The Causes and Effects of Lack of Sleep

Those who suffer from a chronic sleep disorder frequently experience disrupted, non-restorative sleep. While some of these people have sleep problems due to a physical stress or condition, others suffer from sleep disorders due to some mental or emotional cause.

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People who have the following conditions or lifestyle habits are at a higher risk of suffering from any type of sleep disorder:
  • depression
  • diabetes
  • lack of exercise
  • obesity
  • poor diet
  • use of prescription medication.

In general, the effects of sleep deprivation depend on the type of sleep disorder from which you suffer. However, some of the more general effects of lack of sleep include:

  • blurry vision
  • depression (While depression can cause a lack of sleep, it can also arise from sleep deprivation.)
  • dizziness
  • dramatic weight loss or gain
  • hallucinations
  • heart disease
  • hypertension (high blood pressure)
  • irritability
  • memory loss
  • nausea
  • tremors
  • trouble speaking.

Although many of us experience the occasional night of poor sleep, persistent sleep disorders can clearly cause a number of serious conditions. As a result, getting immediate medical treatment for your sleep disorder is important to maintaining good health.

In this section, we will outline and describe the various causes of lack of sleep. Our articles explain the symptoms, as well as the treatment options, for each cause of lack of sleep.

Insomnia

Insomnia is a condition in which a person regularly experiences the inability to fall and/or stay asleep through the night, which causes them to feel tired in the mornings and drowsy throughout the day. About 32 million people in the United States (about 11 percent of the entire U.S. population) suffer from some type of insomnia.

Finding the cause of insomnia is key to treating this sleep disorder. Like any condition that causes poor sleep, insomnia may stem from either physical or mental stressors. Similarly, insomniacs’ lifestyles may affect their ability to sleep. For example, those who suffer from bipolar disorder or restless leg syndrome are just as likely to experience insomnia as those taking certain prescription medications and people who are particularly stressed.

Keep reading to learn more about insomnia.

Insomnia Types

Insomnia is divided into three different sub-conditions: acute, chronic and transient insomnia. The type of insomnia you have depends on how long you have suffered from this condition. While transient insomnia describes conditions in which insomnia strikes for a few days to a few weeks, acute insomnia refers to cases in which patients suffer from a lack of sleep anywhere from three weeks to six months.
 
Chronic insomnia, the most serious form of insomnia, describes situations in which a person experiences a lack of sleep nearly every night for a month. Keep reading to learn more about the causes of and treatments for various types of insomnia.

Disorders Related to Insomnia

While insomnia has a number of physical and mental effects that can be seriously detrimental to your health, some conditions are both causes and effects of insomnia, making them particularly important to treat once a diagnosis has been given. Depression, anxiety and Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are all disorders related to insomnia. Read on to learn more about the insomnia related disorders.

Resources

Wrong Diagnosis (2007). Statistics About Insomnia. Retrieved July 3, 2007 from Wrong Diagnosis Web site: http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/i/insomnia/stats.htm.