Like many of you, I have those nights when sleep is elusive.  Most of the time if I don’t fall asleep within an hour, I get out of bed, read or do some other activity that’s quite boring.  Usually within a short time I find myself getting sleepy and I’m able to go back to bed and fall asleep.  But what happens to the body when sleep seems to have deserted you?

Causes of Insomnia

• Stress. Our mind continues to think about work, school, health, finances and family issues making it impossible to stop the wheels in our imagination from turning at night.  Death or illness of a loved one, divorce, or a job loss also contributes to insomnia.
• Travel or work schedule. Your circadian rhythm is an internal clock, regulating such things as your sleep and wake cycles, your metabolism and body temperature. Disrupting the body’s circadian rhythms can lead to insomnia. Some causes can include jet lag from traveling across time zones, working a late or early shift, or frequently changing shifts.  Shift work is high on the list contributing to lack of sleep.
• Poor sleep habits. Remember the bedroom is for sleep and sex.  Keep other activities such as: using your bed for work, eating or watching TV out of the bedroom.  Using computers, TVs, video games, smartphones or other screens just before bed can interfere with your sleep cycle.  Keep them out of the bedroom if possible.
• Eating too much late in the evening. Having a light snack before bedtime is usually not going to disturb your sleep, but eating too much may cause you to feel physically uncomfortable while lying down. Many people also experience heartburn, a backflow of acid and food from the stomach into the esophagus after eating, which may keep you awake.

Other Causes of Insomnia

• Mental health disorders.  Insomnia often occurs with several mental health diagnoses including anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and bipolar disorders may disrupt your sleep.  Wakening up too early can be a sign of depression. Insomnia often occurs with other mental health disorders as well.
• Medications. Many prescription drugs can interfere with sleep.  Antidepressants, medications for asthma or blood pressure, over-the-counter medications for pain, allergy and cold medications, and weight-loss products containing caffeine and other stimulants that can disrupt sleep.
• Medical conditions. Conditions associated with insomnia include chronic pain, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, asthma, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), overactive thyroid, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
• Sleep-related disorders. Sleep apnea causes disruption in breathing periodically throughout the night which leads to the sleep cycle being interrupted. Restless legs syndrome causes unpleasant sensations in your legs and an almost irresistible desire to move them, which may prevent you from falling asleep.
• Caffeine, nicotine and alcohol. Coffee, tea, cola and other caffeinated drinks are stimulants. Drinking them in the late afternoon or evening can keep you from falling asleep at night. Nicotine in tobacco products is another stimulant that can interfere with sleep. Alcohol may help you fall asleep, but it prevents deeper stages of sleep and often short circuits the sleep cycle causing you to wake in the middle of the night.

Aging and Sleep Changes

• Changes in sleep patterns as we age. Sleep often becomes less restful as we age. We can become light sleepers causing noise or other changes in our environment to more easily wake us. With age, our internal clock often changes, causing us to get tired earlier in the evening and wake up earlier in the morning. But older people still need about the same amount of sleep as younger people do.
• Changes in activity. We might become less physically or socially active. A lack of activity can interfere with a good night’s sleep. People who are less active, are more likely to take a daily nap, which can interfere with your sleep at night.
• Changes in health. Chronic pain from conditions such as arthritis or back problems as well as depression or anxiety can interfere with sleep. Other body changes that interfere with sleep are increased need to urinate during the night such as prostate or bladder problems.
• More medications. Older people often are on more prescription drugs than younger people, this can increase chances causing insomnia associated with medications.

Side effects of sleep deprivation

• Lower performance on the job or at school
• Slowed reaction time while driving and a higher risk of accidents
• Mental health disorders, such as depression, an anxiety disorder or substance abuse
• Increased risk and severity of long-term diseases or conditions, such as high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease

What can you do to reduce insomnia?

Interestingly, raising the head of your bed about six inches can help.  Really?  Yes.  As it turns out, an English engineer, named Andrew Fletcher came up with the idea.  You see Mr. Fletcher observed in nature that plants and trees use the force of gravity to get the nutrients they need.  He realized that the human lymphatic system worked on the same theory to move fluids through the human body.  We know that laying flat on a surface will stagnate the fluids in the body.  So, if your head is inclined about six inches, the problem with stagnation is solved.

The movement of blood, lymph and cerebrospinal fluid while sleeping has the potential to heal and detox our bodies while we sleep.  So, maybe we need to consider raising the head of our beds by six inches.

Raising the head of the bed has been recommended for years for people with acid reflux.  It took an engineer thinking outside of the box to realize the other health benefits associated with elevation of the head of your bed.

So, try this simple remedy before you reach for the sleeping pills.  Actually sleeping pills have a limited use and in reality not a good long-term solution.