Insomnia

Can't Sleep Disorder: Insomnia

One of the most frustrating and difficult conditions to deal with is insomnia. Since insomnia means that you can't sleep adequately, it also means being overly exhausted and worn out during regular daytime hours. Insomnia can have a negative effect on your entire life, as well as your general health. People who can't sleep enough find themselves unable to concentrate on routine tasks, and struggle to get through each and every day. During the night, the problem persists, causing sufferers to lie awake for hours on end. In many ways, insomnia creeps into all areas of a person's life.

What Is Insomnia?

Essentially, insomnia means that you can't sleep; in fact, it is sometimes referred to as the can't sleep disorder. Many people think that insomnia refers simply to being unable to fall asleep, but it also means waking up frequently, getting up too early and not feeling rested when getting up in the morning. Many people who suffer from insomnia not only can't sleep at night, but find themselves unusually tired during parts of the day when they should be alert and awake. People who can't sleep or who suffer from insomnia will try many different treatments with varying levels of success.

Chronic Insomnia

Unlike acute insomnia - where people can't sleep well for short periods of time during their life - chronic insomnia is defined by being unable to sleep for three nights out of a week for a month or longer. In other words, a person who can't sleep and who suffers from chronic insomnia will feel that it is something of a permanent fixture in their life; they typically feel like they receive little reprieve from the problem. Chronic insomnia means that you can't sleep for a great deal of the time, and can have tremendously negative effects on your life.

Insomnia Causes

Insomnia can be caused by a myriad number of things. Sometimes, major stresses in one's life makes it so that they can't sleep well or normally; often, the person lies awake at night worrying over these stressful things, and they trigger a true bout of insomnia. Another common cause of insomnia is environmental factors that can interfere with restful sleep; excessive noise or extreme temperatures can be culprits. Many people can't sleep due to drinking too much caffeine, as well. Many popular medications can trigger insomnia in people.

Insomnia Symptoms

Different people experience different symptoms in terms of insomnia. For many people, insomnia means that they simply can't sleep well or achieve truly restful sleep. Sometimes, insomnia is characterized by waking up frequently at night for no apparent reason; the frequent disruptions in sleep can reinforce the problem, making it so that a person can't sleep and a vicious cycle ensues. Others who suffer from insomnia wake up far too early in the morning, resulting in a short period of sleep. At times, insomnia may manifest itself by the feeling of

Can't Sleep

Welcome to Can't Sleep

If you are one of the millions of people who suffer from sleep problems, then this website will provide you with beneficial information. Cantsleep.org has the answers to all of your sleep-related questions and will help you to recognize and seek treatment for various sleep disorders.

Read on to learn more about the most common sleep issues and how sleep aids can remedy them:

Why can't I sleep?

Lack of sleep is very distressing to most people. The human body functions best on seven or more hours of sleep per night, and those who suffer from insomnia or sleep disturbances often find themselves lacking in concentration, behaving irritably, and experiencing physical symptoms such as headaches.

There are several reasons why people sometimes find themselves unable to get a sufficient amount of sleep. This issue could be the result of emotional stress that makes it difficult to "turn off" one's thoughts at night, or the result of physical problems such as sleep apnea or other disorders.

Sleep disorders

The most prevalent sleep disorders are insomnia, sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, and narcolepsy. Insomnia is characterized by difficulties in falling asleep or being able to stay asleep through the night. Some of its causes include depression, stress, anxiety, and medication side effects. Sleep apnea produces erratic breathing patterns as a result of a blocked upper airway.

People with sleep apnea can be suddenly awakened by breathing problems many times throughout the night. Restless leg syndrome most often develops in mid-to-late adulthood. It is characterized by pains in the legs and feet at nighttime and movements that interrupt sleep patterns. Narcolepsy, a disorder of the brain, leaves a person in a constant state of sleepiness during the day.

Sleep apnea

Sleep apnea is an issue that can result in serious health problems. When the body's upper airway is partially or fully obstructed, sleep is disrupted by pauses in breath that can last anywhere from several seconds to a few minutes. People who suffer from sleep apnea can have their sleep cycles disrupted over 30 times in one hour. This is caused when the stopping and restarting of the breathing process shifts a person's sleep mode from deep to light.

The side effects of sleep apnea include extreme fatigue throughout the daytime and higher risks of irregular heartbeat, diabetes, elevated blood pressure, and stroke. Sleep apnea can be treated with breathing devices or surgery.

Sleep deprivation

Sleep deprivation produces a variety of negative side effects that worsen the longer a person stays awake. Those who do not receive an adequate amount of sleep have difficulty functioning in routine daily activities such as work or school. The brain is affected through loss of memory, inability to concentrate, and an increase in hyperactivity.

The physical problems that are associated with sleep deprivation are muscle pain, weakening of the immune system, constipation, dull skin tone, and weight changes. When sleep deprivation continues for an extended period of time, it can result in serious psychological issues such as delusions, psychotic episodes, and major depression.

Sleep aids

Sleep aids can substantially improve both the quality and the duration of a person's sleep cycle. These aids are available in both prescription and non-prescription form. Prescription sleep aids can vary in function, with some primarily working to induce sleep and others helping to sustain sleep.

Examples of prescription medications that treat sleep disorders are benzodiazepine sedative hypnotics, non-benzodiazepine sedative hypnotics, and melatonin receptor agonist hypnotics.

Sleep aids that can be purchased over the counter contain an antihistamine that promotes tiredness in those who suffer from insomnia. These medicines contain ingredients such as doxylamine and diphenhydramine.