When you, all of a sudden, have difficulty falling asleep or are waking up from time to time when you sleep, you are experiencing a sleep disorder called insomnia.
Insomnia is the inability to get the right amount of sleep ensuring that you'll wake up feeling rested and refreshed.
People experiencing different qualities of sleep in order to feel rested; the number of hours you have slept and how you feel after sleeping often defines insomnia.
You need to have at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night for you to feel rested.
Not getting enough sleep can lead to serious medical conditions like obesity, diabetes, depression, and anxiety.
If left untreated, insomnia can lead to other health conditions like psychiatric disorders, musculoskeletal problems, chronic pain, and worst, cardiovascular disease.
What causes insomnia? A lot of possibilities are blamed for having insomnia.
The most common causes for the lack of sleep all boil down to the following causes: Stress Keeping your mind active throughout the night can cause difficulty sleeping.
Thinking about your family's welfare, having difficulty in relationships, or thinking of financial or health problems can all lead to stress.
Stressful life events like job loss, death of a loved one can also create a feedback loop where the person will start worrying if he or she will be able to fall asleep.
Depression Depression may be due to chemical imbalances to the brain, or because there are things that cause depression that prevent you from being relaxed and get into a deep sleep.
Exercise before bedtime Engaging in energy-consuming activities that will make your heart pump faster before bedtime is another possible cause for insomnia.
Regular exercise close to bedtime is not recommended because the body is still in an excited state even after resting few hours before going to bed.
Consider eliminating any exercises several hours before bedtime to allow the body to relax before going to bed.
Medications There are some prescription drugs that can intervene with sleep.
Anti-depressants, allergy medications, and stimulants are the kind of drugs that cause you to have difficulty falling asleep.
Over-the-counter medication like decongestants, weight-loss pills, and other stimulants can also cause insomnia.
Coffee, Alcohol, or Tea Coffee and tea have caffeine that acts as an stimulate causing your brain to divert from sleeping, instead keeping you awake.
Drinking coffee at night will keep you awake longer but do you know that even drinking coffee in the afternoon can keep you from falling asleep at night? This is because caffeine stays inside our bodies for about 4 to 6 hours.
Alcohol is another sedative that will keep you from falling asleep.
It is not a way to help you sleep because it will disrupt the second half of your sleep period.
You cannot enter deep stages of sleep because it often causes you to wake up in the middle of the night and have difficulty falling asleep afterwards.
How to cure insomnia? The best way to cure insomnia is to have a healthy lifestyle.
Find a way to cope up with stress and anxiety so you will be able to keep yourself from drinking too much alcohol, coffee or tea.
Getting enough exercise, especially during the day will keep your body relaxed throughout the night and the benefits of regular exercise will keep you from needing unnecessary medications.