Insomnia Causes and Solutions

Dec. 24, 2008 - PRLog -- About 55% of people will experience insomnia at some point in their lives, and the number seems to have increased.  If you are suffering from insomnia, there are many potential causes for it.  First of all, there are two classifications of insomnia: Primary and Secondary. Primary insomnia is the much simpler of the two; it is not caused by a physical problem.  Commonly, the problem is your sleeping environment.  Sometimes it can be as simple as your room being too hot or too cold, or too noisy, or a very uncomfortable mattress.  If one of these is the cause, there are many things you can try to solve the problem.  The perfect sleeping conditions are a dark, cool room with minimal noise. This is not always within your control; you may have noisy neighbors, it may be the middle of summer and you are without an air conditioner etc.  In this case there are still things you can do to improve the situation.  Flipping your mattress can do a lot to improve your comfort; you can also try moving the bed to different locations in the room which may have a positive psychological effect.  For noise, you can bring something into the room which will make "white noise", this is a constant noise which will not change in pitch or volume which can drown out other noise.  A fan can make white noise, or you can leave a radio on an unused frequency where it will produce nothing but static.  If that fails, try using earplugs if you do not find them too uncomfortable. Temperature is harder to control, especially if you cannot invest in an air conditioner.  If it is too hot, again, a fan can help, and a spray bottle filled with cold water as well.  For a hot room, you may want to take a hot shower before bed.  This is because the air in the room will feel cool in contrast to the hot water from the shower.

   There are of course things we use and ingest which can make it very difficult to sleep.  If you drink six cups of coffee during the day and have trouble sleeping at night, it does not take an expert to figure out where the problem lies.  You should cut down on caffeine, especially later during the day.  If you are a smoker, cutting down on your nicotine consumption will help as well, again especially cutting down later in the day.  People seem to believe that alcohol can help cure insomnia because it makes you feel drowsy.  First of all, sleeping after consuming a large amount of alcohol will make your sleep quality extremely poor.  Secondly, some people actually find it more difficult to sleep after drinking alcohol and some even wake early after drinking.

   The most common form of primary insomnia is caused by anxiety.  The rates of people suffering from stress and anxiety has risen dramatically in recent years.  This could be due to one of a couple reasons or a combination of all of them.  1) People are more willing to admit they are anxious.  2) The world is becoming more stressful.  3) We are losing our ability to cope with life's stresses.  Regardless of the main factors, it is causing us to lose sleep.  This in turn causes us to become more irritable and less able to deal with stress which makes us lose more sleep.  As you can see this is a downward spiral for many people.  There are breathing techniques you can try, as well as aroma therapy and other relaxation techniques to deal with stress and anxiety, but focusing your mind on these techniques will not help you fall asleep. There is of course the option of counseling if the anxiety is a severe and persistent problem. Many people will use prescription drugs to get the sleep they need in this situation, but these drugs come with many side effects and should only be used as a last resort, and for short periods.  With prescription sleeping pills there is also the real risk of dependence, as well as a smaller risk of overdose.  If dealing with stress and anxiety psychologically isn't enough, there are herbal supplements which can be used instead.  These supplements come with no risk of dependence, or overdose, and patients very rarely report any negative side effects.  They are perfect for someone suffering from insomnia due to mild to moderate anxiety.  One of the best herbs for this use is St. John's Wort, which is renowned for its calming effects.

   Secondary insomnia is insomnia caused by a real physical problem.  This can be due to hormonal changes, like when a woman experiences menopause.  Insomnia during menopause is very, very common, though it is not always a viable option to simply wait it out.  Decreased levels of melatonin are another cause of secondary insomnia. For treatment of this type of insomnia it is necessary to see a doctor, and possibly visit a sleep clinic for treatment.

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