Symptoms of sleeplessness can be incredibly frustrating. Just ask any new parent! Insomnia, however, is in a category all its own.
Did you know insomnia, while considered a sleep disorder itself, can be a symptom of other sleep disorders? There are different types of insomnia ranging from acute to chronic. Understanding the cause of your insomnia is key to treatment.
Getting enough quality sleep is such an essential aspect of health, yet is easily overlooked. In fact, a restful night is necessary for all areas of health, including physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. For example, sleep is involved in the healing and repair of your heart and blood vessels. With this in mind, it’s no surprise that regular sleep deficiency is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke.
Lack of sleep can impair cognitive ability and judgment in addition to increased stress and anxiety. If you suspect you or someone you care about is suffering from insomnia, read on.
Quality of life is strongly tied to getting quality sleep, so I want to ensure you are sleeping better every night.
Whether you have trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep, you could be suffering from insomnia. Once you identify the cause of your sleepless nights, you have a much higher chance of finding the right remedy!
Determining the cause of illness is the heart of functional medicine. Let’s look for the root cause of various health conditions to remedy ailments rather than merely treating symptoms leading to chronic disease. Sleeping pills also are used frequently to treat insomnia. While this may seem like a practical solution, using sleeping pills don’t address the cause, and sleep medications, like all drugs, have side effects and risks.
It’s important to understand the difference between insomnia and sleeplessness.
Generally, a sleepless night here or there won’t be detrimental to health. Determining whether a person has clinical insomnia or just sleeplessness can be tricky; however, there are many characteristics specific to insomnia.
Insomnia is the inability to fall asleep or stay asleep at night, resulting in unrefreshing or non-restorative sleep. Because everyone needs different amounts of sleep, insomnia is defined by the quality of your sleep and how you feel after sleeping rather than the number of hours you sleep or how quickly you doze off.
Did you know insomnia is not a single sleep disorder? Insomnia as a symptom of another problem, which can vary from person to person.
Individuals with insomnia will encounter at least one of these symptoms:
- Difficulty falling asleep
- Waking up during the night, along with trouble falling back to sleep
- Non-restorative sleep
- Consistent fatigue or low energy
- Cognitive impairment
- Mood problems
- Interpersonal relationship problems
- Difficulty focusing
- Behavioral issues
People who suffer from insomnia often suffer from at least 3 or 4 of the above complications.
When it comes to insomnia, it’s rarely just a sleep issue. Insomnia is associated with or caused by many different factors.
It can be divided causes into two main categories – psychological and medical or lifestyle related. Let’s take a look at some of the more common lifestyle causes.
Your daily routine and work habits can be attributed to lifestyle causes. For example, working late into the night, taking long naps in the afternoon, or working an irregular schedule can negatively impact a healthy sleep routine.
Stress is another major lifestyle-related cause. Whether it be a stressful job, not enough time to get things done, or dealing with negativity throughout the day, too much stress can have an impact on sleep quality.
Additionally, what you eat or drink can play a role in your ability to sleep. From eating heavy meals to drinking caffeine too close to bedtime can contribute to insomnia.
Substances like alcohol and nicotine can also negatively impact the ability to stay asleep resulting in reduced quality of sleep.
Chronic insomnia is usually tied to an underlying mental or physical issue. In some cases insomnia causes these conditions, in others, the conditions result in insomnia.
Some of the most common causes of chronic insomnia are related to anxiety, stress, and depression. Lack of sleep can worsen symptoms of these conditions. Treating these underlying problems is essential to resolving your insomnia.
Medical conditions or illnesses, such as asthma, allergies, Parkinson’s disease, hyperthyroidism, acid reflux, kidney disease, and cancer can also lead to insomnia. Any condition related to chronic pain is commonly associated with sleep disruption.
Many medications can also interfere with sleep. Antidepressants, stimulants for ADHD, corticosteroids, thyroid hormone, high blood pressure medications, and some contraceptives are among the most common culprits.
Additionally, while insomnia itself is a sleep disorder, it can also be a symptom of sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, and circadian rhythm disturbances tied to jet lag or late-night shift work.
If you have any conditions mentioned make sure to discuss your sleep patterns with your medical practitioner for proper treatment.
When dealing with sleep disturbances, there are different ways to identify insomnia. First off, there are two types of insomnia: Primary or Secondary.
Primary insomnia occurs when there are no other directly associated health conditions. Secondary insomnia, on the other hand, occurs as a result of a health condition, such as depression or heartburn.
The duration of insomnia periods determines if it’s an acute or chronic condition. Acute insomnia is short-term lasting from a single night to a few weeks. Chronic insomnia is more severe and occurs when a person has disrupted sleep for at least three nights a week for a month or longer.
Acute insomnia can be a result of:
- Significant life stress
- Illness
- Emotional or physical discomfort
- Environmental factors like noise, light, or extreme temperatures
Causes of chronic insomnia include:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Chronic stress
- Pain or discomfort at night
In addition to the annoying symptoms such as tiredness and short temper, many severe health conditions can result from untreated insomnia. According to the National Institute for Health, insomnia can increase your risk for mental health problems as well as overall health concerns. Some include…
MEDICAL CONDITIONS
- Stroke
- Asthma attacks
- Seizures
- Weakened immune system
- Sensitivity to pain
- Inflammation
- Obesity
- Diabetes mellitus
- High blood pressure
- Heart disease
- Depression
- Anxiety
Additionally, lack of sleep can lead to poor performance at school or work, reduced cognitive ability, and impaired judgment. Lack of energy can cause feelings of anxiety, depression, or irritation.
Finally, insomnia can shorten your life expectancy. Many studies have linked persistent insomnia to an increased risk of early death, which is why finding the appropriate treatment is so important as early as symptoms begin.
I know how stressful sleepless nights can be. The key is to nip troubled sleep in the bud to prevent it from leading to harmful health outcomes.
As previously discussed, from different types of insomnia to various causes there are some at home methods to encourage more restful sleep. I want to encourage you to challenge self-defeating thoughts that can fuel insomnia.
Common self-defeating thoughts typically involve unrealistic expectations, exaggeration, catastrophizing, and hopelessness. Remind yourself not every night is the same, insomnia can be relieved, and you can relax even if you can’t sleep
When treating insomnia, it’s crucial first to identify any possible underlying causes. To start, take a look at your daily habits. Some of the things you’re doing to cope with insomnia may be making the problem worse.
If you’ve started to rely on alcohol or sleeping pills to help you fall asleep, you may be negatively impacting your quality of sleep. Drinking an excessive amount of coffee during the day can also adversely affect your rest at night. Other common culprits include irregular sleep schedule, napping, eating sugary foods or heavy meals too close to bedtime, and not getting enough exercise or exercising too late in the day.
Many poor sleepers suffer from a vicious cycle of unrefreshing sleep:
- You sleep poorly.
- This results in feeling fatigued and stressed during the day.
- You compensate with unhealthy habits.
- Unhealthy habits affect your ability to fall or stay asleep.
It’s a vicious cycle, the more trouble you have sleeping, the more you look at the clock, and the more anxious you become knowing you have less and less time to get any sleep. Have you realized when you worry about getting to sleep or even how tired you’re going to be the following day, you are left even more wide awake?
If sleep worries are getting in the way of your ability to unwind at night, the following strategies may help:
- Keep a notebook or journal on the nightstand. If anxious thoughts keep you awake or wake you up, write them down to help get them out of your head, and ensure you won’t forget whatever it is you’re worried about forgetting tomorrow.
- Move clocks out of view. When you awake in the middle of the night, you don’t need to know what the time is.
- If you wake up and can’t get back to sleep, simply get out of bed. Tossing and turning will amp up the anxiety. Do something relaxing for 15 minutes or until you’re feeling sleepy again.
The good news is that most cases of insomnia can be relieved with simple lifestyle changes. Rather than turning to medications with unwelcome side effects, you can make changes on your own. Here are some techniques to help you fight insomnia with a better sleep environment.
Create a quiet, comfortable sleep environment and a relaxing bedtime routine. A predictable signal or your body to wind down is crucial to improving sleep quality.
Start by making sure your bedroom is quiet, dark, and cool. Some people find it useful to use the aid of soothing sounds to fall asleep. You can purchase a sound machine with preinstalled soundscapes, or look for a phone app. However, if using your phone, try to keep it away from the bed, so the light doesn’t disrupt your sleep.
Next, try to stick to a regular sleep schedule. Even on weekends, it’s important to try to get to bed and wake at the same time. A routine will help support your biological clock and help you get back in a regular sleep rhythm.
Avoid stimulating activities too close to bedtime, including checking work emails, messages on social media, or anything else that can cause you stress. You also want to avoid taking naps during the day which can make it more challenging to stick to a regular sleep routine.
What are you doing now to ensure you are setting up an ideal environment for sleep?
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