Insomnia Causes – Do You Have Any Idea What’s Causing Your Insomnia?

Tired? Cranky? Just not able to focus? These are not your only woes if you have insomnia. Insufficient sleep has been linked to a number of chronic conditions and diseases like diabetes, obesity, depression, and cardiovascular illnesses. If you have insomnia then you should be doing something to treat it.

Interestingly, insomnia is not defined by how quickly you fall asleep or by how long you sleep. This is because different people need varying amounts of sleep. Even if you spend nine hours in bed every night yet still feel fatigued and drowsy the next day, you could still be suffering from insomnia. How do you know you’re suffering insomnia?

Try checking off your symptoms from this checklist:

Do you have trouble falling asleep even though you are very, very tired?

Do you wake up often during the night?

Do you have trouble going back to sleep the moment you are jolted out of sleep?

Do you rely on alcohol or sleeping pills to get some shut-eye?

Do you experience daytime drowsiness, irritability, or fatigue regularly?

Do you have trouble focusing on work in the daytime?

A lot of people believe insomnia is brought about by lack of proper sleep hygiene, but this is not true at all. There are many insomnia causes and usually you’ll be suffering from more than just one cause of this annoying and tiring condition.

Psychological. Are thoughts about the bills that need to be paid keeping you up? Are you unable to sleep because you worry so much about tomorrow’s presentation? Psychological insomnia causes are among the most common and persistent. The causes behind this type of insomnia are usually depression, stress, and anxiety.

Physical. Changes in your body could be keeping you from resting well at night.

Hormonal changes. These changes happen to menopausal, menstruating, or pregnant women.

Decreased melatonin. Melatonin is the hormone that helps you sleep. As you age, your levels of melatonin decrease. By the time you’re 60, your body produces little melatonin.

Medical conditions. Certain medical complaints could be keeping you from getting the shut-eye you need. Among them are Parkinson’s disease, arthritis, heart problems, allergies, hyperthyroidism, and high blood pressure.

Temporary factors. Short-term insomnia causes include

Jet lag. When you cross time zones, expect to have some trouble sleeping.

Long or night shifts. Long or night shifts will cause disruptions in your regular sleeping pattern. Expect to have some trouble adjusting at the start.

Medications. Sometimes, the medicine you take can keep you awake when you should be asleep. Check with your doctor when this happens.

There are far more causes for insomnia than the ones listed here – these are just to give you some idea of what might be causing your problem.

You should try keeping a sleep diary while you’re at it. You may be overlooking certain habits that could be causing your sleeplessness. Perhaps your favorite java fix is affecting your sleeping more than you thought possible. Or, maybe it’s late-night Internet surfing that’s keeping you mentally stimulated when you should be asleep.

It’s important to identify insomnia causes because once you figure out what’s causing yours, you can then start looking for remedies.