What Causes Insomnia?

Have you found that you’re having trouble getting to sleep no matter how tired your body actually feels? Or maybe you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t go back to sleep for hours? Insomnia is a very common and increasingly growing problem that can affect people of all ages. It can take a toll on your overall mood, health, and abilities to function throughout the day. In some chronic scenarios it becomes imperative to seek medical attention. Some of the factors that could attribute to this condition are listed below.
Stress, Anxiety, and Depression
Of all the common factors that could contribute to insomnia at the top of the list is stress, anxiety, and depression. Stress is among the most common as dealing with events such as death, illness in the family, divorce, job loss, and other major life events could cause you to stress. Feeling anxious as a result of an upcoming event, or an event that has already passed (post traumatic stress) could also disrupt your sleeping patterns along with bouts of depression. If you are suffering from mental health issues it may be necessary to get a sleeping aide.
Medical Conditions
If you have preexisting medical conditions such as difficulty breathing, chronic pains, constant urination, and others you could develop insomnia over time. Some medical conditions that have insomnia as a potential side effect includes arthritis, cancer, heart failure, lung disease, and Parkinson’s disease to name a few.
Change in Environment Or Work Schedule
If you’re traveling to a country that is on a different time zone or you’ve switched from the morning shift to the graveyard shift at work it makes getting to sleep a lot more difficult. They throw off your body’s circadian rhythms that would typically act as your internal alarm clock.
Bad Sleeping Habits
If you’ve typically had a bad sleeping pattern this could eventually turn into insomnia. This might include irregular sleeping patterns where you don’t always get a full night’s rest, conducting stimulating activities right before bed, and/or sleeping on uncomfortable bedding.
Certain Medications
There are a lot of prescription medications that can interfere with your sleep including medications such as antidepressants, medications for heart and blood pressure, allergy medications, and corticosteroids. There are also some over the counter medications such as pain pills that have caffeine and stimulants in them that could keep you up.
Overuse of Caffeine Nicotine and Alcohol
Drinking things such as coffee, tea, and other caffeine drinks can really keep you up when you don’t want to be. Drinking these beverages later in the day can really keep you from getting to sleep at night. Another stimulant is found in tobacco products is nicotine which can also cause insomnia. Another known fact that many are unaware of is that alcohol is a sedative that helps you to fall asleep; however, it can prevent deep stages of sleep which of course could ruin your sleeping patterns.
Eating too Late
Last but certainly not least, another factor contributing to insomnia is eating way too much in the evening. While it is ok to have a light snack before bed eating too much at this time could cause you to feel really uncomfortable as you lay down which makes it much harder to sleep. Bouts of heartburn and backflow of acid from the food into the stomach keeps you awake for longer.