Men's Health > Insomnia > insomnia causes

Causes of Insomnia

It’s 2 am and I’m still awake.

I’ve been lying here for two hours now just trying to nod off to sleep with no joy.

The digits on my clock radio have become so familiar ticking away every painful minute as I just lie here and watch. I’m starting to give them names such as Lucy two, Teresa three, Maggie four, you get my meaning.

My mind just won’t shut down and it’s only going to get worse. Another four hours and the sun is going to come beaming in, I’ll struggle to get out of bed and face another day, tired, moody and totally dysfunctional.

It's the little Things

There are so many things that can keep us guys up all night including stress, an overactive imagination and of course that stunning blonde that lives just next door. Insomnia is one of the most common sleep disorders and is experienced by all at one time or another but in saying that it is still not something that you should shrug off. Insomnia can have devastating effects on your waking life even if it is only short term.

You feel terrible and lack of sleep can causes you to be more accident prone, decrease problem solving skills, be less alert and have a concentration span of a pickle. Worst of all lack of sleep can affect your sex drive. That’s right not only will you be feeling the effects but so too will your most trusted tool.

Common Causes

There have been many studies carried out on insomnia and researchers have found that a man running on less than five hours sleep over a two week period has the same effects on the brain as if he had stayed up for 48 hours. So we are taking about a serious problem here. In simple language when you suffer from sleep deprivation you will in fact be tired, dumb, angry and even depressed as your body longs to shut down for some well needed rest.

So lets look at some of the real causes of insomnia and I’m not talking about your fixation with the blonde next door, I’m talking about the medical reasons.

Types of Insomnia

Temporary insomnia caused by jetlag or stress is temporary and can resolve itself without any treatment but long term insomnia can be more difficult. Idiopathic insomnia is a life long problem and normally begins in early childhood. It is caused by a neurological abnormality in the person’s sleep wake system.

There is also environmental insomnia you know what I mean ... that idiot down the street who insists on mowing the lawn at 6 am every Sunday morning just when you have crawled into bed after a long hard night, maybe your girlfriend snores even though she insists that she doesn’t. These causes even though they may not seem very significant can have a detrimental effect on your daily functioning. But what can you do, beside having a go at the guy down the road and dumping your girlfriend?

How about sleeping somewhere else on a Saturday night or buying your girlfriend some snore ease. She’d buy it for you wouldn’t she?

So there you have it guys, sleep deprivation or insomnia as its called does exist, yes it’s 4 am now and I’m still awake so that’s the proof, I just wish I had that blonde next door come in and help me get to sleep.

Drew Voight