Insomnia is a condition in which a person finds themselves having trouble sleeping at night because of physical or mental health problems. People with insomnia find themselves getting little or no sleep on a regular basis which leads to tiredness, irritability and depression throughout the day. Insomnia can also lead to trouble concentrating while driving or performing other daily tasks making you less alert to your surroundings.

Insomnia Causes

Here are some of the more common causes of insomnia…

• Anxiety:Everyday troubles or an anxiety disorder may end up keeping your mind racing with your troubled thought deep into the night, causing you to be too alert to want to sleep.
• Stress: Worried about a project due at work or school, or stressed out about a health related condition? These types of concerns can also keep your mind whirring past your bedtime.
• Depression: Depression is one of the most common factors in cases of chronic insomnia and can be closely linked to both stress and anxiety.
• Learned insomnia: This is the case of worrying yourself into having sleeping troubles simply by thinking about having them. Perhaps you are having trouble sleeping and began to worry about how you are going to function on no sleep the next day. This can end up setting off even more worried thoughts, causing even more sleep loss.
• Hormonal changes: Changes in a woman’s body including menstruation, menopause and pregnancy can end up triggering sleepless nights.
• Decreased levels of melatonin: Melatonin is a natural sedative produced by your hormonal gland which produces the feeling of sleepiness. Not having the right levels of melatonin in your body can lead to insomnia.
• Health Problems:Certain health problems can disturb your sleep pattern and keep you up to the wee hours in the morning. These include sleep apnea in which a person experiences abnormal breathing while asleep and prostate problems which can keep a person up with frequent trips to the bathroom. Other health problems related to insomnia are asthma , hyperthyroidism, tinnitus , arthritis, heart problems and indigestion.
• Pain:Pain in the muscles, bones or organs can also keep a person awake all night.
• Traveling:Frequent travelers often find themselves having trouble sleeping. Whether it is because of jet lag or simply trouble sleeping in a strange place.
• The late shift:Current studies indicate that 60 to 70% of all swing shift workers develop trouble sleeping.
• Certain Drugs:Certain medications might contribute to sleeplessness including decongestants, beta blockers, antidepressants, appetite suppressors, and amphetamines. Insomnia may also be linked to withdrawal symptoms from certain drugs including amphetamines, cocaine, and marijuana.
• Caffeine:Having that soda or cup of coffee after your meal may be the reason why you are still up. Caffeine blocks chemicals that help promote sleep.
• Cigarettes:Nicotine is a central nervous system stimulant that can lead to restless nights.
• Alcohol:While having a little something something before bedtime may initially help you get some sleep, in the long run, those nightcaps do not help you out. Alcohol can end up raising the levels of epinephrine in the body making it hard to relax into slumber and after the liquor wear off you may find yourself waking up. Alcohol also affects breathing disorders like snoring, making sleep difficult for both you and your partner.
• Noise:You can also blame you insomnia on your noisy neighbors who like to keep things rocking into the wee hours of the night.  Living next to a busy street also does not help.
• Hot Weather:Sleeping during those hot summer nights can be a challenge.
• Napping:if you find yourself taking long afternoon naps, you might have trouble getting to sleep later on.
• Late Dinners:Eating right before bedtime can cause indigestion and keep you up. Especially if you eat something heavy or spicy or loaded with sugar.
• A sedentary lifestyle:Not expending energy during the day, can lead to a restless night as your body tries to relieve itself of all of its bottled up energy.

Things that can help you sleep

Sure, you can try to take sleeping pills in order to sleep, but these pills come with their own host of complications including dependency and other health problems. Here are some things that you do to get yourself to sleep without resorting to a pill,

• Stick to a sleep schedule:Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every single day. Even if you have a wild night out, do your best to get up at the same time you usually do to keep your schedule intact. This will help train your body and mind to sleep.
• Develop a ritual: Every time you go to bed, try to follow the same routine. For example, have a light snack, listen to some music, drink something warm, watch half of Conan. Let your body know that it is soon time to settle down,
• Do not overstay your bed time: Get out of bed once you are awake. Spending to omuch time in bed just relaxing and not sleeping might cause disruptive sleep in the future.
• Lay off the heavy late night snacking:Eating a heavy meal at night can really interfere with your sleep. Instead east something light, preferably with tryptophan (milk, turkey) which can naturally induce sleep.
• Limit the coffee, cigarettes and booze: Coffee and cigarettes are both stimulants that can end up keeping you up. Alcohol might knock you out, but it could also cause you to wake up too early. Alcohol can also make you snore which leads to a poor night’s rest for both you and your partner.
• Lay off the fluids: Nothing can disturb your sleep more than a full bladder.
• Lay off the mental and physical activities: Do not get yourself all amped up before going to sleep.
• Make your bedroom more sleep friendly:Keep your bedroom well ventilated and at a proper temperature. Also, keep it dark and free of the blinking lights of computers, fax machines and other equipment.
• The bed is for sleeping:Do not watch television or read in your bedroom. Doing so may end up causing your brain to link your bedroom with other things than sleeping.
• Wait until you feel tired: Do not go to bed if you are feeling restless. Go into another room and do something else (not too stimulating) until you feel tired then go to bed,
• Light:your brain works better at creating the chemicals that induce sleep when it is dark. Keep the lights off and take the brightly lit things out of the bedroom.
• Avoid napping:Napping after work will make you less sleepy at night.
• Avoid clock watching:Looking at your alarm clock to see how much sleep you are not getting will only make it harder to sleep.
• Exercise regularly: While it is unwise to get all amped up before bed, exercising early in the evening can make it easier to get to sleep.
• Relax:Find ways to wind down before bed time. Take a bath, read a book, listen to some music.