Sleepless nights are on the rise as our lifestyles become increasingly stressful.
While everybody experiences the occasional sleepless night, chronic insomnia occurs when sleep is disrupted for many nights in a row.
Because sleep is so central to both physical and mental well-being, insomnia's side-effects are diverse and far reaching.
Let's take a look at some of the most prevalent problems caused by lack of sleep: 1.
Increased risk of accidents Lack of sleep decreases alertness and impairs your reaction time.
As a result, many insomniacs are at increased risk of injury and accident.
In particular, traffic accidents can be a danger, and driving on insufficient sleep can be as bad as driving when drunk.
2.
Marital stress & other relationship issues It's difficult to feel happy when you're tired, and insomniacs are prone to irritability and depression.
These issues are bad enough in themselves, but can also have a knock-on effect by causing difficulties in romantic and social relationships.
Minor irritations become more significant when you're sleep deprived, and it's easy to lash out at your spouse/partner or other people, with the result that tension and run-ins with partners, friends, acquaintances or even complete strangers can increase dramatically.
3.
Employment/work problems Insomnia can also pose a hazard to your financial health, Whether you're an employee or a business owner.
The lack of alertness and increased irritability that come with sleep-deprivation can mean that it's difficult to do your job properly, and to get along with colleagues.
While everybody has the occasional bad day in the office, chronic poor performance is more likely to lead to you being fired, or poor performance in your business.
4.
Weakened immune system & increased likelihood of illness Insomnia can be devastating to your physical health too.
The body requires sufficient sleep to maintain healthy functioning, and sleep deprivation can have a severe effect on your immune system, which can in turn make you more susceptible to a variety of illnesses.
5.
Increased risk of addictions and other self-destructive behaviours The sleep-deprived may turn to stimulating substances or behaviours in an effort to increase their energy and feel better.
Unfortunately, most of these - such as caffeine, sugar and recreational drugs - are physically harmful, and will have a negative effect on your health, compounding the physical problems that insomnia itself causes.
Some may also turn to risky behaviours such as gambling or compulsive spending.
Any good-feeling effects caused by such substances and behaviours is short term at best, and they do nothing to address the root of the problem.
These are just some of the main side-effects of insomnia, but the good news is that they can be reversed or avoided once normal sleeping patterns are resumed.
But how do you do this? Overcoming Insomnia's Side Effects - Getting More Sleep Naturally Many insomniacs turned sleeping pills, but these can be addictive, can disrupt vital REM sleep, and don't really resolve the problem.
One of the best ways to resolve insomnia naturally is to learn to relax properly in the evening, so the stresses of the day won't keep you awake.
This is easier said than done however; but there's one solution that many people have found effective, and that is using binaural beats for better sleep.
Binaural beats are a type of brainwave entrainment technology, and they work by helping your brain to relax more easily.
When listening to a binaural beat recording for sleep improvement, your brain is exposed to sounds of specific frequencies.
These frequencies become progressively slower as recording progresses, matching those which your brain produces naturally as it falls asleep.
Thanks to a phenomenon known as the 'frequency following effect', the brain has a natural tendency to match (or entrain to) the frequencies in the recording.
As a result, regular use of the binaural beat recording at bedtime can make it easier to get your brain back into the habit of entering the deeply relaxed state that's necessary for falling asleep.
And once that happens, those horrible insomnia side effects will just be a distant memory.