Why You Cannot Sleep

Insomnia is one of the most misunderstood disorders that many people are suffering today. People who can go to sleep undisturbed do not understand the pain insomnia causes nor do they appreciate the ability they have to fall asleep easily.

There are many reasons insomnia is so misunderstood – multitudes of causes, confusing symptoms and the fact that it occurs when people are generally alone, all aid to the ignorance. Like with anything else, education is the key to understanding, prevention and healing sleeping disorder.

Inability of staying asleep is one of the most widespread diseases, an estimated of 25% of people suffer from one form of insomnia or another. With such a big percentage of afflicted population, you could think that people would have a more tolerant approach but this is usually not the case.

Sleeping disorder can have significant affects not only on persons enjoyment of life, but also on persons health. And not sleeping has very serious health consequences, making one more susceptible to heart disease, depression, not to mention the increased possibility for accidents due to daytime drowsiness.

Education of what causes inability to stay asleep is very important part of prevention of spreading of the disorder. So lets try to shed some light on some of these issues.

Unlike other psychological disorders, insomnia can be caused by virtually anything. Stress, complacency, anxiety, lack of circulation, a shift in schedule, jet lag, a change of diet, new medication, a rise or fall in estrogen levels, poor hygiene, a new daily routine or even just getting older can all cause sleeping problems which if persist can lead to insomnia. With such a vast array of causes, pinpointing and eliminating the causes is often the key to finding the cure.

Insomnia also manifests itself in a lot of different ways. Some people have trouble falling asleep. Other people wake up at different times throughout the night.

Other people wake up in the middle of the night and cannot go back to sleep and still other people wake up early. An unfortunate group of people have a combination of some or all of these symptoms. In general though, insomnia is identified not actually by the sleeping patterns but by the restfulness of the sleep. All insomnia sufferers wake up feeling tired and rundown.

Today, due to the lack of understanding and this educational vacuum, a large number of self-help guides exist to help sufferers. Most of these guides though are not able to provide the necessary cure, mostly due to the wide range of causes and symptoms.

Do you have trouble sleeping night after night? Perhaps you snore at night and this wakes you up time after time. Is your significant other getting upset having to wake up with you? If you would like to cure the insomnia problem that you have now, here are a few tips and potential causes for this sleep debilitating problem.

The first thing you need to consider is when did it start. Have you had anything dramatic occurred to you in the last several days? If so, this can cause sleeplessness to arise because your emotions are off balance causing you to have a bout with insomnia. Once you have determined when it started, should consider a few other things.

The second thing to consider are any recent illnesses that you may have gotten. Perhaps you have the flu and you are now recovering from it. Many people sleep too much while they are sick allowing their bodies to recuperate from the disease. However, after doing so, their body does not need as much sleep and therefore insomnia may arise.

The third thing you also need to consider your age. The older you get, the less sleep you actually need. This is a proven medical fact. This could be because you are doing less than he did when you were younger or employed at a job prior to retirement.

Fourth, you need to look at the types of foods and drinks that you ingest can also cause sleepless nights. If you are a large coffee drinker, and you drink too much until the wee hours of the night, there is a large probability but that is your problem. Also, eating things they give you indigestion may cause your stomach to be upset which would not allow you to have a restful sleep.

Finally, have you had any major schedule change? Perhaps your shift at work has moved you from the day shift to the night shift. This would cause such a disturbance in your regular sleeping pattern that you would probably not be able to sleep on a regular basis for several weeks until you acclimated to the new pattern.

There are many reasons that you may be suffering from insomnia. Most people simply do not take the time to consider all of the possibilities. They go straight to the doctor or start popping the necessary pills in order to induce a semi-restful sleep.

Your best bet is to evaluate what is going on in your life, shut down anything that is negative including bad eating habits, and then reassess how you were sleeping in several days and see if the events in your life had anything to do with your inability to sleep.