Only When I Sleep… But What If You Can´t?

People would need 6 to 10 hours of sleep in order to give itself a proper rest. However, as we grow older, the time that we have to sleep seems to be lesser and lesser. Surely, many of us have already experienced a point in time when we crave for sleep but we can´t find time to do them. As we might know, lack of sleep is very detrimental to the body. When the body does not get enough sleep, it is deprived of the recuperation that it needs.

Sooner or later, the one who cannot sleep will begin to feel weak. His regular reflexes become slower. He will easily lose attention and concentration on something. In short, his normal everyday work can be severely affected. This is why we have to be aware and observant of our sleeping habits.

Lack of sleep (also known as insomnia) is caused by many reasons, primarily stress. However, some problems in the body can cause us to lose precious hours of sleep. For example, if we feel pain in an area of the body. In fact, some people would just expect not to have enough sleep after a surgical procedure because the area where the surgery was done would be painful when the anaesthesia wears off.

However sometimes, lack of sleep is a symptom to some other more serious problem. For example, a person with Chiari I Malformation may feel frequent pains at the lower portion of his head, the area where the brain is joined to the spinal chord. This is because people with this kind of malformation have their cerebral tonsils a bit misplaced. This then brings pressure to the area where the pain is felt.

Aside from that, the normal flow of cerebrospinal fluid is sometimes blocked. As a result, it accumulates to the skull area and causes the head to be enlarged. Aside from that, swallowing, even if we´re only swallowing saliva, can be painful too. This is because the slight displacement of the cerebral tonsils block the opening of the throat. Both of these are very uncomfortable and will surely cause the patient to lose time to sleep.