Sleep is one of the most essential ingredients our bodies need for good physical and mental health. It is restorative, providing our bodies with time to recover, recharge, and repair. Without sleep, almost every aspect of our lives could be in jeopardy. You may struggle with work or school, have difficulty performing tasks like driving, experience worsened mental health, and carry a higher risk for developing life-threatening conditions. Lack of sleep can lead to moodiness, problems focusing, memory issues, and even more serious health problems such as depression, heart disease, kidney problems, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke.
A common culprit keeping us up at night is insomnia. At TPMG, our sleep specialists in Newport News, VA and Williamsburg, VA are dedicated to helping patients achieve the best sleep possible through clinical assessment, comprehensive testing, and therapy to follow-up care.
What is insomnia?
Insomnia is a common sleep disorder characterized by the inability to fall or stay asleep. It can be short-term or chronic, often depending on the underlying cause of an individual’s sleeplessness. For some, a traumatic experience, stress, or injury could lead to a short-term case of insomnia. Chronic insomnia refers to those who experience symptoms for three months or more, likely due to underlying health conditions, medication, or other factors that require intervention. Insomnia can often be a symptom or precursor for other conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, asthma, GERD, heart disease, diabetes, and more.
Signs & Symptoms of Insomnia
Indicators of insomnia include, but are not limited to:
- Waking too early in the morning
- Difficulty falling asleep at night
- Waking often during the night
- Feeling exhausted during the day
- Trouble focusing
- Memory issues
- Moodiness (feeling cranky, depressed, or anxious)
If you experience signs of insomnia that affect your daily life, it may be time to discuss your symptoms with a trusted health provider.
Insomnia Causes and Risk Factors
Uncovering the cause of your insomnia is often the key to solving your condition. Unfortunately, there are several reasons you may experience insomnia. For instance, women and those over 60 years old tend to experience insomnia more often than others—perhaps due to fluctuations in hormones or altered sleeping patterns associated with aging. Some common causes of insomnia include:
- Stress
Stress and other mental health conditions, such as anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders, depression, among others, could play a role in your insomnia. Worries about daily life, such as work trouble, relationship issues, family, and other anxieties, can keep your mind too active to fall asleep.
- Medication
Some medications (antidepressants, pain medication, allergy medication, etc.) can interfere with the body’s natural sleep process. If you experience changes in your sleep after beginning a medication, talk to your prescribing physician about your symptoms.
- Poor Sleep Hygiene
Bad sleep habits can negatively affect sleep, as well. Just like you need to wash your hands every time you use the restroom, there are also daily actions you can take to make sure you practice effective sleep hygiene techniques, including removing screens from your bedroom, keeping your sleeping area cool, dark, and quiet, avoiding long naps during the day or vigorous activity directly before bed, and keeping a consistent sleep schedule by going to bed and waking up at the same time daily.
- Medical Conditions
Insomnia may be a symptom of another underlying medical condition such as chronic pain, overactive thyroid, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, heart disease, and more. If you experience insomnia, it’s crucial to seek medical attention not only to address your sleep issues, but also because it could be related to other dangerous undetected medical conditions.
- Other Sleep Disorders
While a sleep disorder in and of itself, insomnia may also be a symptom of another sleep disorder, such as sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, or other conditions, which can make it difficult for individuals to fall and stay asleep.
- Stimulants or Sleep Disrupters
Ingesting alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine may also prevent you from falling asleep. Coffees, teas, sodas, and nicotine are all categorized as stimulants and can keep you awake at night, especially if you ingest them in the afternoon or nighttime. Conversely, while alcohol is a depressant, it can prevent your body from entering deeper stages of sleep, resulting in more nighttime sleep disturbances.
How is Insomnia Diagnosed?
Since insomnia is often the result of an underlying factor, drug interaction or possible sleep disruptors, diagnosis generally centers around uncovering why you may have insomnia. Your provider will likely ask for a medical history, including any medications you take, and instruct you to record your sleep habits using a sleep journal. A sleep journal will track the quality/quantity of your sleep, medication history, alcohol/caffeine intake, instances of daytime sleepiness, and more. This will give your provider a more comprehensive look into your sleep process and habits.
You may undergo a physical exam, possibly including a blood test to look for other medical issues that could explain your symptoms. If your provider suspects another sleep disorder, such as sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome, they might suggest you undergo a sleep study. A sleep study is a type of testing in which a sleep center will monitor a patient’s sleep overnight to record the body’s brain waves, breathing, heartbeat, eye movements, and activity.
Lifestyle Changes for Better Sleep
For many suffering from insomnia, lifestyle adjustments can help you achieve better, more restful sleep. Changing your sleep habits could significantly improve your sleep. Consider these changes to your routine:
- Reducing napping during the day
- Keep to a consistent sleep schedule (go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day, including weekends and vacations)
- Remove screens (TV, phones, etc.) from your sleeping area
- Exercise daily
- Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and smoking, especially before bed
- Keep your sleeping area cool, dark, and quiet (remove sleep disrupters, like pets, loud electronics, screens, etc.)
For more information about how you can improve your sleep, visit our guide to get better sleep.
Treatment for Insomnia in Newport News, VA
Sometimes changing your sleep habits isn’t enough to see tangible results. If you continue having difficulty falling or staying asleep, you may need intervention from a TPMG sleep medicine specialist in Newport News, VA and Williamsburg, VA. Beyond sleep hygiene, our treatment for insomnia includes:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to address mental health issues that could impact sleep
- Treatment of the underlying medical condition responsible for the insomnia
To understand what treatment may work best for you, talk to a sleep medicine specialist in Newport News, VA and Williamsburg, VA about your options. To make an appointment, please call (757) 234-8770 for Newport News and (757) 707-3999 for Williamsburg, VA. At TPMG, our dedicated team takes the time to truly listen, carefully evaluate your sleep concerns, and design a personalized treatment plan to help you get the restful nights you deserve.