Why is sleep important?
Sleep keeps us healthy and functioning well. It lets your body and brain repair, restore, and reenergize. During sleep, your body is working to support healthy brain function and maintain your physical health. Good sleep improves your brain performance, mood, as well as physical health. Not getting enough quality sleep regularly raises the risk of many mental and physical diseases and disorders.
While we can all go through periods of time when we don’t get as much sleep as we want or need, it’s important to recognize when this is becoming a more frequent problem and whether it is having a negative effect on your life and your ability to function day-to-day.
What are the common forms of sleep disturbances?
The most common sleep disturbances are namely insomnia and hypersomnia.
If you find it difficult to sleep properly, struggle to fall/stay asleep each night, and fail to feel rested the next day, it means you have insomnia.
At our specialist well-being centres in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, we can help and understand that regular and good quality sleep is very important for health and well-being. Our experienced psychologists can help to understand the cause of insomnia and provide you with effective insomnia treatment.
Going for long periods of time with poor sleep quality can have lots of serious consequences for your physical and psychological health, and can impact lots of different areas of your life including work and relationships.
Causes of Insomnia:
According to diagnostic criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Insomnia could be primary or secondary. Primary Insomnia is a sleep disorder on its own, but secondary insomnia is usually caused by other conditions.
Primary Insomnia is treated by Sleep Specialists.
Causes of Secondary Insomnia:
- Certain physical health conditions e.g. respiratory conditions, chronic pain and arthritis
- Certain medications e.g. steroid medication, medication for epilepsy and blood pressure, and certain antidepressants.
- Among the common psychological/mental conditions causing insomnia include mood disorders, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, and ADHD.
In our daily life, Stress is the main reason for insomnia where concerns about life and day to day problems like work, school, health, money or family can keep your mind active at night, making it hard to sleep. Stressful life events, such as the death or illness of a loved one, divorce, or a job loss, also may lead to insomnia.
Outpatient sleep treatment in Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Our centers in Dubai and Abu Dhabi deliver high-quality sleep disorder treatment on a flexible outpatient basis. We can help you take back control and take steps toward recovery.
Outpatient treatment for sleep difficulties at both of our clinics in Dubai and Abu Dhabi ensures:
- Flexible and convenient consulting hours, which fit in with your work and other commitments
- Fast access to high quality sleep therapy
- Complete confidentiality and discretion
- Treatment from skilled experts
- Online therapy
At Aspris we can teach you healthy strategies to help you get to sleep at night, and help you to resolve issues that could be making your sleep problems worse. Our sleep specialists in Dubai and Abu Dhabi understand that everyone experiences sleep problems in different ways. That’s why we’ll develop a personalised treatment programme for you, meaning that we can address your individual challenges and help you to achieve wellbeing.
Sleep problems and Insomnia Treatments
- Sleep hygiene - the first step in treatment will involve our specialists teaching you simple behaviour and lifestyle changes to improve your ability to achieve consistent, good quality sleep
- Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) – we also use CBT to tackle the symptoms of your sleep disorder and any underlying problems. CBT for sleep is helpful when treating sleep disorders as it means you can challenge and change any unhealthy thought patterns that may be preventing you from getting to sleep
- 1:1 therapy for sleep disorders – this takes place with yourself and a sleep disorder treatment expert. 1:1 therapy allows for a personalised and in-depth treatment experience
- Group therapy for sleep disorders – group therapy takes place in a group of patients, which means you can receive support from others and share feelings in a safe and compassionate space
- Family therapy for disorders – family therapy takes place in a group of you and your immediate family members or loved ones. This helps everyone to build an understanding of sleep disorders and have an honest conversation about how you can best support each other
What are the signs and symptoms of a sleep problems?
There are many symptoms of insomnia and sleep problems. Some signs that you may be suffering include:
- Having difficulty falling and staying asleep
- Being awake for most of the night, despite wanting and trying to sleep
- Waking up early in the morning and not being able to get back to sleep
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Feeling tired and drowsy during the day
- Struggling to complete daily tasks because of a lack of energy
- Reduced productivity and performance at work
- Poor concentration
- Indecisiveness
- Irritability and agitation
What causes a sleep problem to develop?
Like lots of mental health conditions, there are a number of factors that can increase the chances of someone struggling with sleep disorder. These include:
- Poor sleeping environment e.g. an uncomfortable bed or lots of noise that keeps you awake
- Inconsistent sleep routine – going to bed and waking up at different times
- Napping during the day
- Shift work
- Drinking too much caffeine, especially in the evening
- Smoking cigarettes, especially in the evening
- Stress and worry
- Existing psychiatric problems e.g. depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and generalised anxiety disorder (GAD)
- Certain physical health conditions e.g. respiratory conditions, chronic pain and arthritis
- Certain medications e.g. steroid medication, medication for epilepsy and blood pressure, and certain antidepressants
Sleep treatment in Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Aspris have been treating sleep problems in the UAE since 2017. We offer expert help for sleep disorders in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, at the following locations:
Aspris Wellbeing Centre Dubai
Dubai City Walk, Al Nuzha Street
Building 19
Aspris Wellbeing Centre Abu Dhabi
King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Street
Al Bateen
Call the Aspris team today to discuss how expert therapy can remove the barriers to sleep and help you to improve your sleep patterns, length of sleep and restore energy levels.
For further information call today on: (+971) 4 385 4493 (Dubai) / (+971) 2 651 8111 (Abu Dhabi) or submit an enquiry form in confidence. We will provide you with details on all our treatments and offer help on how to manage your mental health at a time that suits you.