What Causes Insomnia?
There are many known causes of insomnia or patients being unable to fall asleep or sleep through the night without uninterrupted sleep.
Some of the common causes of insomnia include:
- Caffeine before bed. This can lead the body to become energized as caffeine is a stimulant. In order to be able to relax before bed this should be avoided after a certain point in the afternoon, especially those that are sensitive to caffeine.
- Stress should be avoided and dealt with in the appropriate manner. This can reduce the time that you spend up at night thinking about specific situations that stress you out and leave you without sleep at night.
- Certain medications have caffeine in them (mainly diet supplements and weight loss pills). These types of medications should be avoided. Some prescription medications can also cause insomnia and should be avoided. Speak with your doctor to determine if there are viable alternatives to these medications that are keeping you up at night.
- Depression can cause insomnia as the mind begins to wander as you are supposed to be falling asleep. Although it can be hard to attribute depression to insomnia the patient should take into account how they have been feeling lately and if mild depression could be the cause of the insomnia which is being experienced.