth and duration.
In summary, insomnia is a disorder that can significantly interfere with the life of the person who suffers from it. Knowing its main causes and treatments can be helpful in addressing this health problem. However, it is important that people who suffer from chronic insomnia see a health professional, especially if the insomnia is related to a disease or to taking medications.
How to treat low back pain with homeopathy
In these times that we are having to live our habits, they have had to adapt to an atypical context due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the spheres of life for thousands of people that have been particularly affected is work, with the emergence of teleworking as we have never experienced before.
In this context, many people have not been able, and cannot, enjoy a properly equipped work area from all points of view. Shared spaces, poorly adapted furniture and chaotic schedules are some of the most frequent difficulties in relation to this new work situation that many people suffer.
All this, together with a greater sedentary lifestyle due to the limitations in general mobility that these times have imposed, can lead to physical ailments in the back, among which low back pain stands out.
To prevent and treat these ailments, in addition to having a correct back position and not abandoning physical activity as much as possible, homeopathy can be an invaluable ally.
What is low back pain?
Lumbago, popularly known as lumbago, pain is located in the lumbar or low back. Its intensity can range from mild to moderate discomfort that limits but does not impede daily activities, to pain that can leave the patient bedridden.
Sometimes low back pain can be accompanied by pain that runs down the length of the thigh and that usually has to do with the involvement of the sciatic nerve. It is what is known as sciatica or lumbosciatica.
Low back pain is considered the main cause of activity limitation in people under 45 years of age, and the most common musculoskeletal disorder in those over 65 years of age.
80% of the population will present low back pain at some point in their life, becoming the most frequent cause of consultation for musculoskeletal pain in primary care consultations and the second cause of absenteeism among the population.
Causes of low back pain
Most patients with low back pain do not have a specific injury. Sometimes the origin may be related to rheumatic problems, trauma, or other types of diseases that may affect the area, but the most common is that the pain is a consequence of bad posture during work or due to overload when performing some physical activity in the wrong way.
As a general rule, episodes of low back pain are usually of short duration, however, there may be relapses that condition its certification.
Treatment with homeopathy
In medicine, and in life in general, the most important thing is to prevent and this is especially applicable to pain in the lower back. And for this, it is advisable to exercise daily, and especially to strengthen the abdominal and lumbar area.
Swimming on the back is one of the most recommended sports to tone up and avoid muscular injuries in the back area, but any physical activity, well-directed and adapted to the characteristics of each person, will be of great help in maintaining the good health of our lumbar area.
When the pain appears, in our experience, the combination of manual therapies such as Osteopathy with homeopathic medicines is a treatment option for low back pain with excellent results, both in the short and long term.
Homeopathic medicines such as ARNICA in case of general pain and especially if the low back pain has occurred in the context of overexertion or trauma, CUPRUM METALLICUM, and MAGNESIA PHOSPHORICA if the feeling of contracture and spasm predominates, BRYONIA if the pain is so intense that the patient cannot even move or RHUS TOXICODENDRON in patients who, on the contrary, the only thing that relieves their pain is the permanent change of posture, these are just some examples of the possibilities that homeopathy offers us when treating these lumbar pain.
To avoid relapses, it is essential to take care of your postures, especially in those activities such as study or work in which we are going to invest a large part of our time. And, of course, maintain a well-directed and maintained physical activity adapted to the characteristics and tastes of each person.
In my experience, especially in people with a tendency to suffer from recurrent low back pain, in addition to everything recommended, it is highly recommended to have regular maintenance of your back with manual rebalancing techniques such as osteopathy. Postural care, regular and well-directed exercise, homeopathy, and manual medicine techniques, such as osteopathy, will be a successful combination in the prevention and treatment of low back pain.
If you liked it, share it!
