Is insomnia a warning of dementia?

QI’VE been plagued my entire adult life by insomnia. I have no trouble nodding off but then wake up. If I really can’t get back to sleep I read a book, but I do get very tired a lot of the time. My GP did prescribe medication, however I find I start to feel just as tired if I take these for more than a week.

Now I read that sleep problems are linked to developing dementia and I am even more motivated to find a solution to my problem.

AINSOMNIA is a huge problem for many people in Britain, with more than 15 million prescriptions for sleeping tablets issued each year. But tablets are not a solution. And in terms of dementia, it is in fact a version of these tablets that are associated with risk rather than insomnia itself. Major trials show an association between the use of ‘sleepers’ known as benzodiazepines and an increased risk of developing dementia.

Doctors and patients rely on various kinds of sleeping pills but actually their help is minimal and they have significant side effects.

Exercise is a good weapon against insomnia but must be done long before bedtime as it can be too stimulating.

All insomniacs should consider trying specific sleep therapies either via a clinic or alone.

Sleep restriction therapy involves calculating how much sleep you are used to and then setting a strict waking up and bedtime based on those few hours. So if it is five hours and you need to wake at 7am, you are only allowed to go to bed at 2am. This routine becomes instilled night after night and gradually you bring bedtime earlier by 15 minute increments. Another treatment is stimulus control therapy. This is a form of cognitive behavioural therapy focusing on the notion that bed is only for sleep and sex, with strict instructions, such as no books or computers, to follow. For example, you are taught that if you are in bed but awake for more than 15 minutes, you get out again. Genuine insomnia solutions such as this take time and patience to implement, but can provide the answer.

QFOR the past four years in the autumn I have experienced very itchy arms – worse on the lower forearms. I take daily antihistamine and sometimes I rub ice cubes along my arms for relief. Blood tests are fine.

AA SYMPTOM that only occurs for a few months of the year must surely be responding to a change outside the body during that time.

Allergic skin conditions can be precipitated by a huge number of external factors such as plants, central heating, dietary changes, damp, clothes, toiletries or detergents, and an annual issue is likely the result of a change in one of these. Symptoms should be managed properly with antihistamines, in consultation with your GP, and this always involves trying at least three or four different ones, including prescribed ones.

People with very significant and distressing allergies will need doses far beyond the typical once-daily level. When a skin problem is confined to one area of the body, creams should also be used to calm down the sensation: these could include cooling creams, such as two per cent menthol, and possibly even steroid creams.