Ana Maria Insomnia is a type of sleep disorder in which individuals have difficulties falling asleep, staying asleep or both, and it can have a huge impact on you overall health, personal and professional life as it brings mood changes, irritability, fatigue, lack of focus and poor work productivity.
When classifying insomnia, we should take into consideration the amount of time in which we experience the sleep difficulties, other disorders associated with it, as well as the sleep patterns. You can have acute insomnia if the sleep difficulties last between a few days to a couple of weeks, chronic insomnia which lasts a month or longer, or comorbid insomnia when associated with other disorders. Onset insomnia is linked to difficulties falling asleep, whereas maintenance insomnia is responsible for the inability to stay asleep.
So what exactly causes insomnia?
Insomnia can be caused by lifestyle factors such as sleeping in an environment with too much noise or too bright, having an irregular sleep schedule, or sleeping too much during the day, using electronic devices before going to bed, the lack of exercise, a job that involves working at night, jet lag, stress or medical causes such as mental health disorders, low back pain, chronic pain, nasal/sinus allergies, obstructive sleep apnea, asthma, cancer, heart disease, hyperthyroidism, arthritis, neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, restless leg syndrome.
In some cases, insomnia can be caused by conditions such as depression or anxiety. Sleep difficulties might represent a symptom of depression as various studies show that insomnia can trigger or worsen depression and the risk of severe insomnia is higher in patients with depressive disorders. Anxiety is associated with onset and maintenance insomnia and the symptoms include excessive worrying, feeling overwhelmed, overstimulated and tense.
In other cases, insomnia might be caused by medication or eating patterns. Medication such as decongestants, antidepressants, heart and blood pressure medicines, pain medication, asthma medication, weight-loss products, thyroid disease medicine, birth control, antihistamines – which lead to frequent urination as well as causing sleep disruptions or allergy medicine can all lead to insomnia.
Now – if we’re talking about eating patterns, you might need to check your diet and find if the following are included:
- Caffeine: this one is a well-known stimulant and, while used in moderation and at an appropriate hour it can be fine, excessive caffeine can be a cause of insomnia as it stays in your system for eight hours and the effects are long lasting. It would be best to avoid consuming foods or drinks with caffeine close to bedtime.
- Another stimulant that can cause insomnia is nicotine. Smoking not only affects health, but doing so close to bedtime inhibits sleep, affecting overall sleep quality.
- Alcohol: although initially you may feel sleepy, later in the night it may affect your sleep quality.
- Eating heavy meals before going to bed can make it difficult for your body to relax and get in the “sleep mode” and even might disrupt your sleep. Try eating light and healthy food before going to sleep.
Insomnia is a common but treatable sleep disorder. Discuss your sleep issues with your doctor, check your medical condition, medication, lifestyle factors and diet to find what keeps you up at night and improve your sleep and overall health.
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