Circumstances That Cause Insomnia

An occasional sleepless night, a reasonably common occurence, is not a problem for most people. However, as many as 25% of Americans report relatively frequent sleeping problems with about one-tenths reported to suffer from chronic insomnia.

The deficiency of peaceful sleep can influence your ability to carry out routine responsibilities as a result of tiredness or difficulty in concentration. All types of insomnia can result in daytime drowsiness, poor concentration, and the inability to feel refreshed and rested in the morning.

Generally adults do best with about 8 hours of sleep each night until age 60, after which 6 hours may be enough. Even though the elderly need less sleep, almost one half of people over 60 experience some degree of insomnia.

Generally, a very good indicator of the amount of sleep needed is how one feels on waking up. If you wake up feeling refreshed, you are getting enough sleep. For some people, this may take only 4 hours while others may need up to 10 hours to feel rested.

Use of sedatives of sleeping pills to overcome insomnia

Using long-acting or high-dose sedatives as a “cure” for insomnia can make the trouble worse, not better, over time. Antihistamines (the main ingredient in over-the-counter sleeping pills) can lead to similar difficulties. Using antihistamines over time may also affect your memory.

Strong, prescription sedatives do not produce a natural, restful sleep. In addition, you can become dependent on or tolerant of these drugs. In this case, the same dose of the drug no longer produces sleep, which may lead you to try a higher dose. Higher doses worsen the chance of dependence, tolerance, and side effects. Stopping these medications can cause a rebound insomnia and withdrawal.

A life-threatening disease is rarely the cause of problems with sleep. For many people, poor sleep habits are the cause. However, because insomnia is a key symptom of depression, you should be checked for depression if you are having trouble sleeping.

Insomnia may possibly cause:

• Dark circles under the eyes
• Perplexity
• Fatigue
• Bad temper
• Posture changes
• Condensed energy level

It may facilitate to see a psychiatrist, doctor, or another mental health provider to evaluate psychiatric disorders that can lead to insomnia. If you are depressed, antidepressants can help both the sleeping problem and the depression. These medications do not carry the same occupies about tolerance and dependence as sedatives.

Analysis may aid with nightmares and dreams that interfere with sleep.

Sleeplessness in adults may be due to:

• Aging
• Alcoholism or gradually stopping alcohol after long-term use
• Nervousness
• Bed or bedroom that does not encourage sleep
• Depression or major depression
• Diseases, such as an enlarged prostate, cystitis, COPD, arthritis, heartburn, and heart or lung problems
• Excitement
• Heartache
• Illicit street drugs, such as amphetamines and cocaine
• Jet lag
• Lack of exposure to bright light or sunlight
• Medications, such as too much thyroid medicine, ephedrine, phenylpropanolamine, theophylline derivatives, and others
• Overactive thyroid
• Restless leg syndrome
• Shift work
• Sleeping excessively during the day
• stimulant drug taken in the evening, together with nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, or food
• Stress and worrying
• Suddenly stopping a medication (such as sleeping pills or sedatives)
• Too much stimulation at bedtime

IN INFANTS

A large amount newborn babies wake a number of times during the night, but by the age of 6 months they usually sleep through the night. At age 1, babies will sleep an average of 16 out of every 24 hours. Two to three hours of this sleep will be during the day.

Sleeplessness in babies may be due to:

• Longing for attention from parents
• Fever or other illness
• Hunger
• Indigestion
• Infantile colic or other digestive problems
• Teething