A recent article on RightHealth.com characterizes insomnia as the inability to fall asleep, early-morning waking from sleep, or sleep that is frequently disrupted for no apparent reason.

Aside from the sheer aggravation and lethargy that insomnia causes, researchers have found that insomnia can be quite detrimental to one's overall health. Less severe effects of insomnia are irritability, disorientation, or excitability. Long-term, these minor annoyances can lead to more severe disorders like depression or anxiety. Insomnia can either be the cause or a symptom of depression. Determining this requires the help of a physician, who can make more qualified suggestions for a restful night's sleep.

Additionally, insomniacs have difficulty concentrating on tasks and may suffer from impaired memory or judgement. Response-time may also be lowered, impairing one's ability to act in certain situations, such as those presented during driving. A sleep-deprived individual may not be able to slam on breaks quickly enough to avoid a collision. Beauty-and -the bath, an online publication, suggests that more than half of traffic accidents are caused by sleepy drivers. Furthermore, lack of sleep impairs one's ability to deal effectively with the stressful events.

Sufferers of insomnia may try and treat the problem themselves, which is why alcoholism and drug-dependency often accompany this problem. Consuming large amounts of alcohol actually worsens insomnia. The need for quick energy can lead sleep-deprived adults to use amphetamines and dangerous street drugs like cocaine or crystal meth.

Serious long-term effects of insomnia may be linked to diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Prolonged lack of sleep even causes premature-aging. Sleep is the time when the body renews and rejuvenates itself; it is a time of rebalancing, detoxification, and the re-booting of the immune system. Cortisol, a natural anti-inflammatory, is produced during the day and prevents natural cell repair from occurring. During sleep, cortisol levels are lowered, allowing normal growth and repair to take place. Melatonin, another body hormone, is released at night, and works to fight against abnormal cell growth. An October 9, 2005 article on washingtonpost.com suggests that a failure of the body to release melatonin likely increases the risk of breast cancer among women working over-night shift jobs or women experiencing prolonged, inadequate sleep.

The effects of insomnia can be devastating on your life, but it doesn't have to be this way, and you do not have to turn to drugs like sleeping pills. Click here to learn about all kinds of natural insomnia cures that will help you get more sleep tonight