Insomnia is a common condition for all patients regardless of their lifestyle, and sleep is directly connected to mental health. Brain Health USA offers professional and compassionate help for insomnia and related mental health conditions for residents in and around Culver City in Los Angeles County. Our commitment at Brain Health USA is to offer personalized clinical mental health services to improve sleep and health.

Insomnia and Its Impact on Mental Health

Insomnia may not only cause stress: sleep incompatibility may also cause major mental and physical health issues. Patients with insomnia may be tired through the day, have an inappropriate mood and focus, and experience higher stress levels. These symptoms may cyclically affect low-quality sleep, which, cyclically, contributes to deteriorating mental well-being.

At Brain Health USA, we understand insomnia as a co-occurring condition with other mental diseases such as anxiety or depression. Based on comorbidity or underlying conditions, we offer comprehensive services to address the problem. Our professional psychiatrists at Brain Health USA in Culver City work with patients to examine their sleep patterns and ensure proper treatment practices.

The Role of a Psychiatrist in Treating Insomnia

An insomnia psychiatrist in Culver City does not focus solely on sleep: they acknowledge that sleep and mental health are strongly interconnected. Our psychiatrists at Brain Health USA perform thorough professional examinations of sleep to establish the nature of insomnia. Based on the causes of the condition, they provide personalized treatment plans that would address your insomnia and mental health.

A psychiatrist would listen to your symptoms and health history to provide you with specific counseling and recommendations to improve your sleep. Although we focus on your condition to build further recommendations, we also consider the impact of mental well-being to help patients grow more restful, calm, and balanced.

Comprehensive and Holistic Care

At Brain Health USA, we understand mental health care in Culver City by recognizing the interactiveness of mental health and sleep influences. While insomnia may arise from various emotional or psychological issues like stress, anxiety, or depression, it is what it is. Our job is to care for the human being at all levels—improving sleep quality, compassion levels, and strengthening the body from inside-out based on the emotional impacts.

At Brain Health USA, our psychiatrists are trained to work with you around daily stress, anxiety, emotional well-being, and insomnia. Whether originating from primary or secondary causes, we develop long-term strategies for patients to benefit from, meaning better sleep and improved mental health.

Building a Supportive Environment

Our commitment at Brain Health USA is to create a safe space for anyone who approaches us for insomnia or other mental health conditions. Our professional psychiatrists fixedly understand the importance of the process, and we strive to make the journey as accessible as possible.

Truly understanding and empathetic, we are there for the journey, caring for your proper experience along the way to feel as supported as possible. We pride ourselves on maintaining an environment where you can discuss the causes of your insomnia to help build better sleep and well-being.

The Science Behind Insomnia: How Sleep Works and Why It Fails

Understanding insomnia requires a basic knowledge of how sleep works. Sleep is a complex biological process, and interruptions in the natural sleep cycle cause insomnia. There are multiple factors that interfere with the body’s ability to fall asleep and stay asleep, from environmental influences to biological mechanisms. Here’s an overview of how sleep works and why it fails in individuals struggling with insomnia.

How Sleep Works

• Sleep Cycles: Sleep occurs in several cycles, lasting approximately 90 minutes. Each complete cycle has Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) sleep and Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep. Each phase restores and rejuvenates the body and mind.
  • NREM sleep is crucial for physical restoration, like muscle repair and immune function.
• REM sleep is essential for cognitive functions like memory consolidation, problem-solving, and emotional regulation.
• Circadian Rhythm: This is the body’s internal clock that regulates the sleep-wake cycle. It responds to light and darkness, helping the body understand when it’s time to sleep and be awake. Disruptions in the circadian rhythm, such as from shift work or jet lag, can play a large role in causing insomnia.
• Melatonin Production: Melatonin, the sleep hormone, is produced by the pineal gland when it gets dark, telling your brain to sleep. Low levels of melatonin or disruptions to its natural production cause your inability to fall asleep.

Why Sleep Fails: Causes of Insomnia

• Stress and Anxiety: When you are highly stressed out or anxious, your body produces excess cortisol—the “stress hormone.” It can interfere with the relaxation you need to fall asleep intelligently. Some worries or pacing may fully prevent your body from entering the relaxed state that’s required for restful sleep.
• Depression: Depression frequently goes hand-in-hand with insomnia. Chemical imbalances in the brain, such as low serotonin levels, can affect sleep patterns. People with depression may wake up early, be restless, or have difficulty falling asleep.
• Caffeine and Stimulants: Consuming caffeine, nicotine, or stimulants later in the day may interfere with your body’s ability to fall asleep, increasing heart rate and alertness. Caffeine, especially, may disrupt sleep up to 8 hours after consumption.
• Sleep Disorders: Sleep conditions like sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, or narcolepsy significantly disrupt sleep cycles, causing fragmented or shallow sleep, which may cause insomnia.
• Poor Sleep Hygiene: Sleep hygiene is a set of practices and environmental factors that promote good sleep. Poor sleep hygiene, such as lack of a regular sleep routine, screen time before sleeping, or being kept awake by noise or uncomfortable sleeping conditions, can affect the natural body clock and result in insomnia.
• Hormonal Changes: The changes in estrogen and progesterone during pregnancy, menopause, or thyroid conditions can cause insomnia. The effect is greater in females than in males.
• Medications That Induce Insomnia: Some medicines for high blood pressure, asthma, or depression prevent sleep through their side effects. Certain medications, especially those that affect the central nervous system, can cause insomnia.
• Chronic Pain: People with arthritis, fibromyalgia, or back pain have chronic pain, preventing the body from easily falling asleep or staying asleep.

Insomnia: The Brain’s Contribution

• Hyperarousal: Insomnia causes the brain to remain hyper aroused despite wanting to sleep. The alertness keeps people from entering a restful mode, making it impossible to sleep right away or remain asleep.
• Neurotransmitter Imbalances: Insomnia is associated with the imbalances in the neurotransmitters GABA, serotonin, and dopamine. The dysregulation of the chemicals induces low-quality sleep and inability to remain asleep.

Potential Causes of Insomnia

• Age: As people get older, they note change in sleep cycles by waking up earlier or more often. Advanced aging predisposes people to certain conditions such as sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome, which causes insomnia.
• Lifestyle Choices: Poor diet, lack of exercise, or exceeding alcohol intake lead to inadequate sleep and insomnia. The habits disrupt the body’s processes, leading to the inability to fall or stay asleep.
• Genetics: Some studies indicate that people resist inducing insomnia genetically. If there is a history of sleep problems, people are at risk of developing insomnia.

Essential Insight on the Science of Insomnia

Sleep Cycles: Insomnia is associated with the disruptions in the sleep cycle and circadian rhythm, leading to bodies’ inability to induce falling asleep or staying asleep.

Hormones and Neurotransmitters: Insomnia may result from the imbalances of the hormones melatonin, serotonin, or dopamine, which contribute to sleep regulation.

External Causes: Stress, anxiety, depression, medications, and poor sleep hygiene within the same period are the common external causes of insomnia.

Health Side Effects Causing Insomnia: Conditions such as foot and sleep apnea are some conditions interrupting sleep patterns that may be the cause of insomnia.

Your Sleep Schedule Matters

If you are struggling with insomnia and are excited to improve your sleep and overall mental well-being, kindly contact Brain Health USA. Our qualified and compassionate psychiatrists in Culver City are focused on your well-being through professional service. Understanding the relationship between insomnia and mental health, the team offers holistic treatment methods focusing on short-term and long-term health triggers. The unique care plan improves sleep and mental health through hygiene, stress, and emotional stages.

Strick reminder from Brain Health USA to seek a doctor’s advice in addition to using this app and before making any medical decisions.

Read our previous blog post here: https://brainhealthusa.com/psychiatrist-beverly-hills-los-angeles-county-california/