It’s important to recognize that sleep disturbances can vary from symptoms of insomnia to feeling excessive drowsiness during the day. Sleep disturbances spanning over a long period of time is usually a symptom of an underlying chronic disease harnessing its effects on the body. Visiting a GP or insomnia doctor is vital as early recognition and a prompt action can save you from developing deleterious side effects to your health.
About Insomnia
Insomnia is characterized by the inability to fall asleep, staying asleep, or waking up multiple times throughout the night with the inability to sleep back. A normal adult needs up to 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night. Inability to sleep adequately throughout the night can cause a dip in your energy levels and affect your mood and work performance throughout the day.
It’s also important to consider the fact that just because you stay out long for the night on the weekends or work the night shift, and experience some difficulty in sleeping, well that my friend, is not insomnia, and please save yourself from excessively stressing about it.
Here is a list of the medical conditions that can cause insomnia, especially in the early days of developing the disease. The bad news is that most of these conditions are for a lifetime and you will eventually have to learn to manage your life with them. The good news- most are controllable with a few daily lifestyle modifications and prescription pills. Let’s begin!
Heartburn
If you suffer from peptic ulcer disease, then heartburn is the leading cause of insomnia for you. Once you lie down at night, you could experience mild chest discomfort, pain or excessive hiccupping. This is because of the backflow of acidic contents of your stomach irritating the esophagus. You should ideally start by visiting your doctor for symptomatic control, which is usually achievable by some prescription medications.
Moreover, abstain completely from alcohol and any caffeinated drinks, 4-5 hours before sleep Use gravity to your advantage and elevate your upper body to help negate the acid regurgitation.
Diabetes
Diabetes has quickly emerged to be one of the most common, chronic conditions found in our population today. It usually presents in the elderly and middle age population, but is now found commonly in children as well. Diabetes results from a chronic blood sugar level impairment after the body stops responding to insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas. It can be either due to low levels of insulin production or low sensitivity of the body’s cells to insulin. If you suffer from diabetes and have poor blood sugar control, you may find yourself up at night for frequent urination sessions, may suffer from hypoglycemic episodes or suffer from chronic leg pain that may cause an inability to sleep. Have a visit to the doctor and get your diabetic profile checked.
Heart Failure
Symptomatic heart failure occurs in people who have less than 50% of the heart functions intact. This disease is often due to the inability of the heart muscles to pump blood ahead, which leads to fluid accumulation in the lungs and tissues, also known as edema. This can also lead to difficulty in breathing, which causes multiple awakenings throughout the night.
We recommend getting yourself checked by a cardiology expert promptly, and elevating your head side by placing a few pillows. Hopefully symptomatic improvement will ensue, but you will still need to take some medicines and monitor your diet and blood pressure.
Kidney Diseases
Kidney disease ensues when the kidneys lose the normal function of excreting the excess waste build up and balancing electrolytes. Kidney diseases can lead to insomnia and restless leg syndrome due to increasing nitrogenous waste build up. In most cases, dialysis and a renal transplant doesn’t return sleep normalcy.
Thyroid Problems
An inactive or over functioning thyroid can lead to night sweats, increased anxiety levels and sleep interruptions. Hyperthyroidism stimulates the nervous system thus hindering the normal sleep cycle. Hypothyroidism is however, marked by feeling cold and sleepy. We recommend getting a simple blood test for checking your thyroid levels today.
Final Word
As a conclusion, if you experience any of the symptoms mentioned along with insomnia, we strongly advise you to get yourself checked up by going to an insomnia clinic chevy chase.
