Insomnia can result from various causes. Among them are medical conditions which give a person pain. Alternatively, taking medications which interfere with sleep can lead to insomnia, as well. There are a variety of typical causes of insomnia, which are explored in this article.
The three common causes of insomnia
Anxiety, stress, and depression are three common causes of insomnia for most healthy individuals. Both daily kinds of anxieties, along with more severe forms of anxieties, can interfere with an individual’s sleep. Stress does many harmful things to people, among which is causing trouble sleeping. When a person is worried about his or her finances, health, family, or work, the person’s mind will remain active at night, leading to troubles sleeping. People who become depressed also suffer from either the loss of sleep, or an excess amount of sleep. This comes from chemical imbalances in the victim’s brain, or alternatively from depression related worries which inhibit the victim from relaxing sufficiently enough to go to sleep. Mental health disorders are another form of depression which can lead to insomnia.
Medical conditions and insomnia
Medications and medical conditions also can lead to sometimes severe insomnia. Drugs prescribed by doctors commonly have difficulty sleeping as a side effect. Among these classes of sleep inhibiting medicines are allergy medicines, heart and blood pressure drugs, antidepressants, corticosteroids, and stimulants like Ritalin. A number of available over the counter medicines also interfere with restful sleep. These can include decongestants, weight loss drugs or aids, and pain medicines, which often have caffeine or other types of stimulants in the ingredients, as well. Medical conditions, like breathing problems, the need to go to use the bathroom often at night, or unending and constant pain may also lead a person to develop insomnia. Syndromes and conditions which cause insomnia from time to time include cancer, diabetes, arthritis, congestive heart failure, acid reflux disease, also known as GERD, lung disease, stroke, Parkinson disease, overactive thyroids, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Caffeine and other stimulants, along with eating too much late at night, may also lead a person to insomnia. Coffee, colas, and tea all contain significant quantities of caffeine, and can definitely interfere with an individuals’ sleep. Unknown to most people though, nicotine and even alcohol can also cause difficulties with sleeping. Overeating or eating much late at night creates physical discomfort, causing it to be hard to sleep. Heartburn also results from eating too late at night, and this unpleasant experience of acid and undigested foods returning to the person’s throat interferes with sleep and keeps individuals awake.
Changes to a person’s work schedule or environment further causes insomnia in some people. Working late night shifts or traveling in the hours of the early morning can upset the individual’s natural circadian rhythms. These work as clocks inside the body, causing the body to perform important functions like the sleeping and waking cycle, body temperature, and metabolism.
Finally, insomnia can be learned or encouraged by bad sleep habits. Worrying too much about not being capable of sleeping, or trying too much to sleep can actually create a self-fulfilling form of insomnia. Also, poor sleeping habits can also lead to insomnia. Stimulating practices in advance of bed time, a poor sleep environment, and an atypical and inconstant schedule for sleeping can all cause insomnia.
One last thing to remember about insomnia is that the normal processes associated with getting older can also give an individual insomnia. Aging is a prime cause of the inability to sleep. The sad truth is that insomnia gets to be more common and more frequent as individuals grow older.
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