This article was written by Support

If you are having trouble falling and staying to sleep at night, perhaps it’s time you arm yourself with facts about insomnia to find out if you’re one of the 58% of adults afflicted with the condition.  Not getting the proper amount of sleep at night can take a toll on your body and mind, especially if it’s become more than just a temporary problem.  Sleep is such an important natural function our bodies and minds need in order to perform at their best and when we are lacking in rest, it can have devastating effects.  Lack of sleep can bring on a host of problems from muscle fatigue to mental instability depending on the severity of the situation.  Luckily there are several different treatments available for insomnia which are used according to cause.

Insomnia is most common amongst adults and it has been reported that over 58% of the participants in one study claimed to experience insomnia a few nights a week.  Typically, this type of temporary insomnia is due to common stresses and anxiety of every day life and normally goes away on it’s own, usually when lifestyle situations calm down.  It’s been reported that these types of sleepless nights can last anywhere from a few nights to 3 to 6 weeks during which some folks have come to rely on the relief certain medications can provide. Others choose to “ride it out” instead of opting to take medications.

Insomnia symptoms are quite common in women who are going through menopause.  In a 2005 study, it was reported that estrogen had shown to produce the inability to fall or stay asleep when estrogen levels were reported to be low.  After hormone therapy or treatment, once estrogen levels were regulated to a normal level, patients showed increased improvement in being able to fall asleep and remain in that state of rest.

Mental illness found in such patients suffering from depression, bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia and some types of dementia also exude signs and symptoms of insomnia.  In some severe cases, it’s been noted that a major contributor to the severity of the mental illness can be linked directly to the patient’s lack of sleep. In these cases prescription medication has been deemed necessary in order to help the patient to get adequate amounts of sleep to help decrease the effects of the paranoia that severe insomnia can cause.

Sleep is a natural function our bodies use to repair ourselves, physically and mentally, from the stresses of every day life. While we sleep, our bodies go to work repairing cells that have been broken down, worn out or lost during the day.  Sleep helps the body to restore its energy, much like plugging a cell phone into a charger in order to recharge the battery…sleep works much in the same way.  When our bodies are deprived of sleep, not only can it break us down physically but also mentally.  Remember, our brains receive the same amount of repair while we sleep as our bodies, without it, we lose just as much function f not more.  Overworking a tired brain can have dire consequences depending on the amount of sleep we’ve lost.

Knowing the facts about insomnia can help you to decide if you are in fact suffering from that and not any other sleep disturbances such as sleep apnea.  It is important to determine the cause of your sleepless nights in order to provide a cure for a good nights’ rest.