Insomnia Articles

Health Profiling: Recognizing the Physical Causes of Insomnia

Insomnia is often thought to be related to stress or anxiety, but those are only two of the reasons that this condition might surface. There are numerous physical circumstances that might serve as the catalyst for sleeplessness some more closely associated to women than men. The bottom line is that, whenever a person deviates from their normal sleep pattern as the result of a lack of sleep, something within their life or their health profile has gone awry and needs to be addressed.

Women tend to be the victims of insomnia more often than their male counterparts. This is partially due to the fact that hormonal changes which are intrinsic to females can bring about this particular condition. These changes may include PMS, menstruation, pregnancy and menopause. Any number of things can happen when an influx or decrease of hormones takes place in the body, and insomnia is one of the more common side effects.

Age plays a significant role in the ability to get a good nights sleep, as well. This is due to the fact that, as we age, the melatonin (a chemical thats needed in order to induce sleep) decreases and, by the time we reach the age of sixty, very little is produced by our bodies. Without the presence of this chemical, the amount of sleep that the body receives diminishes. This may either mean rising earlier in the morning or the inability to sleep at night.

Various medical conditions can be responsible for the onset of insomnia, including high blood pressure, heart disease, asthma, arthritis, allergies, hyperthyroidism and Parkinsons disease. In addition to the illnesses causing insomnia, the medications that are necessary as a result of certain illnesses may also cause sleeplessness.

Pain or general discomfort will cause the loss of sleep and, depending upon the degree, could cause a full-blown case of insomnia. Whether its due to an illness or injury doesnt matter, since its the resulting pain that can bring about the lack of sleep. In most cases, this can be treated with either OTC or prescribed medications, but theres no guarantee that the insomnia will cease, since some of these will have the same effect.

Someone suffering from some other form of sleeping disorder might also be the victim of insomnia. For instance, in the case of a person who has sleep apnea a condition which causes the cessation of breathing during the sleep cycle insomnia might be a natural by-product if the non-breathing episodes are high in number. In some cases, the individual might experience hundreds of occurrences in the course of a night. This type of scenario can cause sleep deprivation to the degree that the person is virtually awake all night.

For some reason, which is unknown to the medical community, the predisposition to insomnia tends to run in family lines. Therefore, its believed that genetics play some role in whether or not a person will suffer from this illness. Further research must be done in order to isolate the reasons for this phenomenon, but the evidence is clearly present.

If youre among those who suffer from insomnia, dont assume that it will go away in a day or two, and dont attempt a self-diagnosis. Contact your physician and make arrangements for a complete physical. All too often, sleeplessness is simply masking a more serious problem.

Find out more about insomnia and how you can restore healthy sleep naturally by visiting http://www.curing-insomnia.com

Related Links:

Insomnia: Break the Cycle and Get Some Sleep!

Menopause and Insomnia

Insomnia: How to End the Frustration

Latest Sleep Disorder News

Short Sleep = False Memories
18 Jul 2008 at 10:07am
Not sleeping well leads to a whole range of memory problems. During your sleep cycles is when the brain "consolidates" your memories. If you nightly sleep is too short, these...

Sleep More for Less Prostate Cancer Risk
18 Jul 2008 at 9:49am
The hormone melatonin is an important part of sleep chemistry. More and more studies are linking higher levels of melatonin with reduced cancer growth and risk. The more you sleep,...

Sleep 7 For Low Stroke Risk
17 Jul 2008 at 9:54am
We have seen before how sleeping too little or too much increases your risk for overall death as well as for diabetes. Turns out that sleeping too much or too...

Do Birds Dream?
6 Jul 2008 at 5:42am
Scientists thought that certain components of sleep were only found in mammals. Because of this, complex sleep was thought to have developed fairly late in the evolutionary cycle. In particular,...

Truck Driver Fatigue and Work Hours
4 Jul 2008 at 4:38am
In 2004, the federal government (for whatever reason) increased the amount of hours that commercial truck drivers could drive and decreased the number of hours between shifts. Researchers looked into...

Menopause and Poor Sleep
3 Jul 2008 at 4:28am
This should come as a surprise to no one - menopause can wreak havoc to sleep. In a study of 3000 menopausal women, 16% reported having trouble falling asleep and...