Insomnia becoming chronic in Nepal

Earthquake, Indian blockade partly to blame

KATHMANDU, March 23:
Case No 1:

A 33-year-old man from Eastern Nepal reached to the Psychiatric Department of the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) on Sunday, seeking treatment of his sleep disorder. The man, who is also a son of a retired British Gurkha soldier, told doctors that it has been years that he has not been able to sleep. He related his problem to an incident six years when he paid Rs 1.3 million to a consultancy with hopes of getting Norway's visa but the operator of the consultancy fled with his money.

Since then, the man has been finding difficulty in falling asleep at night. The man said that he tries to sleep up to 3 to 4 o'clock in the morning but could not do so. Due to sleeplessness, he has started getting irritated with his wife and children. He also complained that he feels difficulty in paying attention or focusing on any task or in remembering things. The man also started taking alcohol to get asleep but that too did not help him. Instead, he has become alcoholic.

Case No 2:

A three-month pregnant woman, who found difficulty in falling asleep at night, reached at the Psychiatric Department of the TUTH seeking help of doctors. The woman, who had miscarriage in the past, said that she feared of another miscarriage and could not fall asleep at night. She also gave up her job due to difficulty in focusing in office works. She also complained that she has to struggle to get asleep, wakes up in the middle of the night and lies awake for hours.

Aforementioned are just some representative cases. Psychologists as well as psychiatrics say that insomnia is becoming chronic in the country. Due to social, financial, natural problems as well as unemployment, relationship break-down and other various reasons, sleeplessness has become a major problem.

"This problem has increased significantly in the recent years," said Professor Saroj Ojha, chief of the Psychiatric Department at the TUTH, adding that the stress caused by various reasons has fuelled the problems. He said that the devastating earthquake has increased the problem significantly as a lot of people lost their family members and property. He said that the subsequent Indian blockade also robbed sleep of many people. "A lot of people lost their job and incurred huge financial losses because of the blockade," added Dr Ojha.

According to Dr Ojha, financial loss, loss of the family members, relationship break-down, unemployment, failure in study are some other reasons that have increased the problem of insomnia. "Insomnia is a major problem that can lead to depression, anxiety and irritation," added Dr Ojha.

He said that due to difficulty in focusing on the given task or memory lapse caused by insomnia, one could lose his job. Chances of increase in errors and accidents are high in such cases.

Police report shows that one person commits suicide in every two hours. Dr Ojha said that mental distress and depression could be one of the reasons and insomnia also leads to depression.

Psychologist Jamuna Sangraula said sleep is one of the basic things needed for living beings. Seven to eight hours of sleep is needed for adult people. She said that insomnia is a part of mental health problem. "Stress management is crucial for its treatment," she said, adding that sleeplessness affects energy, mood, health and ability to function on the day and chronic insomnia is a serious health problem.

She said that study about the sleeping behavior of Nepalese people have not yet been carried out but the number of people complaining about not feeling refreshed even after sleep have raised significantly in recent years.

Symptoms of insomnia
-Difficulty in falling asleep despite being tired.
-Trouble getting back to sleep after waking up in midnight.
-Waking up too early in the morning.
-Daytime drowsiness, fatigue, irritability.
-Difficulty in concentrating.
-Not Feeling refreshed even after sleep.

Ways to get rid of insomnia
-Go to sleep at same time each night and get up at the same time each morning.
-Do not take nap during day, as it makes less sleepy at night.
-Exercise regularly.
-Avoid heavy meal late in the day.
-Make bedroom comfortable, dark and quite.
-Get hot water bath before going to bed.