What Causes Middle-of-the-Night Insomnia ?

Anyone can have a bad night’s sleep but waking up frequently at night can really affect your life, your  work performance, family relationships, energy, and indeed your general health.

There are a number of causes for insomnia listed below, but be sure and check with your doctor first to make sure you don’t have a health issue that is keeping you up.

1. OSA - Obstructive sleep apnea is one of the most common causes for a sleepless night. OSA is when one stops breathing for anywhere between 10 seconds and a minute. When the brain senses there is a major problem, it creates a startle reaction and forces a gasp for air. This phenomenon may happen dozens or even hundreds of times every night. The toll on your sleep and your health is huge. Because you’re waking up repeatedly, you don’t get enough sleep (called sleep deprivation) which makes you all the more tired the next day. OSA often leads to high blood pressure which increases your risk for heart disease and stroke. Symptoms are gasping for air, snorting, or loud snoring. While there are many ways to correct this, the most common is use of a C-Pap breathing assistive device which must be prescribed by your physician after undergoing a sleep assessment.

1. Another common cause of insomnia is called restless legs syndrome (RLS) which affects about 12 Million Americans. RLS is a condition where one or both legs experience intermittent numbness, tingling, crawling, itching or pains in the legs which either keeps one awake or causes them to wake after getting to sleep. In addition, RLS patients often experience periodic limb movement disorder where the limbs (usually the legs) jerk two or three times a minute which makes sleeping nearly impossible.

1. Caffeine well known as a stimulant, can cause sleeplessness for as much as 7-8 hours after consumption. It can interfere with the production of adenosine the brain’s own natural sleep chemical. Several of the more popular headache medications also contain caffeine, as do asthma and bronchitis meds, decongestants, beta blockers, steroids, and blood pressure medications; any one or combination of which may cause sleeplessness or insomnia. Always check with your doctor or pharmacist for advice on these medications if you are suffering at night.

1. Smoking and the nicotine therein is a stimulant. Also, heavy smokers may wake at night due to the discomfort of nicotine withdrawal … yet another reason to quit.

1. Alcohol consumption late at night may very well help you get to sleep, but once the effects wear off, some people can awake later-on, well before the morning.

1. Stress, anxiety, and depression can cause insomnia and prevent deep sleep.

1. Decreased levels of the hormone progesterone prior to menstruation and/or menopause may yield insomnia to some women.

1. Last but certainly not least is Pain (from any source) will cause sleepless nights for many, many millions at night. Some of the most common causes are: arthritis, indigestion, congestive heart failure, COPD & emphysema, neuropathy, and headaches.

Your first and best solution is to consult your doctor. A second or alternative solution is to seek advice from an alternative healthcare practitioner such as a Chiropractor or Naturopath.