Effects of Insomnia

You may believe that the only side effect of insomnia is being sleepy throughout the day but long term effects of insomnia can wreak havoc on your health and life.  By understanding how your life and health can be affected by chronic insomnia, you will learn that many of those problems you have been fighting may all be related.

High blood pressure is one effect that can be caused by chronic insomnia.  This occurs because the body does not have the proper amount of rest and relaxation to calm down. When you add anxiety into the mix, you may also begin to suffer with heart disease.   Lack of sleep also affects the way your metabolism works causing either weight gain or weight loss.  Researchers have also found that when you suffer from insomnia, some hormones and proteins that are responsible for an increase in the risk of developing colon cancer, breast cancer, diabetes or other diseases and cancers.

Other effects of insomnia can be a reduction in your immune system function making you more susceptible to illnesses.  Gastrointestinal problems such as constipation or diarrhea are also increased when you have chronic insomnia. Blurred vision or headaches can also increase in severity when you are dealing with acute or chronic insomnia.

There are other problems that can be caused that are directly related to insomnia, such as increased stress that may cause you to feel more agitated and prevent you from performing at your best levels. Irritability, lack of concentration or focus, memory loss, and reduction in reaction times and motor skills are also very common problems that are associated with people who suffer from insomnia.  Lastly, sufferers of insomnia may increase their involvement in risky situations or increase the risk for addictions. When people have trouble sleeping, they often turn to drugs, alcohol, or over the counter medications as sleeping aids.  Little by little you will need more of these drugs to get the same effect and you can easily become addicted.  

Depression is also a very common side effect or cause of insomnia.  Sometimes your depression may heighten the insomnia or vice versa.  Do not let any of these happen to you!  Take the time to visit your healthcare professional and have your symptoms accurately diagnosed and treated.

Do not let insomnia ruin your health or your life. There are tests that can be run to see if there is an underlying medical condition that is causing your sleep disorder.  Sometimes going to sleep disorder clinic can help in finding out exactly what your problems are and finding the right treatment may be a simple switching a medication, or seeing a psychiatrist about an emotional or stress-related issue.  Before you know it you will be sleeping soundly through the night.