Top 3 Causes of Insomnia
Causes of insomnia come in numbers. It can be a mix of natural, situational and health-related causes. The top three most common causes of insomnia are stress, anxiety and depression.
Stress can cause nights of sleeplessness. The human body instinctively reacts when a person is stressing over school exams, work deadlines, a mountain of bills, or traffic. This reaction is just as strong as if one is facing a life-or-death situation. Issues that agitate people may vary according to their priorities but the effect is the same.
Stress is how the body responds to threats whether real or imaginary. Normal body stress response makes one’s heart pound faster, muscles tighten, blood pressure rises, breath quickens, and senses become sharper. These physical changes increase one’s strength and stamina. It speeds up reaction time and enhances focus. This automatic response is known as the “fight-or-flight” reaction.
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Stress like insomnia isn’t always bad. Both are also so common that they have become a way of life these days. In small amounts, stress can help people perform under pressure and motivate them to do their best. It’s what drives a student to study for an exam when he’d rather be having fun. It’s what sharpens an athlete’s concentration when attempting that game-winning free throw.
Not everyone who is stressed has insomnia. To know if your insomnia is caused by stress, ask yourself “when did it start?” Does insomnia come and go when stress comes and goes? Insomnia might just be situational. Do you keep having trouble sleeping without being stressed? Do you find it hard to “wind down” at the end of the day? Are you frequently angry or depressed? It might be a mood disorder then and not stress.
Anxiety is “a future-oriented mood state in which one is ready or prepared to attempt to cope with upcoming negative events.” It is accompanied by feelings of apprehension, fear, nervousness, or worry. When people confront something challenging like an exam, job interview, or marriage proposal, these feelings are considered normal. They are justifiable. It is anxiety if the reaction is out of proportion with what is normally expected from a situation.
Anxiety is a common reaction to stress. It is stress that initially produces the fight-or-flight response. It makes the body prepared for a threat. Increased sweating is included in the body’s reaction. Some people who have anxiety may experience it as a sense of dread or panic. Panic attacks just come without warning. Most of the time, the fear is irrational. The perception of danger, however, is very real.
Some examples of anxiety disorders are the following:
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) can be a long-term disorder where a person feels worried about things that might go wrong.
Phobias are fears that are out of proportion to any real danger. If you can no longer live a normal life because of that fear, it may be considered an anxiety disorder.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) consists of recurring thoughts or images that trigger feelings of disgust. Common obsessions include fears around germs, dirt or violence.
Panic disorder is easy to detect. It is living “in fear of fear.”
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can happen if you witnessed or experienced a traumatic event. Major accidents or military combat are examples. It may include recurring thoughts, memories, images, dreams or distressing flashbacks of the trauma. It is PTSD if these don’t go away. It may develop years after the traumatic event.
GAD is very common. It’s what causes people to lie in bed unable to sleep. They find themselves in bed worrying about anything or everything. It can be about work, school, a mountain of bills, relationships and the future.
To know if you have anxiety, you can ask yourself “do you feel scared and nervous often?” Do you feel constantly “on edge” or “keyed up?” Do you find it impossible to relax?
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity. People who are depressed may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable or restless. The danger in depression is that it can lead to risky behavior like drug or addiction. At worst it leads to suicide.
Sadness is a common feeling towards events in life that do not go well. Depression, however, is like an all-time low. Some depressed people don’t even feel sad at all. They feel lifeless, empty and apathetic. Withdrawing from hobbies, activities and no longer caring about old friends that used to be interesting.
There different types of depression.
Major depression is one of the two most common types of depression. It is accompanied by low self-esteem and loss of interest or pleasure in normally fun activities. It is a disabling form of depression which may affect everything and everyone close.
Dysthymia or chronic depression is milder than major depression but lasts longer. It is the second most common type of depression. It is accompanied by feelings of hopelessness. People who suffer from this are usually able to function normally but might seem consistently unhappy.
Atypical depression (AD) may be difficult to treat. It shares symptoms of dysthymia and major depression. The main difference is that a person suffering from AD can still feel happier from positive events.
Postpartum depression (PPD) manifests itself like major depression. It is often attributed to the changes in women’s hormones during pregnancy.
Bipolar disorder used to be called manic depression. It is a complex genetic disorder characterized by dramatic mood swings. People with this disorder can feel depressed and then over-excited within minutes or hours.
Seasonal depression (SAD) is depression experienced during certain times of the year.
Psychotic depression is severe depression with hallucinations, delusions or some other break with reality.
Some questions you can ask yourself to find out if you’re depressed are “do you feel miserable and sad?” How often? Do you still enjoy activities you used to? Are your thoughts and feelings keeping you from sleeping?
Here are some sleep related sites that will be of interest to you. Thanks for visiting our Insomnia website.
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