Insomnia is the inability to sleep. Many people will encounter problems with sleep and insomnia at some point in their lives and it is quite natural and normal to experience short bouts of insomnia. However, chronic insomnia can be a real medial problem because proper sleep is essential to life and good health.
If you have ever felt the frustration of insomnia, you know what it’s like to go to bed tired and then toss and turn because you can’t sleep. You may look at the clock repeatedly, find it difficult to get comfortable, have to get up multiple times in the night and just generally find it difficult to get to sleep. Some people with insomnia have trouble falling asleep in the first place where others will fall asleep but then not be able to stay asleep. They may wake up frequently throughout the night or wake up after only a short period of sleeping and then be unable to go back to sleep.
Almost everyone has experienced insomnia at some point in their life but when you have insomnia that stays, it can take a huge toll on your health and well-being. It’s important that you act and do whatever you can to learn the cause of your insomnia and then do something about it.
When you can’t sleep at night, it causes you to be tired during the day. This can affect your job or school performance and can create dangers for you while driving, operating machinery and performing other tasks. In addition to these dangers, lack of sleep for a prolonged period of time is very unhealthy. It can cause you to gain weight, to be unable to resist disease and infection and in extreme cases, it can even cause death.
Some causes of insomnia are:
Anxiety
Stress
Depression
Hormonal changes in women
Decreased melatonin
Allergies
Heart disease
Asthma
High blood pressure
Hyperthyroidism
Pain
Genetics
Restless Leg Syndrome
Jet lag
Over-working, working long shifts
Too much caffeine or alcohol
Nicotine
Certain medications
Hot environment
Environmental situations (loud noise, etc)
If you have insomnia for more than 1-2 weeks, you should see your doctor and try to get to the root of your problem. Going too long without proper sleep is very serious and should be treated as such.
