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What are the main causes of insomnia and sleep deprivation? Sleeplessness can be caused by many factors. Here are the most common:

Stress – Worries and concerns can take over you entire thought process.

Drinking alcohol before bedtime – Alcoholic drinks may seem to make you sleepy, however the effects of alcohol can be disruptive to sleep patterns once you’ve fallen asleep.

Smoking before bedtime – Smoking stimulates the nervous system.

Drinking excessive amounts of coffee – Also a powerful mind/body stimulant.

Expecting to have difficulty sleeping and worrying about it – Concern about not being able to fall asleep can become a self-fulfilling prophecy!

A noisy environment – Is someone in your home staying up late watching TV while you try to sleep? You may live in a building with noisy neighbors or located close to an airport or train tracks.

Poor sleep hygiene – Irregular sleep habits, retiring after midnight, reading or watching television in bed all contribute to poor sleep habits.

IMPACT ON SOCIETY

It is estimated that 65 percent of the adult population in the US suffers from some degree of sleep deprivation. When one is deprived of the proper amount of sleep, he or she thinks and moves more slowly, makes more mistakes and has more difficulty remembering things. The result? Lower job productivity and an increase in accidents on the road and in the workplace. The financial loss to U.S. businesses from lost productivity has been estimated to be $18 billion a year.

Lack of sleep is associated with irritability, impatience and even anxiety and depression. The effects can cause strain in social and family relationships.

SERIOUS HEALTH RISK

By age 50, snoring affects half of all men over 50 and a quarter of all women. The numbers of people affected are expected to increase as baby boomers age. Simple snoring can be unpleasant enough for bed partners, but when chronic snoring becomes more severe it can lead to the dangerous condition known as obstructive sleep apnea.

During sleep, the muscles tend to relax. In most people this normal process causes no problems. In the case of obstructive sleep apnea, the person’s throat muscles relax excessively which reduces or blocks the flow of air to the lungs. In other people, muscles may relax to a normal degree but due to a narrow throat passage, partial or total obstruction of the airway occurs.

The disorder usually begins with intense snoring progressing with apnea, which can cause a person to literally stop breathing for a few seconds, dozens or even hundreds of times each night. During these episodes, the brain detects lower oxygen levels because of the pause in breathing and jerks the person awake. The constant cycle of falling back to sleep to be abruptly wakened again, as often as once a minute, can send the heart rate soaring. Sleep apnea is a risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease, an enlarged heart and can even result in death.

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