Hello doctor. For the past two months I have been having difficulty in falling asleep. I am a 20 year old female and I’m a second year medical student. I’m a vegetarian but I eat eggs. I’m on Minerva for about five months because prior to this I was experiencing hair loss. I also have a chronic gastric ulcer which Im managing with Ulsanic tablets.
A few weeks after the sleeping problem I had been taking Alprozol (sleeping pills) I tried not to use it daily as it only caused me to sleep for about 6 hours. I took it within a course of 4 weeks but not daily. Before I took the Alprozol I tried a more natural approach and took Calmettes nite tablet but it didn’t affect me.
Then for the past two weeks I’ve been taking Sleep Eze.PM I take one tablet, sometimes two but used it intermittently. When I took two it made me feel overly exhausted the next day and I couldn’t concentrate on my academics.
I started doing exercise regularly to try and tire myself out and I can feel that my body is tired and my eyes have a burning and heavy sensation but when I close my eyes and try and sleep my mind is overly active and I can’t seem to stop it and I lay in bed without managing to fall asleep.
I used to have this problem before an exam but my mind would wonder for about 2hours and I’d manage to get about four hours of sleep or more but now I feel as though I don’t get any amount of sleep I just lay there.
What would you recommend I do? I’m worried that I might get dependent on sleeping pills and I really want to get my sleep back because it is affecting my concentration and therefore my studies.
hi dear..
i really understand your concern and more so because, i have been a medical student too and know how stressful the life is.
at your age, the only reason for not getting sound sleep is stress and anxiety. no pill/tablet/medicine will cure it comletely and permanently. so as u do, try not getting dependant on such pills.
u need to overcome the stress and anxiety the natural way through yoga and meditation. a councellor may be of more help to you..
dont worry, you will be fine soon.
thanks
Lately, I find that many sleeping problems occur because of over exposure to computer screens and TV screens in the hours just before sleeping. Try to get your mind to relax for 2 hours before going to bed. Make sure you sleep in a dark area. Try stress reduction techniques. Don’t go to bed on a full stomach.