Insomnia

Anyone will, at some point during his or her lifetime, experience a temporary inability to fall asleep. This is officially known as psychophysiological insomnia (PI), because the body and mind can react to different kinds of stress by developing insomnia. A change in work schedule, jet lag, a recent death in the family, or the use of certain prescription medicines or drugs like caffeine can disrupt a person's circadian rhythm. This rhythm is a roughly 24-hour cycle of sleeping and waking, but it can be set off-balance by an all-night study session, during a hospital stay, or by traveling from one time zone to another.

Other forms of temporary insomnia accompany stages of the life cycle. Children, pregnant women, and the elderly exhibit sleeplessness in reaction to changes in their body chemistry or of their surroundings. Preschool children commonly find it hard to go to bed on schedule every day. Physicians are wary of prescribing unnecessary drugs to pregnant women, so often they are prevented from relying on their usual sleep aids.

Certain acute medical conditions count insomnia among their symptoms. The endocrine disorder called hyperthyroidism can interfere with brain wave patterns, and also obstruct the throat to cause sleep apnea or intermittent breathlessness during sleep. Any medical condition which causes chronic pain will also keep people awake, from ulcers or angina for instance. Psychiatric causes of insomnia range from depression to anorexia-nervosa to psychotic breakdowns. Drug addicts such as alcoholics will encounter insomnia as a withdrawal effect.