This Common Drug Could be Causing Your Insomnia

It should not be a surprise that caffeine can have an impact on one's ability to get a good night's sleep. While some people can drink a quad venti mocha right before bed with no troubles, others will toss and turn all night if they consume any caffeine during the day.

If you are suffering from insomnia, you may want to take a look at the amount of caffeine that you ingest as being a possible culprit. Before taking drastic measures, such as taking sleeping pills, see what happens if you eliminate caffeine from your diet.

To some this may seem impossible, but if you can start to get a proper amount of sleep each night, that will do far more to boost your energy level than downing cup after cup of coffee. When you also consider that a lack of sleep can have an impact on your overall health, it should be an easy decision to try and cut out caffeine to see if that will relieve your insomnia.

If you insist on that morning cup of coffee, at least avoid all caffeine starting about lunchtime. While it would best to avoid caffeine altogether, at least if you keep your consumption of it to the morning hours, it will mostly have worked its way out of your system by bedtime. It is important to keep in mind that cutting out coffee and tea does not mean that you are eliminating all caffeine. Caffeine is found in a number of products, some of which you may never imagine would contain caffeine.

To cut your caffeine consumption you will, obviously, have to eliminate coffee and tea. You will also need to avoid most types of soda (caffeine-free varieties are fine). Some candy contains just as much caffeine as a small cup of coffee, so it should be avoided as well.

One of the biggest surprise sources of caffeine is in some over the counter medications. Some, such as Midol and Excedrin contain nearly 50 mg of caffeine. When you consider that a small cup of coffee contains about 100 mg, that amount is quite significant.

You may not have to avoid caffeine forever. Just try to cut it out, or at least way down, to see if that helps with your insomnia. If it does not, then you will know that you need to investigate other possible reasons for your inability to sleep. This may include a visit to your doctor or making other behavioral changes.

If your insomnia is helped by reducing caffeine, then you should try to continue to avoid it. If, however, you want to try to drink coffee or tea once again, try to add it only in small doses. If you used to drink 3 cups of coffee a day, try to stick to just one. Also, if you just miss the experience and taste of your coffee or tea, consider one of the many decaf varieties. Many taste just the same as caffeinated drinks. Cutting caffeine may be the answer to your insomnia. When you think of the alternative solutions, such as sleeping pills, it is certainly worth a try.
by: Paul Stevens

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Posted in: insomnia

4 Ways to Deal With Stress and Insomnia

It is not difficult to understand why stress and insomnia go hand in hand. When one is under a lot of stress, and is not taking successful steps to control that stress, sleep is just one of the secondary conditions that may arise.

There are many factors that can cause stress such as a new job, a death of a loved one or feeling like you have more responsibility than you can handle. It is possible to be under a lot of stress and not even realize it. Below are some of the most common symptoms of stress.

* Sudden inability to sleep

* Waking frequently during the night

* Finding it difficult to concentrate, even on simple tasks

* Rapid heart rate

* Headaches and muscle aches

* Stomach pain

* Mood swings

Of course, many of those symptoms can be caused by something other than stress, but if you have had a major life change or are feeling overwhelmed, you should consider the possibility that stress is the cause.

When stress and insomnia are both present, it can make the stress even worse. If you look again at the list of symptoms you will see that many of them sound similar to symptoms of insomnia.

Just the stress alone can bring on mood swings and fatigue. Add insomnia and it will only serve to make those symptoms even worse. When that happens, the stress level is likely to increase and a vicious cycle is in place.

While, in an ideal world, the advice may be to eliminate the factor that is causing the stress, the fact is that usually that is not possible. Instead, you must learn to deal with your stress and insomnia in ways that will minimize their impact on your emotional and physical health. Below are some stress management tips.

* Avoid negative people. This is not always possible, but when you do have control choose to be around people that make you happy.

* Learn your limitations. You cannot do everything that is asked of you and you will never be able to please everyone. Stop trying. Instead, do those things that you need to do and then add extras, such as volunteering, in areas that are important and meaningful to you.

* Learn time management. Why can some people hold a job, raise a family, keep the house spotless and still have time for a night out? It's because they learned about time management.

* Forget trying to be perfect. Everything does not have to be in its place. You do not have to raise the most money, get the most new clients and never burn dinner. Just learn to laugh at some of your faux paux.

If your own attempts to deal with stress do not work, you should see a doctor or therapist for help. If left untreated, stress and insomnia can cause serious health problems.

Stress and insomnia can each be made worse by the other. Learn to deal with them both so that you can be your best for yourself and your family.
by: Paul Stevens

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Posted in: insomnia,strees