Ask a doctor on the topic of General medicine

Dangerous insomnia?

March 9, 2016 | 15,00 EUR | answered by Dr. med. Frauke Gehring

Good day,

for the past 2 days, I have been having a very hard time sleeping at night. I am not completely sleepless. Usually, I fall asleep relatively quickly in the evening when I go to bed, but then I wake up after one or two hours and can't fall back asleep, tossing and turning in bed. Occasionally, I do doze off for a few minutes, but overall it's just not enough.

I am currently on vacation and spending the whole day at home on the couch. I think that's the reason for my insomnia. How am I supposed to get tired if I'm not doing anything?

But that's not really my main concern. I read that with constant insomnia, irreversible brain damage can occur at a certain point. Even after just 2 days.

Now, I'm scared of that. Is this a legitimate concern? Should I go to the doctor and ask for sleeping pills?

Dr. med. Frauke Gehring

Hello,

This is misinformation! You can safely forget about it.

Sleeping pills will not be prescribed to you either, but you will be encouraged to structure your day, challenge yourself, go swimming or hiking to get your body back into its natural rhythm. Then you will also sleep well again.

By the way, relaxing on the sofa is not much less restful than sleep. However, you should limit this to a few hours in the evening.

Best regards, Dr. Höllering