Causes of Insomnia

Stress-Related Insomnia

Dr. David W. Sparks

The overwhelming goal of this web site and the program that is being presented is to get people who are suffering from poor sleep to overcome their problem. Sadly, dreamland is far, far away for too many people…particularly for the millions of people suffering from insomnia. Furthermore, if you're chronically tired or can't sleep right for any reason, no expensive mattress or Egyptian cotton sheets will get your there.

For most people, they’ll lose more sleep over how much they paid for all that fancy bedding! If you can learn to sleep right through lifestyle habits and routines, then you can literally get a good night’s rest on a no frills bed.

We have talked in several articles about the specific stages of sleep. We found out that the primary purposes to these various types and stages of sleep is repair, renewal, refreshment, re-charge – all those re- words. When we sleep, the body and the brain are rejuvenated. And without proper sleep, what happens? Daytime fatigue, irritability and anger, memory problems, depression, anxiety. And, new research confirms suspicions that sleep experts have long had. When you're not sleeping well, there's increased sensitivity to pain, reduced libido, increased stress, loss of energy, poor professional productivity, impairment of social skills, and weight gain, JUST TO NAME A FEW!!

Causes of Insomnia – The Breakdown

And here are some of the reasons most people give for not sleeping well: 30-percent say it's due to stress…22-percent claim health problems including chronic pain or discomfort…20-percent are victims of a poor sleep environment as in, too much noise and/or light as well as uncomfortable temperatures…and 12-percent say their partner's sleep habits keep them awake.

The last category makes sense…snoring and gasping keeps bed partners awake, kicking and restless legs surely must affect both people in a bed, getting up to go to the bathroom several times a night, which is a problem with many older men suffering from an enlarged prostate.

How about tossing and turning? Tossing and turning go along with insomnia and in this article we're going to take this unpleasant subject on. It would be even more unpleasant if there were nothing that could be done about it. Fortunately, we can be of help.

Let's get specific about what insomnia is. Getting into bed, and not being able to fall asleep easily. It's often a source of tremendous anxiety for people. They're afraid to go to bed because they don't want to go through the torture of lying there, exasperated because they can't sleep.

The other major form of insomnia is waking up too early or too often during the night. You may fall asleep easily but can't stay asleep for eight continuous hours. And it's important to point out here that we all, regardless of our age in adulthood, need seven to nine hours of sleep per 24-hour period. So the person who goes to sleep at 10:30 and wakes up at 4:30 and figures they can't get back to sleep, so they get up….is doing it all wrong. They need to get back to sleep. 8 hours isn't optional as far as their health and performance in life is concerned.

Insomnia is King? Or Queen!

When it comes to poor sleep, insomnia is king…make that queen since women suffer more insomnia, particularly as they get a little older. Believe it or not, insomnia is second only to pain as the most common complaint reported to primary care physicians and is the most common of all sleep-related complaints. More often in women, than in men, is the problem of fibromyalgia which is pain in soft tissues such as muscle. If you're in pain, chances are pretty good you're not going to sleep real well. Insomnia is also the diagnosis when people wake up in the morning feeling un-refreshed.

Types of Insomnia

There are temporary or short-term insomnias for just about all of us. However, some people seem more apt to experience long term insomnia due to their personality type, sleep-wake cycle, ability to cope, etc. Chronic insomnia you can't ignore… Left unchecked, it can devastate your quality of life.

Some people have something known as "learned insomnia", or primary insomnia. Let's say that you're a person who takes everything very seriously. You know that without a good night's sleep, you don't function very well. So now, you put pressure on yourself to get a good night's sleep. You end up "trying harder" to sleep. That increases the pressure on you, and makes you nervous about getting to sleep…and the cycle begins.

There are some easy to learn skills and techniques that you can apply to get over insomnia. They include some behavior therapy techniques, which may take a little longer to work than sleeping pills, but will be more effective in the long run.

For the majority of people, insomnia is due to lifestyle choices. So the best way to resolve the issue is to get pro-active with some very solid and time-tested rules for sleep. All too often, adults don't follow good sleep rules called, sleep hygiene… the DO'S and DON'TS of sleep.

Insomnia Solutions

Time to get specific with some suggestions. If you lie in bed awake for more than 20-30 minutes, get up, go to a different room, participate in a quiet activity. Some non-excitable reading or television, then return to bed when you feel sleepy. Do this as many times during the night as needed. Don't lie in bed with the mind racing. Avoid watching the clock.

Stress-Related Insomnia

We said in the beginning of today's discussion that 30% of people who do not sleep well attribute it to stress. Think about it! You're worried about keeping a job. You can't make ends meet. Somebody continuously distresses you. This takes a toll on you. Such things as a big test coming up. You're worried that you're losing your competitive edge at work or on the athletic field. So you toss and you turn. It prevents you from falling asleep. Or, you wake up in the middle of the night because you have to use the bathroom, and all this stress comes to mind. Think about it.

NO! DON'T THINK ABOUT IT. That's the problem and that's one of the things we're trying to achieve with our mindfulness action steps. Learn not to think about these stressful things. Learn that you can't solve your problems in bed and all of this frenzied mind-chatter distracts you from your primary source of mental and physical healing…sleep.

There's a great deal of research now that takes on the issue of rumination or worrying about life's events…which produces a lot of insomnia. The mindfulness exercises that are recommended in our Action Steps are designed to enable you to tune out issues and distractions. A very effective technique for putting concerns and issues away for the night is to write them down a couple of hours before going to bed.

And when you're writing these "issues" down, you also want to write down potential solutions. In effect, this creates a mindset that you've "dealt with it" and can "put it away".

There are so many ways of dealing with issues that trouble, or concern us. Eastern philosophies have shown us a lot using techniques like Yoga, or Zen, the mindfulness technique we're using in our daily Action steps. Its all about learning to relax. Sleep heals so many ailments…and the best way to get to sleep is to learn to relax.

There's a lot of science involved in learning to control where your mind goes. It may take a little bit of work and self-discipline, but you can get there by scientifically slowing the mind down to a relaxed state.

Final Words of Encouragement from Dr. Sparks

Everyone’s different and what works for one person may not work for the next. That’s why we offer so many different approaches to relaxation. Just know that insomnia can be conquered…step by step. Taking things in small steps…such as what we do with our action steps.

In a few weeks we will be opening up a premium section in our web site entitled Actions Steps for Better Sleep and A Healthier Life. These steps incorporate some simple behavioral modification techniques to help solve your problems with insomnia along with some positive steps that you can take toward improving your wellness. We have some wonderful suggestions for diet and exercise. Think of this program as an "easy boot camp where you learn to go to war against insomnia". By the way, you can get this program for free with your purchase of one of my audiobooks entitled "Better Sleep in 7 Days".

Make sure you sign up in the Action Steps section and I will send you a sample of both the first day of Actions Steps for Better Sleep and A Healthier Life and Day 1 of The Better Sleep in 7 Days audiobook. We value your privacy and will not pass along your email address to anyone.

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