Sleep Disorder Causes: The 7 Most Frequent

Sometimes we lie wide awake in bed and the sleep just doesn’t want to and won’t come. These 7 sleep disorder causes are often to blame!

Sleep disorder causes: How do I know if I have insomnia?

Sleep disorders (insomnia) are a mass phenomenon: millions of people complain about them in the USA alone. It is often difficult to fall asleep and sleep through the night, and sufferers also often wake up unusually early and are unable to sleep any longer. This can lead to constant tiredness during the day, exhaustion or concentration problems.

The following symptoms indicate sleep disorders:

• Falling asleep regularly takes longer than 20 minutes
• You wake up more often in the night
• After waking up, you cannot fall asleep again immediately, but lie awake longer
• In the morning you wake up much too early and then lie awake again

If these complaints persist over a longer period of time, insomnia can become a health problem for those affected – for example, depression is encouraged by sleep disorders. But why is healthy sleep so difficult? We have summarized seven common sleep disorder causes!

1. You eat too late

Of course it is tempting to sneak back to the fridge late in the evening and have a cup of pudding when nobody notices. But you’re not doing your sleep routine any favors: Especially heavy, fatty and/or very sugary food puts an enormous strain on the digestion, which can cause sleep disturbances.

Equally dangerous: caffeinated food after 6 pm. If you are already suffering from insomnia, you should avoid a cup of coffee or a glass of cola in the evening. The same applies to alcohol: although it often helps you fall asleep, the quality of your sleep is worse and you wake up more often at night.

2. You took a nap

Two to three naps a week are healthy, as a new study has recently shown, as we described in the article How a Power-Nap protects your heart. But you should keep in mind that a short nap is also part of your regular sleeping time – so the following night you might sleep a little shorter than usual. If you suffer from waking up too early, you should check if your nap is responsible for this.

3. You are under stress

It is really not always easy to leave the events of the day behind and clear your head – although this is practically essential for healthy sleep. Whether it’s problems at work or a seemingly endless to-do list at home, emotional worries trigger stress, which in turn boosts the body’s adrenaline production. Permanent stress in particular is pure poison for our sleep – now only the right treatment will help! If you notice that you are suffering from permanent mental stress and cannot fall asleep, get help.

A psychotherapist can work out stress management strategies with you in therapy, for example. At work you should talk honestly with your boss about what the workload does to you. And your partner can certainly take over the household or childcare so that you can take a break and do something about this cause of insomnia.

4. Your feet are cold

In order for us to sleep, the body shuts down like a computer. But it can’t do that if our hands or feet are cold: It then stimulates the blood flow to warm the cold limbs – which in turn prevents us from sleeping and can cause insomnia. A warm footbath or a hot water bottle at the end of the bed can help here. You should avoid socks, however: They, in turn, overheat the feet too quickly and can interfere with sleeping through the night.

5. You use your cell phone at bedtime

Blue-wave light emitted by smartphones, televisions and the like influences the production of the “sleep hormone” melatonin, so that the body releases less of it. And that in turn keeps us awake. To get a good night’s sleep, we should avoid electronic devices for at least two hours before going to bed. Better: reading a good book or drinking a relaxing cup of tea – that makes most people tired.

6. You suffer from diseases

Various diseases can also cause sleep disorders in patients. These include sleep apnoea, for example: it leads to respiratory disorders at night and in the long term promotes other diseases, including heart disease. Narcolepsy is much less common. The sleep-wake regulation is disturbed. Those affected suffer from severe permanent fatigue and experience real attacks of falling asleep throughout the day. Usually only a targeted therapy helps against such diseases.

7. You take medication

There are also some medications that can cause sleep disorders as a side effect. These include:

• Cholesterol reducer
• Antidepressants
• Asthma medicine
• Painkillers

Ironically, sleeping pills can also be a cause of insomnia if they are taken frequently – if they contain so-called benzodiazepines.

People who are taking sleeping pills or drugs that can cause sleep disorders should talk to their doctor about possible alternatives.

Sleep disorder causes: Even more tips for better sleep

Proper sleep hygiene is also important for healthy sleep: this includes going to bed and getting up at the same time every night. The room climate is also decisive: it is best to sleep in a room that is as dark as possible without disturbing noise sources. And: most people can fall asleep well at a temperature between 16 and 18 degrees.