www.uninsomnia.

com
All Rights Reserved
Top Seven Most Common Causes Of Not Being Able
To Sleep (Plus Remedies For Each!)

What was the most amount of time you have gone without sleep? How did you feel after
the sleep deprivation? Irritable, unfocused and on the verge of losing your mind per-
haps. These are the very same symptoms experienced by the world record holder for
the longest time that someone has gone without sleep, which is 11 days and 25 minutes
by the way. Although Randy Gardner broke the records and went to be famed for his
glorious effort, his experiment highlighted the problems with sleep deprivation all too
clearly.

Is sleep necessary?

In order to conclude that sleep isn’t necessary in life, three factors need to be proven.
First, are there any species of animals that can actually survive without sleep? Usually,
the American bullfrog or simply the bullfrog is used for this factor. But until now, there is
no evidence or a number of studies that can prove that the bullfrog doesn’t sleep. In
fact, the most commonly used reference is a 1967 study about the respiratory respons-
es of the bullfrog when resting and truly awake after being subjected to pain. There are
also other species of animal that sleep with half of their brains turned on and the other
half turned off. While they don’t really truly submit to vulnerable sleep, this cycle can still
be considered as sleep.

Second, are there any evidences that sleep is not regulated in some animal species?
We all know that the human’s sleep cycle is highly regulated by the innate circadian
rhythm. Researchers have found though that animal’s sleep patterns are also highly
regulated. Further, sleep deprived animals also has innate compensatory mechanisms
for catching up on lost sleep. These include a longer sleep duration or a deeper sleep
phase. The sleeping patterns of certain animal species could be different from humans.
But many studies provide for evidences that most animal species have regulated sleep
cycles despite their varying sleep patterns.

Third, can sleep deprivation occur without any negative consequences? In humans,
sleep deprivation is correlated with cognitive impairments and mood changes. If you
have read some of our previous blog posts, there’s also a type of fatal insomnia which
can lead to hallucinations and eventually death. Rats that have been subjected to sleep
deprivation showcased negative consequences such as debilitated appearance and
weight loss even with increased food intake. Even fruit flies that were subjected to sleep
deprivation showed homeostasis imbalance and later on death.

The most common causes of not being able to sleep and

remedies for each

Now that we have proven that sleep is really necessary in both humans and animals,
let’s move on to the most common causes of sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation or in-
somnia which occurs due to another condition or reason is called secondary insomnia.
This type of sleep deprivation is best treated by fixing the main issue on hand. By doing
so, you can then treat your sleep deprivation directly.

Cause No. 1: An Over-Active Mind

If you find it hard to fall asleep because of your over-active mind, you are one of the mil-
lions of sufferers of this condition. Further, an over-active mind, also referred to as rac-
ing mind, can be a symptom of other mental conditions like anxiety, obsessive-compul-
sive disorder and bipolar disorder. An individual with an over-active mind constantly has
thoughts, mostly anxiety-provoking ones, going on his brain. He can’t stop thinking
about his day, his problems or even worries about the future. By doing so, he finds it
hard to fall asleep as his mind races from one thought to another.
In such a case, it’s important to know if your over-active mind isn’t caused by a mental
condition. A psychiatrist can help determine that for you. If ever you find out that your
over-active mind is caused by a mental condition, there are proper medications and in-
terventions that can be given to you. On the other hand, if your over-active mind is
caused by improper sleeping habits or sleep hygiene, the best solution is cognitive be-
havioral therapy. The psychiatrist can also help you with this therapy. Usually, the indi-
vidual is taught strategies to reduce the severity of the activity of the mind before sleep-
ing.

Cause No. 2: Too Hang Up On Technology

In a recent survey conducted by the National Sleep Foundation, they found that 9 out of
10 Americans use a technological device an hour before bed time. Additionally, they
found that 6 out of 10 Americans reported to not getting enough sleep to function prop-
erly during the day. Aspects of life such as work, school, family and relationships were
reported as being affected by this sleep deprivation as well. The survey also found a
correlation between gadget use before sleep and difficulty initiating sleep. These results
are consistent with the findings of other studies like this one and this one.

If this is the cause of your insomnia, then it’s best to reduce or block gadget use before
bed time. Instead, engage in other activities like reading a book or spending time with
your loved ones. Television watching is also not recommended as it can ignite cognitive
arousal. If you really must use your gadget or watch television, do so outside your bed
room and at least two hours prior to sleeping time. On a related note, remove loud noise
settings from your smartphone to avoid disturbances in your sleep. This is unless you’re
a practicing physician or public service individual and of course except for your alarm.

Cause No. 3: Tea or Coffee Lover

Both tea and coffee contain caffeine which is a stimulant that prevents drowsiness or
sleepiness. Caffeine is an antagonist to adenosine receptors thus promoting wakeful-
ness. But its effects are subjective, some individuals can still sleep peacefully with mod-
erate caffeine consumption. But some individuals can be more stimulated by caffeine
and that’s when the problem occurs. In fact, in a study on mice, it was found that only
those with adenosine-1 receptors were stimulated by caffeine.

It is not suggested that one should totally remove caffeine from their diet. In one study,
they found that even moderate doses of caffeine six hours before bed time could impact
sleep quality. Thus, if you want to avoid the sleep-disrupting effects of caffeine, make
sure you do not consume it six hours or less before your bed time. Several studies, like
this one, have already proven that caffeine abstinence, even for just a day, can improve
the quality of sleep of insomniacs.

Cause No. 4: Suffering From Another Sleep Disorder

A number of sleep disorders can also affect your sleep quality. If you remember, we
have dedicated two blog posts about sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a type of sleep disor-
der characterized by pauses in breathing whilst asleep. These pauses can cause sleep
disruptions thereby inducing insomnia-like symptoms. Other sleep disorders associated
with insomnia are restless leg syndrome and parasomnias.

If you’re suffering from another sleep disorder, it’s important to resolve that issue first
and see if your insomnia can be treated indirectly by doing so. For example, sleep ap-
nea can be caused by a number of factors including being overweight, lifestyle habits
and sleeping position. By modifying these factors, you can reduce or treat your sleep
apnea. Restless legs syndrome can be caused by an iron deficiency and supplementing
with iron can treat the underlying problem.

Cause No. 5: You’re On Medication

Some types of medication can also induce wakefulness. For example, beta-blockers in-
hibit the release of melatonin from the pituitary gland. Since melatonin is part of the
sleep cycle, inhibiting it can lead to negative side effects. Beta-blockers are commonly
prescribed to hypertensive patients. In one study, researchers found that vitamin or mul-
ti-vitamin ingestion can also lead to night-time sleep disturbances. They found that vit-
amin users have a higher rate of insomnia that non-vitamin users.

If your medication is an essential part of your health, then ask your physician if you can
ingest it at an earlier time before bed time. This way, its sleep-disrupting effects won’t be
as potent during the night. If you’re fond of using vitamins or other herbal remedies,
make sure you experiment with them for the first few days. If you feel like they can be
contributing to your insomnia, then it’s best to eliminate them one at a time to see their
effects.

Cause No. 6: Had Late And Heavy Dinner

If you’re used to eating late in the night with a heavy meal, then that could be contribut-
ing to your sleeplessness as well. In one study, researchers found that a higher food in-
take close to bed time can disrupt normal sleep patterns. Further, they have found that
an intake of foods high in fat and carbohydrate during the night can lead to a longer du-
ration sleep onset. This is compatible with the results of another study in which re-
searchers have found that certain food groups induce sleep disruptions more. For ex-
ample, low protein intake was found to induce difficulty initiating sleep and poor quality
of sleep.

Thus, make sure you have your dinner at least two hours before bed time. It is also im-
portant to take note of the foods you’re having. Food sources such as beans, lentils,
chicken and fish are rich in tryptophan. Tryptophan is an amino acid that is the precur-
sor of both serotonin and melatonin in the body. Milk is also a good source of tryptophan
so the age-old adage about drinking it before bed time is quite true.
Cause No. 7: You Have Pain

Pain is another common cause of not being able to sleep. Many medical conditions
have this symptom. But it is especially more pronounced in the elderly who have a vari-
ety of conditions as they age. Inflammatory diseases like arthritis, sinusitis, colitis and
others can also induce pain. Diabetes and shingles can induce neuropathic pain, which
is pain associated with the nervous system. When there is pain, sleep is disturbed, you
might find it hard to fall asleep or wake up several times in the night because of the
pain.

Of course it’s important to remedy the cause of the pain. If you are suffering from in-
flammatory conditions, you need to address the underlying issue first. If it’s inflammation
caused by allergies, then you need to take anti-allergy medication. If it’s inflammation
caused by an auto-immune disease, you need to find out which could be causing this
auto immunity. You might need to cut out some foods from your diet such as gluten or
sugar. Neuropathic pain is harder to resolve but there are pain relievers that can help
offset the pain.

Not able to sleep at night? Find out if you fit within the caus-
es above

In some cases, you could fit under two or three categories. Insomnia is a complex sleep
disorder and it could have a variety of causes. The good thing is, with proper habits,
lifestyle changes and sleep hygiene, there’s a good chance that you can recover from
your insomnia. Sleep is not just a part of human life, it’s an essential process of regen-
eration and restoration of humans. It enables the brain to maintain its neural plasticity
and depleted glycogen stores. And as we have mentioned above, even animals need
sleep or absolute rest to survive, in their own ways of course.
Found this blog post helpful? Make sure you give it a like and share it to friends or loved
ones. Share your comments below if the remedies above had helped you!