Insomnia is a sleep disorder that affects many people at different times in their lives. But what are the causes of insomnia?
Insomnia should not be underestimated mainly because it is often a symptom of other psycho / emotional or physical problems such as anxiety, depression or reflect particular physical conditions such as insomnia during pregnancy or that due to the onset of temporary or chronic physical problems. Children and the elderly also deserve a deeper investigation into the causes of the onset of this disorder.
Recent studies show that some individuals naturally need less sleep than others, but in general, insomnia can create daytime fatigue. Insomnia does not only mean “not sleeping” but above all “sleeping badly”. Scholars identify different types of insomnia, the initial one, characterized by the difficulty of falling asleep, central, with fragmented sleep interrupted by continuous nocturnal and late awakenings, characterized by an early awakening.
Depending on the duration of the disorder, insomnia can be transient if it lasts less than a week, acute, up to a month and chronic, if it lasts more than a month.
Causes of insomnia
The causes of transient insomnia can be physical in nature such as breathing problems, nasal congestion, asthma, fever or circumstantial causes such as excessive noise, stress, change of habits. Acute or chronic insomnia, on the other hand, can be caused by various factors such as stress, anxiety, depression, abuse of exciting substances or some drugs.
In order to adopt effective remedies to sleep well, it is important to start first by identifying the causes of our insomnia. If insomnia is acute or chronic, you should contact your doctor, avoiding do-it-yourself treatments with drugs or sleeping pills that would not solve the problem.
Insomnia and toothache
Of another kind is the case of insomnia due to organic factors. These are generally more easily resolved and after the intervention of the specialist doctor we can go back to sleep well. Toothache is a common and annoying cause of insomnia. On the web there are many testimonies of people who, with the onset of toothache, experiment with creative solutions: from the most original palliatives to unusual invocations. Even a user writes in a famous forum: “We have tried them all, even gas“. With the onset of toothache or bruxism, white nights are around the corner. In both cases, the triggering factors are multiple, which can be ascertained and found the right solution only by a competent dentist.
Are there any natural remedies to sleep better?
Natural remedies are often subjective but in general those techniques referred to as sleep hygiene can be adopted. Sleep hygiene is a set of rules and good habits that help us to reconcile a good sleep, fighting insomnia
- Relax before going to bed: read a book, drink herbal tea or take a hot bath at least two hours before going to bed
- Making the bedroom a welcoming and relaxing place, with a room temperature that is never too hot, soft lighting and soothing colors on the walls.
- Wear comfortable pajamas
- Go to bed when you are really tired, without straining to sleep. If you are unable to sleep, get up and leave the room, engaging in relaxing activities.
- Go to bed and wake up at the most regular times possible, even on weekends.
- Exercise during the day, limiting it during the evening hours to a maximum of 3 hours before bedtime.
- Choose the mattress suitable for your physicality with a suitable base and pillow.
- Consistent dinners eaten close to night hours should be avoided because we would engage our body in a long and tiring digestion, often generating a “sense of heaviness” at night or worse, indigestion, making sleep difficult. As we know, alcohol and drinks that contain caffeine are not helpful and daytime naps should not exceed 15 minutes, to avoid having “little sleep” in the evening.
For our body and our mind it is very important to rest well, so we always recommend following the rules for a good rest, without underestimating the symptoms of insomnia, which could then degenerate into a more serious form. Always consult your doctor in case of sleep disturbances.
Remember that insomnia is always a disorder due to other factors or pathologies, so it is important to find the cause in order to defeat it.