Insomnia - What Is The Problem With Yor Sleep?
Everyone feels tired at one time or another, but insomnia is not just feeling tired from a bad night's sleep. There's a difference between being tired and not being able to sleep!
Insomnia is a chronic disorder that can be caused by too much stress, drinking alcohol close to bedtime, working too late into the evening, taking medications that keep you awake during the night, and experiencing changes in your sleeping routine.
This post will cover what the problem with your sleep might be and how to overcome it - as well as how this disorder can affect your day-to-day life. Read on if you're interested in combating insomnia.
What Is Insomnia?
Insomnia is a disorder in which you cannot fall asleep or stay asleep. It's classified by the difficulty of going to sleep and how you get up if you do fall asleep. It can also be classified on how long it lasts for and what causes it - chronic insomnia, primary insomnia, and narcolepsy are three examples.
There are several different types of insomnia, including:
- Primary Insomnia: This is insomnia that occurs when there is a disruption in the normal sleeping pattern (for example, waking too early or having trouble falling asleep).
- Narcolepsy: This is a disorder that causes sudden and unexpected sleep attacks.
- Chronic Insomnia: Insomnia lasting for at least three months.
- Recurrent Insomnia: Insomnia that occurs repeatedly throughout your lifetime.
Insomniacs have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or having a restful sleep. They may wake up during the night and not be able to get back to sleep or they may wake in the morning feeling tired despite having slept well into the evening. This often happens during periods of stress or when they're under extreme stress. The quality of their sleep is also affected, as it's often not very restful.
The main symptom of insomnia is the inability to sleep well or feel refreshed in the morning. Other symptoms include:
- You have trouble falling asleep.
- You wake up frequently throughout the night and have trouble falling back asleep.
- You wake up too early in the morning, even after a good night's sleep.
- You feel tired during the day, even when you've had enough sleep.
- Your thoughts race at night or early in the morning and keep you awake.
- You have irritability and problems with attention and concentration.
- You experience difficulty staying awake during the day.
- You have trouble thinking clearly during the day due to your fatigue.
- You have mood swings or a depressed or anxious feeling.
- Your sleep is shallow and you wake up feeling tired.
- You're restless or find it hard to get comfortable when you sleep, which makes it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep.
- You snore loudly, have gasping pauses in your breathing, or stop breathing for short periods of time as you sleep (called sleep apnea).
- You have periods lasting for at least three months.
The Causes of Insomnia
Insomnia can be caused by a number of factors. Some of these factors include:
- Depression or anxiety.
- Alcohol or drug use in the evening.
- Feeling restless at night and having difficulty falling asleep.
- Medication that causes you to wake up during the night such as pain relievers, antidepressants, and some types of chemotherapy medications.
- Processed foods that contain too much sugar, which keeps you awake later into the evening.
- Increased stress levels and a feeling of being overwhelmed by life's events or responsibilities.
- Being exposed to bright light during the night.
- Changes in your sleeping habits, such as going on a new sleep schedule or changing the time that you go to bed.
- Lying in bed a lot during the evening, which can cause you to stay up later into the evening and feel tired.
- Changing how much you drink or what kinds of drinks you drink if you are a heavy drinker (alcohol) and/or if you are a coffee drinker (caffeine).
- Drinking too much alcohol or consuming caffeine at night.
- Going to bed too early and being unable to get back up earlier in the morning.
- Being exposed to bright light (sunlight).
- Circadian rhythm disorder, which is a condition that affects your sleeping and waking patterns.
- Obesity.
What Causes Insomnia?
Insomnia can be caused by a number of factors, like stress or changes to your sleep schedule. Your circadian rhythm may play a role as well, which is why it's important for you to know about the specific symptoms of insomnia and chronic insomnia.
Chronic insomnia can be caused by several factors, including the following: You're not getting enough sleep at night and/or your sleep times are off (for example, you're going to bed too late).
You have a sleep disorder, such as sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome.
You have changes in your sleeping habits, such as going on a new schedule.
You have depression or anxiety.
You have other health problems that make it harder for you to fall asleep and stay asleep at night.
Insomnia that occurs after age 50 can be caused by changes in your ability to regulate your sleep-wake cycle and circadian rhythm, such as not being able to fall asleep after age 30 (or being able to stay up past midnight). Insomnia due to an underlying medical condition is known as primary insomnia. There are also a number of reasons why you might not be able to sleep, including:
- Low oxygen supply (hypoxia) due to obstructive sleep apnea.
- Inability to fall asleep because of pain, stress, depression, or anxiety.
- Inability to stay asleep because of pain or stress.
- Jet lag from traveling across several time zones too quickly (which affects your circadian rhythm).
- Drinking too much caffeine or alcohol before bedtime.
- Lack of exercise during the day and overexertion when you do exercise.
- Not following a specific nighttime routine that allows you to wind down at night and get ready for bed.
- Not having enough time to wind down and be ready for bed.
- Not sleeping in a dark room and being exposed to unusually high levels of natural or artificial light at night.
- Having poor posture when you sleep, which can cause snoring or breathing interruptions during the night.
- Having too much noise, light, or person(s) in your bedroom (for example, if you have roommates who are loud).
- Being exposed to bright fluorescent lights in your daycare facility at night.
What Caused Insomnia?
If insomnia is chronic, it can be difficult to determine what caused it or how long it lasted (for example, if it's been going on for several years).
Conclusion:
Insomnia is a common sleep disorder that makes it difficult to fall asleep, stay asleep all night, or wake up feeling refreshed in the morning. It can be caused by changes in your sleeping habits, such as going on a new sleep schedule or changing the time that you go to bed. You may not be able to get back up at an earlier time in the morning and you may also feel tired during the day.
If you have insomnia and chronic insomnia symptoms, it's important for you to understand these conditions so that you can try to find ways to help yourself with getting a good night's sleep.