Insomnia: symptoms, causes, meaning, types, and more

Let us know about the causes and symptoms of insomnia. Believe me, by the end of this article you will be able to know everything about insomnia. Like insomnia causes, insomnia meaning, types of insomnia, insomnia symptoms, how to cure insomnia? etc.

Even most of our readers find this article helpful, and able to cure insomnia to a great extent.

Insomnia meaning

Insomnia is a sleep disorder that is common in today’s adults. According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), the symptoms of insomnia are seen in 1 out of 3 adults.

According to the APA, definitions of insomnia is like this: insomnia a sleeping disorder in which people have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep

Insomnia can decrease your energy as well as impair your overall health. Which has a direct effect on your day’s work.

There is some short-term insomnia (acute) that lasts for days or weeks and some are long-term (chronic) which can last for a month or more.

When to go to a doctor

If your sleep difficulties are causing a major crisis in your day job or you are having functional difficulties then you should go to a sleep doctor.

And if you have three nights of sleep difficulties in a week and it lasts for at least three months, then you should go to the doctor to know the reason for your sleep problem.

Types of insomnia

There are two basic types of insomnia. One is primary insomnia and the other is secondary insomnia.

• Primary insomnia is caused by a traumatic event or due to tension in your mind. This means that your sleep problem is not associated with any health condition.
• People with secondary insomnia are associated with specific medical conditions. That is why they can not sleep.

Insomnia causes

Your sleep difficulties cause depended on which type of sleep problem you are suffering from. The causes of acute insomnia(short time) are given below:

• Your circadian rhythms regulate your sleep-wake. These circadian rhythms define when your body will sleep and when it will wake up. When you frequently change your sleep time, there are also changes in your circadian rhythms.
• Due to which the time of your internal clock also changes and you can become a victim of insomnia. People who keep traveling for work,  jet lag, work long hours, do night shifts, there is no time to sleep, this problem is usually seen in them.
• Some people have a habit of thinking more at bedtime. Thinking more about family or finances, work, health, etc creates tension and anxiety in your mind. Due to which your mind becomes more active instead of calm which promotes the risk of insomnia.
• Any physical pain can also cause acute insomnia.
• Different types of medicines affect your sleep. Stimulants are found in things like antidepressant medications, weight-loss products, pain medications, allergy medications, etc. Which one of the main causes of insomnia.

Chronic insomnia is a result of continuous anxiety, stress, or bad life experience. Chronic insomnia can be both primary or secondary. There are other causes for having secondary insomnia:

• Medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, chronic pain, cancer, asthma, etc can cause insomnia.
• Mental disorders like depression or anxiety etc also promote insomnia. Some negative events that have happened in your past, keep hitting your mind again and again. Due to this, you can become a victim of Chronic insomnia.
• Sleep-related disorders like sleep apnea promote your insomnia problem. Due to sleep apnea, it makes it difficult to breathe while sleeping. Which can make your sleep worse.
• Consuming meals containing nicotine, caffeine, and alcohol before bedtime can worsen your sleep. Because they contain a lot of stimulants. Alcohol consumption helps you sleep but it does not promote your deep sleep. People taking alcohol often have a habit of waking up at night.

Insomnia in older people

Insomnia disorder is more common in older people than in elders. Due to age, the social or physical activity of older people is reduced. And when they are less active during the day, it is obvious that they will spend most of their time sleeping or sitting.

As a result, it puts a negative effect on your night sleep. Older people use prescription drugs more often because of their growing illness. Therefore, taking more medicines also increases the problem of insomnia.

Some older people suffer from chronic pain like arthritis or back pain. Along with this, some people worry about their family, work, society, etc, which promote depressive symptoms or anxiety in their mind.

Such health condition increases prostate or bladder problems and which interfere with your sleep.

Insomnia in children and  teenager

Like Adults, caffeine-containing foods and beverages intake, stress, medicine, mental disorder, etc is the cause of insomnia seen in children. Nowadays insomnia symptoms are more common in teenagers and children.

Using video games, smartphones, TV, computers at late night is a poor sleep habit. Which are common habits in children now. This electronic device can spoil your deep sleep.

Because of which their internal clocks are delayed automatically. By following such a routine for a long time, symptoms of chronic insomnia can be seen inside you.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, the symptoms of children’s insomnia are as follows:

• Frequently mood changing and irritability during the day.
• Daytime sleepiness.
• Undiscipline routine.
• Remembering issues and attention issues.
• Concentration issue 

Maintaining a consistent sleep schedule can reduce children’s insomnia. Not using electronics before sleeping will significantly improve your sleep quality and sleep duration. The electronics devices emit blue bright light.

Which prevents the production of a sleep hormone called melatonin and prevents children from sleeping. The same treatment for insomnia that is used in adults is also applied in children.

Risk factors

National heart, lung, and blood institute (NHLBI) defines some risk factors for insomnia. They are:

• Women are not able to sleep well due to the hot flashes and sweats of the night during menopause. Symptoms of insomnia are common in women during pregnancy.
• Physical health disorder or mental health disorder puts a negative effect on your sleep.
• If you are a person above 60, then the risk of suffering from insomnia is high. Due to deteriorating health, its symptoms are further increased.
• The stress of your mind becomes a cause of short time insomnia.
• Staying under anxiety and stress for a long time can make you a victim of insomnia for a long time.
• According to one study, lower-income also causes insomnia.
• Frequently changing your working shifts.
• Inactive lifestyle.
• Irregular sleep schedule.
• Frequently traveling to different places at any time.
• Medical conditions like menopause, obesity, cardiovascular can also boost your insomnia.

Insomnia symptoms

People with insomnia have seen at least one of these symptoms:

• Trouble falling asleep.
• Staying in sleep.
• Waking too early.
• Bad quality sleep.
• Waking up in the night.

Due to these symptoms of insomnia, you can become a victim of other symptoms as well. like:

• Not feeling fresh or feeling irritable during the day’s work.
• Daytime low energy and sleepiness.
• Due to lack of sleep at night, the chances of getting errors or accidents in your work increases.
• Hard to focus on works, projects.
• Daytime tiredness
• Frequently mood changes and fatigue. Which leads to depression or anxiety.

Insomnia symptoms treatment 

People suffering from acute insomnia do not require any treatment. But if you are suffering from chronic insomnia, then you should pay attention to its treatment.

There are two ways to prevent insomnia. One is pharmaceutical and the other is nonpharmaceutical. To find out which is the most effective treatment for you, first, you have to try different treatments carefully.

According to The American College of Physicians (ACP), first-line treatment of adult’s chronic insomnia has been reported to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

Some of your disruptive behaviors sometimes spoil your sleep,  and you develop insomnia. To improve it, you can practice sleep hygiene training. Which helps you change these disruptive behaviors and adopt good behaviors.

You can practice these types of habits before sleeping:

• Go to bed only when you want to sleep, do not use the bed to watch mobile, laptop, or tv. Reduce the time you spent in bed. This method is called sleep restriction therapy.
• Do not exercise at night.
• Try to imagine a relaxing scene on your mind to relax your mind.
• Totally avoid caffeinated food or beverage.

Discover the secrets to fall asleep in 5 minutes or less.

Medicine of insomnia 

If your insomnia is related to a psychological or medical disorder, then the right treatment can reduce your sleep problem. Some medicine can also be used to treat insomnia.

You can use over-the-counter (OTC) medication such as diphenhydramine (Benadryl), an antihistamine for an early sleep. You can also use prescription medications like zolpidem (Ambien), eszopiclone (Lunesta).

But one thing should be kept in mind that before taking this type of OTC medication or other medications, take the advice of a doctor because this medication has side effects in the long term.

Everyone needs different sleep medicine according to their symptoms. One wrong medication can make you more ill. According to a study, herbal tea, warm milk, valerian, etc are natural sleep aids. By using this, you can reduce insomnia at home.

Melatonin supplements

During the sleep cycle, your body naturally produces a hormone called Melatonin. Medical science has also prepared a supplement of Melatonin. Many people also take this Melatonin supplement.

Melatonin supplements help you sleep a little faster. But the whole knowledge has not been received yet about its uses. There is a need to do more research on this.

But it has also been found that using it for a short period of time is not harmful to the body but there is no strong evidence about its long-term use yet.

Therefore, it is best to consult a doctor before taking Melatonin Supplement.

Essential oils

Essential oils are aromatic liquids made from flowers, plants, etc. People massage these oils into the skin to cure a lot of diseases. This process is called aromatherapy.

Aromatherapy is commonly used to provide you great relaxation at bedtime. Aromatherapy aromatic essential oil is used largely to promote the health of your mind, body, and spirit.

A total of 12 studies has shown that aromatherapy is very helpful in promoting healthy sleep. The best essential oils for good sleep are sandalwood, cedarwood, roman chamomile, lavender, neroli, etc.

Another research has found that especially lavender helps in achieving deep sleep by reducing your sleep disturbance.

Another advantage of essential oils is that there is no side effect of using them directly on the skin.

There are many ways to use essential oils. The best is among them is inhalation aromatherapy for better sleep.

Using an essential oil diffuser can give your room a fresh feel that will improve your sleep experience and reduce insomnia symptoms. 

Meditation

In a study conducted in 2015, it was found that meditation promotes sleep quality, sleep duration, and sleep efficiency.

Conditions like depression, stress, anxiety, digestive problems, etc make your sleep worse. So meditation basically works to eliminate them.

Pregnancy and insomnia

Symptoms of insomnia are seen in most women during the first and third trimesters of pregnancy. There are many biological changes in your body during early pregnancy. Bodily changes such as nausea, fluctuating hormones can impair your sleep.

There is also an increase in the need to urinate during pregnancy which causes insomnia. Many women feel stressed during pregnancy by thinking about their baby.

Thinking about the responsibility of being a mother can create anxiety in their minds. Apart from this, cramps and back pains can also cause you not to fall asleep.

During pregnancy your progesterone, metabolism is increased in your body. Due to so many bodily changes, it is common to have changes in your sleep schedule.

To reduce the effect of Insomnia, you can add some habits to your daily routine:

• Try to maintain a healthy diet.
• Drink enough water.
• Obey certain sleep schedules to improve sleep duration.
• Do light exercise.
• Take a warm water bath before bed to avoid stress and practice mind refreshing technic.

Only take medicines or supplements by a doctor’s recommendation. Make exercise routines to be fit.

Insomnia diagnosis 

For the diagnosis of insomnia, the doctor will ask you about your social environment, emotional condition, medical conditions, mental health conditions, sleep history, medical history, etc. To know the underlying cause of your insomnia.

The doctor usually asks you to follow some rules:

• The doctor will advise you to maintain a sleep log. The sleep log will help the doctor to understand your sleep patterns. The doctor can also recommend you to do medical tests to find your medical problems and improve your sleep.
• If your doctor suspects an underlying disorder such as obstructive sleep apnea, then your doctor can advise you to do a sleep study to confirm it.

The sleep study is done by putting electrodes on the whole body in certain places. By detecting your body movements and brainwaves while sleeping, these electrodes are used to identify your states of sleep.

The report of sleep study tests done on you will help the doctor to understand your physiological and neuroelectrical information.

The relation between depression and insomnia

Depression promotes insomnia and in the same way, insomnia promotes your depression. A meta-analysis of 34 studies has proved that when you are in a higher tress, then your quality of sleep and sleep duration is down, and as a result, this condition promotes depression.

The symptoms of insomnia can come further from the depressive symptoms and can come also later. Good thing is that both insomnia and depression are treated in the same way.

Developed good habits, cognitive therapy, lifestyle changes, medications, etc are the basic treatment.
Practice good habits like:

• Exercising in the morning rather than the evening.
• Eating a healthy and balanced diet.
• Try to be in present rather than thinking about the past and future.
• Make a good and trusted friend.
• Developed healthy sleep habits.

The relation between anxiety and depression

Anxiety acts in the same way as depression. Having anxiety can cause you insomnia and having insomnia can cause you anxiety. You can become a victim of chronic insomnia by staying in this condition for a long time.

Some are short-term anxiety and some are long-term anxiety. Short-term anxiety usually arises when you keep thinking about a specific condition or issue again and again. Over time, when your problem or issue goes away, then anxiety also goes away.

Such as money or relationship tension can cause short-term anxiety.

The causes of anxiety disorders or long-term anxiety are not yet fully understood. Results of long-term anxiety such as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) can be painful. Anxiety disorder treatment lasts for a long time. It is treated with medications and therapies.

Certain behavioral practices and lifestyle changes are recommended to reduce anxiety-related insomnia. For example, to reduce anxiety-related insomnia, you are advised not to talk about stressful topics during the day.

Consequences of insomnia and Complications of insomnia

Due to low sleep duration and sleep quality, over time, you have to face many physical and mental issues. Insomnia can promote certain conditions:

• Heart disease
• Asthma
• Diabetes mellitus
• High blood pressure
• Depression
• Stroke
• Damaging the immune system
• Seizures
• Obesity
• Negative effect on your work efficiency
• Risk of an accident due to lack of sleep
• Affect on your sexual activity
• Remembering issue
• Stress and anxiety

Conclusion

Hope you guys this article about insomnia symptoms, causes, meaning, types, and others. If you think you are suffering from insomnia, do not take it lightly. This is a serious and real sleep disorder.

The consequences of insomnia can be dangerous. To treat it, please consult a doctor. Which will give you the correct treatment after studying your symptoms.