What Causes Insomnia?

June 22, 2022

Insomnia is a sleep disorder characterized by the inability to fall asleep or stay asleep.

Those with insomnia may have consistent difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or problems with prematurely waking up.

Insomnia isn’t always apparent, and it frequently goes undiagnosed. Numerous studies show the prevalence of insomnia to be anywhere from 10-30% of the population.

While insomnia itself leads to poor sleep, this sleeplessness can also result from other factors. Ailments, pain, medication, and other illnesses can all contribute to sleep problems like insomnia.

Below is a closer look at the symptoms of insomnia, common causes of insomnia, and what you can do to get your sleep back.

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What Are the Symptoms of Insomnia?

Sleep is a necessary function for most animal life on earth. The deep-rooted evolutionary need for sleep is still not entirely understood, but there's plenty of research indicating what happens when you don’t get enough of it.

Below is a closer look at common symptoms of insomnia and how a lack of sleep can impact your overall health and wellbeing.

Insomnia can be elusive to identify, but by identifying insomnia symptoms and addressing common causes of insomnia you can minimize the risk factors associated with not getting enough sleep.

Difficulty Surrounding Sleep

The most apparent symptom of insomnia is difficulty with a good night’s sleep.

This can come in the form of having a hard time falling asleep, trouble staying asleep, tossing and turning through the night, or waking up too early.

These symptoms may sound like nothing more than a nuisance, but chronic insomnia can reduce your ability to get deep sleep and feel rejuvenated the next day.

The risks to cognitive function, metabolic function, and more are all well-documented.

Daytime Sleepiness

Sometimes with insomnia, an individual may not even realize they're having difficulty with sleep.

However, your tiredness is likely apparent throughout the next day.

If you find yourself taking mid-day naps or requiring energy drinks just to get through the day, you may want to consider speaking to a sleep specialist to determine why your sleep is suffering.

Enough sleep should provide you with a feeling of rejuvenation and alertness, and when it doesn’t, you may be suffering insomnia.

Reduced Cognitive Abilities

Insomnia can cause that tell-tale "brain fog" and cause you to less clear thought processes. It can contribute to a lack of emotional control and mood swings. Insomnia can even exacerbate existing mental health problems.

According to the CDC, staying awake for 18 hours is equivalent to a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.05% in terms of its effects on coordination, judgment, feeling sleepy, and reaction time!

Not being on top of your game from a mental perspective can cause you to be more forgetful and less productive and can make everyday tasks more complicated––even dangerous.

What Causes Insomnia?

Insomnia is both a sleep disorder and a symptom.

Primary insomnia is a difficulty surrounding sleep that comes from no underlying cause or disorder (it can be short-term insomnia or long-term), while secondary insomnia is an inability to get good sleep due to other factors such as illness, medication, and lifestyle factors.

Below is a closer look at some of the common causes of secondary insomnia and how they negatively impact your sleep patterns.

Medications That Can Cause Insomnia

Modern medicine has come a long way, and prescription medications can meaningfully improve your quality of life. Yet others can hinder it with unintended side effects.

Some medications linked to the development of insomnia include antidepressants, certain drugs to treat Parkinson's disease, drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease, and stimulants.

Some over-the-counter medications may also include ingredients like caffeine which can have detrimental effects on sleep.

If you think your medication may be contributing to insomnia or an inability to get good sleep, talk to your doctor about the best course of action.

Medical Conditions That Can Cause Insomnia

Some of the most common medical conditions that can contribute to insomnia are:

• urinary conditions

• anxiety or depression

• restless leg syndrome

• hormonal thyroid problems

• chronic pain,

• neurological disorders

If you have an underlying medical condition that's making it harder to sleep, treating the condition is often the fastest path back to better sleep nightly.

Lifestyle Factors That Can Cause Insomnia

Your lifestyle choices and factors can impact your health and sleep both in the short term and long term.

Lifestyle factors contribute to your physical health, mental health, and even your ability to get good rest.

A prime example of lifestyle factors affecting your sleep is the case of obesity-associated sleep apnea. Excess weight or continued weight gain can make it more difficult for you to breathe throughout the night, causing sleep disturbances and lower quality rest.

Shift work, jet lag from changing time zones, or hormonal changes can also contribute to sleep difficulties.

Another example of how your everyday factors can dictate your sleep quality is caffeine consumption. Caffeine is found in coffee, chocolate, and energy drinks, and it can be great when you need a boost of energy. While helpful in the short term, caffeine doesn’t fight fatigue, and in fact, if you consume caffeine too close to your bedtime, it can cause trouble sleeping and acute insomnia.

How Can I Stop Insomnia?

Insomnia can impact your overall wellbeing and ability to carry out day-to-day activities.

It can also contribute to shorter lifespan and the development of chronic health conditions. Sleep disorders can wreak havoc by increasing your likelihood of developing obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and potentially acting as a contributing factor to depression and anxiety disorders.

But you can take action to get better quality sleep.

While these are not all overnight solutions to insomnia, they can be helpful in getting your sleep back on track.

Create Healthy Sleep Habits for Insomnia

One of the best first steps you can take to control poor sleep is to focus on establishing good sleep habits.

Also referred to as sleep hygiene, these habits focus on providing the best environment and circumstances to fall asleep and get good sleep while also training your body’s internal clock, known as the circadian rhythm.

Good habits include having a consistent sleep schedule, ensuring you get enough hours of sleep (7-9 for most people), avoiding bright lights in the evening, not looking at a screen in the hour before bedtime, and avoiding heavy meals close to bedtime.

Supplements or Medication for Insomnia

Sleep consists of both a mental and chemical aspect.

Mentally your body needs to be relaxed, and chemically your brain deploys a number of chemical messengers to help facilitate sleep and wakefulness.

Some individuals who don’t find success in improving insomnia through better sleep hygiene may benefit from supplements or sleep aid medication.

Things like melatonin and certain sleeping pills manipulate the chemicals and receptors in the brain to accelerate sleep onset or maintain sleep once you're already in bed.

Some sleep aids are Schedule 2 substances because of their high potential for abuse or dependancy. Others are considered non-addictive and carry less long-term risk of dependence or abuse.

Sleep medication may be necessary for those with chronic insomnia, and a licensed healthcare professional can help you decide if a prescription sleep aid is right for you.

The Takeaway

In summary, insomnia can be a standalone sleep disorder or it can be a result of other factors.

While insomnia has varying causes, you can do a few things to get better sleep, including practicing good sleep habits and seeking medical assistance from a health care provider (even telemedicine provider) to find an appropriate treatment.

Rex MD can help, with sleep aids prescribed online and delivered, when appropriate.

Sources

Prevalence of chronic insomnia in adult patients and its correlation with medical comorbidities | NCBI

Drowsy Driving- Sleep and Sleep Disorders | CDC

The Complex Associations Among Sleep Quality, Anxiety-Depression, and Quality of Life in Patients with Extreme Obesity | NCBI