Is it Too Late? 5 Symptoms of Insomnia
Pressure from raising children, keeping up with the joneses, living the American dream of owning a home or even paying your bills are some of the life issues that can keep you on toes. Sometimes you even take home the pressure of unmet work goals and deadlines and find yourself sleeping over them; it can be so bad that you find yourself sleeping on them literally. Sleep problems can catch up with you even without knowing.
Have you been under-stressed lately? Have you been traveling, experiencing jetlag and disrupting your circadian cycle? Whether it is poor sleeping habits from uncomfortable bed or spending too much time on social media and watching TV, eating too much, and drinking alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine; you might have been courting insomnia and growing it by the day.
Are you an insomniac? Most people would say no to that question. Why? Because being in denial seem to cushion the underlying problem. What you cannot silence though, is the symptoms it presents. When your body cannot handle a problem anymore, it speaks through signs and symptoms. If you have been having problems falling asleep even when you are tired, waking up at night and being unable to go back to sleep; you have been waking up feeling very tired, turning and tossing all night or even feeling sleepy all day. If this sounds like you, then you have insomnia.
Primary insomnia is not caused by anything but secondary insomnia can be linked to other factors like diseases and medication. Whatever the cause, the importance of sleep cannot be overstated. For the sake of your general wellbeing, you need to hold your sleep sacred and seek assistance when it becomes elusive.
How do you know when you sleep pattern has become a cause for alarm? Watch out for these symptoms;
- Decreased productivity
It might seem right and sound to skip your sleep a few times to have some work finished. In the short term, it gets things done; but in the long term, your lack of sleep will be evident in your performance. Watch out for dropping school performance, red alerts on your job scorecard and even the decreasing number of tasks you can handle in a day.
When you fail to sleep enough, your brain function becomes distracted and impaired. This will lead to loss of alertness. You will then find yourself taking time to figure out problems and your energy levels dipping. Does it feel like your world is turning upside down and you fee clumsy every time? You might need to have your sleep checked.
If you have been having problems controlling your car or having a reduced reaction time to stimuli, don’t wait until it is too late.
- Impaired Concentration
Do you sometimes find yourself drifting away from your work as soon as you start it? It might seem like you are just lazy but this could be a symptom of insomnia. Lack of sleep reduces the alertness of your mind making you easily distracted.
Think of those days when you look for a pen you are holding in your hand or just place your keys on the table only to turn the house upside down looking for them. Sounds familiar? Quality sleep improves the health of your brain and memory. When that balance is disrupted, the result is a forgetful person who cannot have anything finished. If it is becoming harder to filter out distractions, you may be a sleepless time bomb.
- 3. Mental Disorders
That is farfetched, right? Wrong! Disrupting you sleep cycles might not take you to an asylum because you are insane. Instead, you might find yourself going to see a psychiatrist for anxiety and depression. If you are finding it hard to deal with stress and always on the edge, you might be experiencing a symptom of sleep problems. When left to go on for some time you might sink into depression.
How are they related? During sleep, feel-good hormones are released into your system. This reduces cortisol levels, making you relaxed and less stressed. When you don’t get enough sleep, the opposite happens. Your stress piles up and you become more irritable and anxious with each passing day. Eventually, you find yourself overwhelmed with life stressors. So, watch out when your energy levels drop, motivation declines and always feeling sad. If you find yourself here, you could be experiencing a symptom of insomnia gone too far.
- Health problems
It could be hard to believe but failing to maintain a healthy sleep pattern can land you in serious health problems like high blood pressure and heart diseases. Are you kidding me? No. Sometimes your health conditions could be a symptom of insomnia.
During sleep, your body repairs and rejuvenates; allowing you to live a healthy life. When the opposite happens, you might know until your immune system goes down and exposes you to a series of health conditions including diabetes, acne, and obesity.
Watch out when your trips to the doctors increase because of flu, when your skin breaks out or when you start gaining weight uncontrollably. You could be exhibiting symptoms of insomnia that needs to be checked before it progresses further.
- Daytime Headaches
If your head has been throbbing in pain from morning then it decreases as the day progresses, and comes back at night, that could be a symptom of insomnia. When you sleep, serotonin levels increase in your system making you less sensitive to pain. The decrease in cortisol levels also makes your stress levels go down.
The migraines could be your body’s way of telling you that you need to rest and unwind in order to catch that balance. You might need to check your sleeping habits to have your hormones in proper place.
Final Thoughts
There is no way to determine how much sleep every person needs; it differs. This makes it hard sometimes to know if you have been having enough or overstretching your system. It is undisputed that for an improved quality of life, a better mood, general good health and increased performance, you need to sleep well. That is why you should look out for these symptoms of insomnia to know when you need to reset and focus on your sleep. It is never too late to claim your life back.
