7 Causes of Insomnia That You Should Know About –

Insomnia can make your life difficult. It is a common sleep disorder that can prevent you from falling asleep, staying asleep, and getting back to sleep.

Insomnia can make you look and feel tired after waking up. It does not only sap your energy levels but also your mood, work performance, and quality of your life.

There a number of possible risk factors for insomnia. Here are the 7 main causes of insomnia that you should know.

Anxiety and Stress

One of the leading causes of insomnia is anxiety or stress after a stressful event like problems at work, bereavement or financial difficulties.

The problem can still continue after the event has passed. Most adults have trouble sleeping because they feel nervous or troubled. Stress and anxiety symptoms that can lead to insomnia include tension, excessive worry, and feeling overwhelmed.

Anxiety and stress can be associated with onset insomnia where you experience trouble falling asleep or maintenance insomnia where you wake up in the middle of the night and struggle to return to sleep. Due to the quietness and inactivity of the night, stressful events can keep a person awake.

Lifestyle

Your lifestyle can also be a cause of insomnia.

Your travel or work schedules can also affect your circadian rhythms or your body’s internal clock. Disrupting the circadian rhythms of your body by frequently changing shifts or traveling across multiple time zones can lead to insomnia.

Poor Sleep Habits

Poor sleep habits can also interrupt your sleep, causing insomnia.

Having an irregular bedtime habits, using your bed for work, taking naps, doing stimulating activities before bed, eating, watching TV, and using computers and smartphones can interfere with your sleep cycle. These sleep habits prevent your brain from shutting down, promoting insomnia.

Having poor sleep hygiene prevents your body and brain from slowing down before bedtime, causing insomnia.

Environment

The place where you sleep can also cause insomnia. Factors such as an uncomfortable bed, too much light, noise, and extreme temperatures can interfere with your sleep. Sleeping with a partner who snores can also promote insomnia.

Sleeping in an uncomfortable sleep environment can prevent you from having a relaxing sleep causing insomnia.

Medical Problems

A lot of medical conditions and diseases can lead to insomnia. Insomnia may be the primary problem, but it can also be associated with other conditions. These health conditions include allergies, asthma, acid reflux, arthritis, chronic pain, kidney disease, and cancer.

For instance, asthma can often cause sleep disturbance because of wheezing, coughing, and breathing difficulties. It also usually worsens at night that constricts the airway and increasing the risks of asthma attacks. Medical conditions can cause discomforts that make it difficult for a person to sleep.

Medications

Medications can also cause insomnia. Some over-the-counter medications and prescriptions can cause insomnia as their side effect.

These include antidepressants, medicines for epilepsy, high blood pressure, steroid medication, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, stimulant medicines for ADHD, and some medicines to treat common colds, asthma, and nasal allergies.

Many over-the-counter medications and prescriptions contain caffeine and stimulants that disrupt sleep.

Mental Health Conditions

Mental health conditions can make it hard for you to sleep. The National Institutes of Health estimated 43.4 million adults experienced the prevalence of mental illnesses in 2015. The study entitled Sleep Disorders as Core Symptoms of Depression writes that three-quarters of depressed patients have insomnia.

Underlying mental health conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and schizophrenia can prevent you from falling asleep at night.

Insomnia can be caused by medical or mental health problems, unhealthy lifestyle, medication, and anxiety and stress. If you are experiencing symptoms of insomnia, it is important to take things seriously and talk to a medical specialist, like a dentist specializing in sleep disorder to diagnose the issue and provide the best insomnia remedies.