The Many Reasons for Insomnia

Insomnia – the persistent inability to fall asleep or stay asleep – is a fairly common disorder that usually results in impaired functionality during waking times and can be very troubling. Insomnia can be the symptom of another primary condition, or a primary condition in its own right, which makes it difficult to determine the precise cause in many cases. While most people will encounter some degree of insomnia during their lifetimes, in most cases it fades away after a couple of weeks. Insomnia that last longer than this should be reported to a physician as it may indicate a more serious problem or may result in serious physical and mental problems.

Reasons for Insomnia

Some of the most common reasons for insomnia are fairly self-evident. For example, people dealing with serious physical pain are often unable to fall asleep as a result. Similarly, people dealing with poor sleeping conditions – like noisy or physically uncomfortable conditions – find that this is a common reason for insomnia. Likewise, people with “too much on their minds”, particularly those dealing with stress, anxiety, or other tensions may find it very difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep long enough to meet their body’s requirements. Reasons for insomnia may also be related to a person’s lifestyle. For example, disruptions to a person’s circadian rhythm, stemming from jet lag, irregular work hours, or irregular sleeping opportunities may end up suffering from insomnia. Even getting too much physical exercise can result in insomnia through sleep onset latency, a problem faced by many athletes engaged in strenuous physical exercise. In most of these cases, the insomnia will usually end after the impetus stops or the body adjusts to the new regime.

Insomnia is also frequently caused as a side effect of ingesting a wide range of different substances. Obviously stimulants – caffeine, various herbal compounds, illicit drugs, and others – tend to keep people awake and after prolonged usage may result in insomnia even when not actively taking the substance in question. Antibiotics of the fluoroquinolone group are well known to cause severe insomnia, as are a number of other prescription medications used to treat other ailments. Interestingly, even taking over the counter sleep aids for a prolonged period of time can eventually result in “rebound” insomnia. If a patient’s insomnia has become serious enough to consult a physician, it is important that they be able to fully describe all the regular medications and supplements – prescription or not – that they are taking at the time in order to help the doctor identify the cause of the condition.

Medical Reasons for Insomnia

Many mental and physical disorders also result in insomnia. Notable among the mental disorders that frequently result in insomnia are bipolar disorder, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, and various anxiety disorders. The attending psychiatrist can usually offer some pharmaceutical solution to insomnia resulting from these causes. Among physical causes, brain injuries or lesions, hyperthyroidism, Restless Leg Syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, various hormonal shifts and others frequently lead to insomnia as well. As with the psychiatrist, the attending physician is usually aware of this side effect and can usually provide some medication to help the patient sleep as needed.

Since insomnia can be caused by so many different things, it can be very difficult for the physician to determine the right course of treatment. Many physicians will recommend non-pharmaceutical treatments first, like message therapy, hypnosis, or cognitive behavior therapy before resorting to drugs. This is because if the cause is misdiagnosed, some prescription drugs may exacerbate the underlying cause of the insomnia. With non-pharmaceutical responses, the likelihood of accidently prescribing an inappropriate medication is basically eliminated. However, if the specific cause of the insomnia is readily identified and the doctor determines treatment is necessary, there are a plethora of sleep medications available.