The Many Causes of Insomnia

Many of us go to bed at night hoping to have a goodnights sleep but it never happens. Sometimes we lay there for hours tossing and turning but cannot fall asleep at night. This is a common problem among people all over the world and it's called, Insomnia. Insomnia is caused by many different things that some of us take for granted throughout our everyday lives. In this article I will describe some of the causes of insomnia which will hopefully help you to better understand why this is bothering you and how to stop it.

The first causes of insomnia are a bad diet. Throughout the day we eat and drink a lot of different foods that are bad for our body, which can cause us to not sleep at night. Sometimes if we eat or drink these foods before bed they can also interfere with our sleep pattern at night. Caffeine is a major sleep depriver you can get this by consuming many things as soda, chocolate, some over-the-counter pain medications, coffee, tea and other similar items. Caffeine spreads stress hormones at a rapid rate throughout your body, and can remain in your system for more than twenty hours which will definitely keep you up at night. Eating a lot of sugar and processed foods can cause you to not sleep at night also, especially if it's before bed. These foods cause your sugar rate to raise up which causes a lot of energy. Then usually after you sleep a few hours within the night your sugar rate will go low and cause you to awake and feel hungry once more. This can lead to obesity or diabetes which is plaguing so many people all over the world. Some of these high sugar foods are ice cream, popcorn, cake, chips, cookies and other similar items. People who have a low-carbohydrate diet can also suffer from insomnia, by also eating these foods late and at bedtime can cause problems to. You will need a lot more hours of sleep at night to help break down these kinds of foods so you can sleep better at night. Some of these foods to be aware of are meats, fish, peanut butter, rice, potatoes, corn and other similar foods.

The next causes of insomnia are bad health problems. By not sleeping at night we tend to catch many illnesses and if you already have some they can get worse. The two main problems that Insomnia causes are stress and anxiety, lying down at night is a major way people deal with stress which keeps you from sleeping. Some other problems are headaches, RLS syndrome, bodily aches and pains, arthritis, urinary tract infection, fever, cold and other similar problems. Exercise is good for your body, but if you exercise before bed this can cause you to release stress hormones which can interfere with your sleep. Snoring is another problem which can cause insomnia, especially if the snoring is very loud. Women who suffer from night sweats and menstrual cramps are usually kept awake at night which can lead to other health problems. Men also have certain major problems such as an enlarged prostate; this causes them to go back and forth to the bathroom at night. Most women also have to go to the bathroom two or three times a night as well. These are just some common health problems which can cause insomnia.

The final causes of insomnia are drugs and other problems. The first set of drugs that can keep you up at night are pain medications. The caffeine in these over-the-counter drugs increases stress hormones which keep you up at night. Alcohol and cigarettes are some other drugs that cause insomnia, they also are very harmful to your body and cause many other health related problems. Some other drugs that can cause insomnia are cold medicines, decongestants, asthma medications, pain medications as listed above, blood pressure medicine, and some antidepressants. Some of the other problems that cause insomnia are uncomfortable mattresses and pillows - some that are too hard, soft, or overstuffed, a new born baby that constantly needs attention during the night, sounds at night from cars, animals, and people, lights coming into your room and other similar problems.

These are some common problems that can cause insomnia. I hope by reading this you can evaluate and find out which factors are causing you to lose sleep, and maybe you can fix this terrible problem. Losing sleep can cause you many problems which can alter your overall health, so try to find the problem and help bring back normal sleep to your life.