I first heard about Insomnia when I was listening to music artist named Owl City, and I heard that he created his most known song “Fireflies” while he was struggling to fall asleep. Adam Young the musical genius behind Owl City claimed he found the most inspiration in the late hours of night to write his music. Then during my senior year of high school I myself started to have trouble falling asleep and eventually I was awake until 3 or 4 am every night leaving me in a zombie like state every day for school. I wasn’t sure if it was insomnia or stress but I’ve always wondered what causes insomnia and its effects on the body.
According to Web MD “Insomnia is a sleep disorder that is characterized by difficulty falling and or staying asleep”. Characteristics of people with insomnia are difficulty falling asleep, waking up often during the night and having trouble going back to sleep. Also people suffering from insomnia wake up to early in the morning and feel tired upon waking up. The two types of insomnia include primary and secondary insomnia as well as acute and chronic showing the different levels an individual can reach.
In the case of a primary insomniac, which affects most adults at least one point in their lives according to Health line. People suffering from insomnia tend to wake up often throughout the night and also have trouble falling or staying asleep. Often insomnia can be triggered through habits or activities that prevent an individual from getting a good night’s rest. Some ways this be caused is by not establishing a healthy sleeping pattern, working third shift, injuries causing pain, caffeine, sleeping with electronics in the room and medical conditions. Most primary insomnia cases can be treated fairly easily with medication which can have a sedative effect to help individuals fall asleep easier and to stay asleep. Insomnia can be diagnosed through either blood test or a physical examination and can be related to kidney disease.
Secondary insomnia the more serious type of disorder is usually attributed to an underlying cause; therefore it’s a symptom or side effect of something else according to Women’s Health. Often people suffering from depression large amounts of pain or sleep disorders such as sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome. Just like primary insomnia bad habits such as smoking and having to much caffeine attribute to having this serious type of disorder.
Insomnia has a lot to do with an individual’s brain and how well their EEG activity is in comparison to ordinary sleepers. Women are also more likely to have insomnia than men because of hormonal imbalances during menopause or menstrual cycles. Insomnia is also very common amongst pregnant women and the elderly. Some tips to sleeping better include not taking naps after 4 pm, and to establish a regular sleep schedule although that is hard for most people these days. Avoiding things such as caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol can also help with sleeping better. Beds should also only be used for sleeping and sex not a place for entertainment or an office space.
Check out this video about balancing the brain with insomnia and overthinking. You can see frequencies of the football players brain who suffered from a concussion therefore affecting his sleep.
I personally think I may have suffered from a primary insomniac case attributed from stress. Using methods I read about online helped me to be able to sleep better and establish a pattern therefore eliminating any issues I had with sleeping. Like we talked sleep in class sleeping is one of the most important parts of life to recharge and rejuvenate in order for the body to repair itself therefore if someone does fall into a insomniac state they should do everything possible to resolve the problems facing them.
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