Let’s Talk About Your Insomnia

A clear look at a very common health issue

Are you struggling with a life full of sleep problems? Have you ever suffered with mentally grueling insomnia? Has a battle with a lack of sleep something that just goes on and on, and still shows no improvement, even as exhaustion grows and grows?

There are several common causes, that with some adjusting and investigating, may gives an ability to finally do that magical thing that we call sleep.

I am no medical professional. This is just another example of me writing on struggles we all face day to day, and like mental health, and addiction, I like to often write on subjects I too have struggled with, a long with my readers.

I myself have suffered on and off through my life with bouts of battles with sleep problems. A portion is related to the uphill and downhill past issues with addiction, as well as mental health.

Anxiety and depression happen to be two of the most common causes of chronic insomnia. Trauma and bipolar also can see a huge amount of long term fights with sleep.

The worry, shame, grief, stress, anger and sadness can all be major factors that can be causes of true insomnia. This goes way beyond short term sleep problems. This can become a major chronic health problem that only contributes and amplifies struggling health and well being.

When doing research, I also learned that other diseases and health issues can contribute to insomnia as well. Those included asthma, allergies, Parkinson’s disease, acid reflux, cancer, and kidney disease.

It isn’t always diseases that can contribute to insomnia.I myself have learned the hard way in the past, that some of the habits of mine, were too, the culprit. I found out that eating too close to bedtime, was a big factor, as well as exercising close to bedtime. When I cut back the eating to 3 hours of more before bedtime, I quickly saw significant improvement.

Mental stimulation in a lot of ways often can be a contributing factor, and I think I can agree with that from past experience as well. Laying in the bed, lights out, with a bright light from a smartphone in my face certainly did nothing but stop me from getting sleepy.

Last, my insomnia also can gain strength from things like caffeinated drinks before sleep. Always remember, that even tea, though not having as much caffeine as coffee, still doesn’t lag behind it that much. While coffee may have 100, 120 mg of caffeine, tea may have 70 to 80 mg.

Besides that, there are medications that have the ability to interrupt sleep. Experts state that blood pressure medications, corticosteroids, ADHD medications, cold and flu medicines all have the chances as insomnia as a side effect.

Ironically, even though depression and anxiety are both major causes for lack of sleeping, the medications that treat those two diseases themselves can sometimes have the side effect of insomnia. It can be a double edged sword, and it is an equation that you really need your doctor’s help with.

There are many ways to make the proper adjustments and see significant improvements with this type of problem. For myself, when I was seeking solutions, I found out about one, that ended up working quite well for me. That was sticking to a similar routine each night and morning for waking up around the same time. Even weekends. Same bedtime and wake up time quickly showed improvement for me, and I almost always stick to it 7 days a week.

Experts also say that keeping the bedroom as cool and dark as possible will help. Napping during the day is not normally recommended, but if you do nap, keep the time limit to a half hour max, and have the nap done before 3pm.

Another habit of mine that I moderately adjusted, was I try to do most of my television watching in a different room other than my bedroom. Watching television is another stimulating activity that is better for our subconscious if it is not connected so much with the bedroom.

Like I said before, I am not doctor. This article is mostly for sharing information for my readers that can be beneficial. Along with adding in my own experiences, I hope this piece was enjoyed.

Good sleep is extraordinarily crucial to literally every single aspect of our health. And like anything else, if it is negatively affected, it can lead to either so many new problems, and it can amplify already existing issues.

By MICHAEL PATANELLA, Author, Publisher