Imagine this: a night where pain in the head seems impossible to push through. Or, nights where the clock ticks time and sleep seems impossible to achieve. Many women deal with these sort of issues as a result of insomnia or migraines.

The Willow Creek Women’s Clinic is inviting all women to join the discussion on insomnia and migraines at their “Sleepless in Eau Claire and Oh, My Aching Head” event. The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on April 6 at the Local Store and Volume One Gallery.

“I think insomnia can be problematic for any age group, but especially in college students,” Bresina said. “They’re having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, and don’t really know what to do. There’s so much education that we can provide to anybody really dealing with insomnia.”  

Family Nurse Practitioners from the Willow Creek Women’s Clinic, Lauren Bresina and Linda Poirier, will be presenting separate discussions about two common issues affecting the lives of women everywhere — insomnia and migraine headaches.

“Together, Linda and Lauren have over 20 years of experience providing primary care for women of all ages in the Chippewa Valley and Rice Lake,” according to Willow Creek Women’s Clinic.

Bresina and Poirier will focus on possible lifestyle modifications and treatment options for women dealing with insomnia or migraine, they said.

Logan Schreiber, first-year unified early childhood education major, said she suffers from insomnia.

“I’ve had insomnia for a long time,” Schreiber said. “I normally just take eight to ten milligrams of Melatonin to help me sleep. It’s tricky to find the right amount to take though. If I don’t get it right I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and then I’m tired all day long.”

Schreiber said her insomnia affects her mood in addition to her sleep.

“My sleep really affects my mood,” Schreiber said. “When I’m not getting enough sleep I get moody or have terrible mood swings. I think it correlates my anxiety a lot and sometimes makes my depression worse. My insomnia really just messes with my overall well being.”

People have a lot of misconceptions about treating insomnia, Bresina said.

“There’s so many people that swear watching a movie or TV helps them fall asleep,” Bresina said. “We know that that just stimulates the brain no matter what people think that helps them.”  

The most important part of treating insomnia is finding the underlying cause of the problem and having a consistent routine Bresina said.

“Just finding the underlying cause and trying to work that out is where we actually need to start,” Bresina said. “Being consistent and getting on a good sleeping pattern is really the most important thing.”

Schreiber said she’s excited about the “Sleepless in Eau Claire and Oh, My Aching Head” event.

“I think the event will be really cool,” Schreiber said. “I’m excited to learn about other ways I can possibly deal with my insomnia.”

Walleser can be reached at [email protected].