Insomnia Causes - What is Stopping You From Sleeping?
Insomnia causes are going to be very different from person to person and it is essential that you find the cause of your own insomnia if you wish to sleep better. It is very easy if you suffer from insomnia go to the pharmacy and buy a so-called ’sleep cure’, or to go to the doctor and demand a prescription medicine to make you sleep, but is this really the best thing to do? These things may help you sleep for a while but they’re not a permanent solution and you could easily become addicted to some of them, which will only make your insomnia worse in the long term. The very best thing to do if you are having trouble sleeping is to find out what is causing your insomnia in the first place.
So how are you going to find the cause of your insomnia? Of course only you can decide what things in your life may be preventing you from sleeping properly but we have put together a guideline of the most common insomnia causes as a place for you to start. The three most common insomnia causes center around physical causes such as body pain or too much external noise, psychological causes and temporary factors.
Physical Causes
Physical causes can include such things as pain from a medical condition or an injury that is left untreated or prevents you from sleeping. Women do suffer from insomnia caused by hormone changes associated with the menopause, pregnancy and premenstrual syndrome. Another cause can be decreased production in your body of melatonin which is a hormone that causes your body temperature to drop and for you to feel sleepy. As we age we tend to produce less melatonin which can cause insomnia in older people. Some other medical conditions that can prevent you sleeping properly include arthritis, high blood pressure, allergies and many more.
Insomnia can also be caused by some prescription medications so if your insomnia began at about the same time as starting a course prescribed by your doctor talk to him about it. He may know that this is a side effect and can offer alternative treatment. Sleep apnea can also cause disturbed sleep. In this disorder breathing temporarily stops causing the person to struggle to breathe thus preventing deep sleep. If any of the above may be the cause of your insomnia talk to your doctor to see if they can be treated.
Psychological Causes
A major cause of insomnia is stress. We all have times in our life when we suffer from more stress than others and it is very difficult to control the anxiety that this brings. Financial worries, relationship concerns, major illnesses in the family, unemployment and many more of the things that come to all of us some time during our lives can be a cause of insomnia. Depression, either brought about by stress or from another illness is a known cause of poor sleep, usually resulting in waking in the early hours of the morning and then being unable to sleep again.
Relaxation and meditation techniques are very useful to help to relieve the tension caused by stress, and although they take some time to learn they are a good long-term natural remedies that are drug-free. They will not only help your insomnia but also help you to cope with stress throughout the day. It is now being thought that insomnia, rather than being a result of some psychological problems may even be the cause of them.
Temporary Factors That Cause Insomnia
We all know the sleep problems that jet lag can cause but fortunately this is very temporary. Too much external noise, that we have no control over, will keep us awake until it stops. This can be a major problem if you live in an area with very noisy neighbors, for instance those who love to have their music turned up very, very loudly at all hours of the day and night, and is very difficult to deal with. If you cannot negotiate a solution with these neighbors you may try using earplugs on other masking noise to try to overcome the problem. Those who work different shifts especially if they change frequently also have problems sleeping.
Another cause may be too much caffeine, alcohol or nicotine before bed. It is not commonly known that nicotine is a neurostimulant and will help to keep you awake. Although it might seem like a good idea to over indulge in alcohol to make you drowsy it would not result in any kind of good sleep, at best you will sleep very poorly, at worst you will sleep for a few hours until the alcohol wears off then will be wide awake in the early hours of the morning.
It has been estimated that around 15% of sufferers of chronic insomnia abuse alcohol, prescription medications, cocaine and other drugs. A high proportion of recovering alcoholics suffer from insomnia.
Conclusion
Many of these factors, once you know that they may be the cause of your insomnia, can be dealt with. Consulting your doctor may help with any medical conditions and with any pain you may be suffering. Ensuring that your environment is conducive to good sleep is also mainly within your control although if you’re insomnia is caused by noisy neighbors you will know the frustration of not being able to do very much about it! Developing good sleep habits will also help to cure your insomnia. In any case finding your insomnia cause can go a very long way to helping you to have a good night’s sleep without resorting to medications which will only mask the problem and are not a long-term solution.