Physicians Health

Insomnia is a complaint concerning inability to fall or stay asleep. According to recent data about 30-40% of Americans are suffering from it and about 10-15% of them have chronic insomnia which greatly affects the quality of their lives.

Being a very common present-day problem insomnia sometimes turns out to be very serious and in most cases becomes as hard to overcome as if you were to overcome phobias. Insomnia carries the following symptoms.

• Daytimes sleepiness, fatigue
• Depression, stress, anxiety, irritability
• Difficulty falling asleep and awakening at nights
• Not feeling relieved
• Difficulty on concentrating
• Tension headaches, errors in tasks
• Gastrointestinal problems

And do you know who is more likely to suffer from insomnia?

• Women. Insomnia is more common among women than men. Why? Women experience hormonal changes in body and are more prone to depression and stress and this leads to insomnia. So if you’re suffering from stress, you need a treatment for stress immediately.

• Elderly people. Elderly people are suffering from insomnia more than younger ones — as they grew older sleep patterns gradually decrease. Elderly people suffer from many diseases and pains such as sharp kidney back pain which causes insomnia.

• Work shifts. Frequent changes in work shifts are another reason for insomnia. Sometimes night shift workers are even at risk of falling asleep in the workplace.

• Stress. Those who are under stress are likely to experience insomnia as stress is one of the main reasons for it.

So what are the reasons for insomnia?

• Medications. While some medications help to balance  your sleep, others do vice verse. Some allergy remedies, antidepressants and other medications are likely to cause sleep problems. For instance, such medications as Antihistamines will make you frequently go to the toilet and this deprives sleep.

• Caffeine, nicotine, alcohol. Coffee and actually any drink containing caffeine such as cola and Pepsi cause insomnia.  Drinking alcohol will temporarily make you sleep but it will later result in insomnia and further health problems. Nicotine also negatively affects sleep patterns.

• Health state. Several medical conditions may have influence on your usual sleep regime. For instance if you’re suffering from breathing difficulties and chronic pains, you are prone to develop insomnia.

• Poor sleep habit. Poor sleep habit such as regular changes in sleep regime and uncomfortable sleep environment lead to insomnia.

• Learned insomnia. Have you ever heard about learned insomnia? This is the condition when you’re afraid that you won’t be able to sleep and make efforts for it. These anxieties concerning your sleep can cause insomnia as well.

• Stress. And now we turn to stress again. I was not surprised to learn that stress is among the most common factors affecting sleep patterns. For instance divorce, conflicts in family or problems at job, all of them cause stress which contributes to insomnia.

My next post will be about insomnia treatment with the help of herbal pills, medications and lifestyle.

Photo © SunnyMarry

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