Habits

What is insomnia?

When people are not able to fall asleep or remain asleep, they suffer from insomnia. Many different factors can contribute to sleep problems, including a change in daily routine. This can happen when you travel or have a change in work hours. It can also be caused when noise, a change in eating or exercise habits, leisure activities, or relationship conflicts get in the way of good sleep. Insomnia may be one of the first symptoms to appear when someone has anxiety or depression; fortunately, it often improves early on when those conditions are addressed. Difficulty falling asleep can be related to anxiety and having your mind race from thought to thought. Waking up too early can be related to low levels of some hormones, particularly if a person struggles with anxiety, depression, and other mood concerns.^1-5

Why is lack of sleep a problem?

Sleep is essential to good health. When people sleep, their tissues heal, grow, and repair themselves. Sleep helps the body make the right levels of important hormones including:

• Cortisol - released every day to help you wake up in the morning. It is also released during times of stress.
• Melatonin - the circadian rhythm hormone. How much is released by your brain is based on time of day and light levels. It is released in the brain to help you prepare for sleep.
• Gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) - helps you relax and allows nerve cells to communicate.
• Growth Hormone - a hormone that helps cells grow and repair damage.^1,4

Hormones require time to balance out overnight during sleep. People are more likely to be tired, irritable, anxious and depressed if they do not get enough sleep. Your brain needs sleep to wire (and rewire) connections between nerve cells. This makes it so you can store new memories and learn. Good sleep is also linked to better concentration. In addition, people who do not sleep well are more likely to have pain, get sick easily, and have a hard time managing other diseases.¹ People with insomnia are much more likely to be involved in car accidents and perform poorly in athletic competitions.^{6, 7}

What does a healthy sleep/wake pattern look like?

Most adults from age 18 to 65 need about 7 to 9 hours of restful sleep. Older adults may need a little less sleep, only about 7 to 8 hours per night. Children need much more sleep than adults. The amount depends on their age. See the National Sleep Foundation website for guidelines based on age: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/press-release/national-sleep-foundation-recommends-new-sleep-times.⁸