Causes of Insomnia
Insomnia can be caused by:
• Stimulants and drugs such as herbs, caffeine, cocaine, ephedrine, amphetamines, methylphenidate, methamphetamine and modafinil. These alter your sleep patterns and you should be able to tell if these are the causes by eliminating it from your diet.
• Certain flu medications and antibiotics can cause insomnia too.
• Hormone shifts such as those experienced during menstruation and menopause. Changes to estrogen levels due to medication can also cause insomnia in women.
• Life problems like fear, stress, anxiety, emotional or mental tension, work problems, financial stress, or unsatisfactory sex life.
• Mental disorders such as bipolar disorder, clinical depression, general anxiety disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, or obsessive compulsive disorder.
• Disturbances of the circadian rhythm, such as shift work (especially late nights/grave yard shifts) and jet lag, can cause an inability to sleep at some times of the day and excessive sleepiness at other times of the day. Everyone has an internal circadian rhythm (sleep/wake rhythm) that dictates when is the optimal time to go to bed and wake up. This explains why some people work and study better at night, or how others only require 6 hours of sleep while others require more.
• Jet lag is seen in people who travel through multiple time zones, as the time relative to the rising and setting of the sun no longer coincides with the body’s internal concept of it.
• Certain neurological disorders, brain lesions, or a history of traumatic brain injury.
• Medical conditions such as hyperthyroidism.
• Abuse of over-the counter sleeping pills or prescription sleep aids can cause a type of insomnia known as rebound insomnia whereby you are unable to fall asleep if you do not take your sleeping pill. You might end up telling yourself “I haven’t taken my sleeping pill so I won’t fall asleep!”
• Poor sleep hygiene, e.g., noise, uncomfortable bedding.
• Parasomnia is a category of sleep disorders which including nightmares, sleepwalking, violent behavior while sleeping, and REM behavior disorder, in which a person moves his/her physical body in response to events within his/her dreams.
• A rare genetic condition can cause a prion-based ((small infectious agent), permanent and eventually fatal form of insomnia called fatal familial insomnia whereby a person gradually develops an inability to fall asleep and eventually dies. This is extremely rare and only a small number of cases have been documented.
• Parasites can cause intestinal pain and disturbance while sleeping.
• Certain personality types which include the anxious, pessimistic, emotionally hyper-reactive and tense personality might have a marginally greater chance of experiencing insomnia.
Most of us have a combination of problems, and a large majority is affected by insomnia due to stress-related problems in our lives. Once you have identified the specific cause of you insomnia, head on to the last 2 sections to properly diagnose your problem and solve it with the highly recommended remedies!
