Stress causes more to suffer sleepless nights

The stresses of city life are giving thousands of Kiwis sleepless nights - with many turning to sedatives as a cure.

Health officials are reporting soaring sedative use and long waiting lists to see sleep specialists as more New Zealanders battle to get a good night's sleep.

Work demands and the stresses of city life are being blamed for the rise in chronic insomnia, with the most recent survey suggesting the problem affects around a quarter of the population.

Figures released by drug agency Pharmac show 678,655 prescriptions were issued last year to patients complaining of insomnia - a leap of almost 200,000 from five years ago.

Sleep specialist Dr Tony Fernando - a lecturer in medicine at Auckland University - said the problem was so serious it was time the Government took a bigger role in tackling the issue.

Insomnia was a debilitating condition with effects at the extreme end of the scale - including depression, weight gain, psychosis and even suicide.

"I think this issue is so widespread the public health service needs to deal with it," Dr Fernando said. "But it never has. Insomnia is just not seen in the same light as something like meningitis or heart disease."

Dr Fernando said modern, 24-hour lifestyles were at the root of most insomnia cases. Lives were getting more complex and a lack of sleep was the price many people were paying. While many of his patients were people with high-stress jobs, such as lawyers, doctors and company heads, mothers also figured highly.

Dr Fernando said although "primary insomniacs" could often be treated with sedatives, chronic insomniacs, or those where the problem lasted more than a month, needed professional help.

"It's both a physical and a mental condition. Physical because your brain can't switch off; mental because there is often underlying stress or anxiety," he said.

While he warned against using sedatives for more than a month or two, as they could lead to dependency, in some acute cases they were the only way people could get sleep.

Dr Fernando's clinical observation is that there is one personality type affected more often by insomnia than others - people who were perfectionists and thinkers with a tendency towards anxiety. "They worry about the worst-case scenario at a big cost to their health."

Victoria University public policy professor Jonathan Boston knows about insomnia. For almost his entire life, the 48-year-old got an average of two hours' sleep a night until finally he found relief from his chronic condition. He had to give up full-time work and his waking hours were marred by exhaustion and depression. Life got so desperate he even contemplated suicide.

But solace finally came last year when a psychiatrist prescribed him an anti-psychotic drug - usually used for disorders such as schizophrenia - for its sedative effects.

This "wonder drug" has transformed his life. Now able to sleep for about seven hours every night - as opposed to the five or six hours he used to get two or three nights a week - he has now gone back to work full time. "I feel like a new person," he said.

Can't sleep?

Seek help from a doctor.
Have a warm bath or massage.
Drink warm milk.
Listen to relaxing music.
Sleep on your back.
Exercise during the day.
Keep regular bedtime hours.
Learn relaxation techniques.
Don't drink caffeine, alcohol or smoke tobacco.
Don't use sedatives for more than a month unless on medical advice.
Don't sleep in and avoid naps during the day.
If you can't sleep, get up and do something relaxing.
Don't watch TV just before going to bed.