Have you been having a hard time getting a good night's sleep lately? Do you know someone who is struggling to get the proper rest they need on a nightly basis? If so, insomnia may be the culprit. What exactly IS insomnia, and what are some of the common causes for it?

Insomnia is a term that's used to describe a situation in which you're unable to sleep at night. What makes this condition particularly problematic is the fact that we all need to get a certain amount of sleep at night in order to function properly during the day. Nothing can be more frustrating than to have to essentially sleep-walk your way through life because you were unable to get the rest and sleep you needed the night before. Let's talk about two common causes of insomnia for most people.

1) Stress and Anxiety

People increasingly feel stressed out and anxious about a variety of different things. The fears that run through our mind as we lay in bed are too numerous to list. From the potential of losing our jobs, to getting sick, to winning back the past loves we have lost -- our minds are often clogged with a variety of different thoughts that can ultimately cripple our ability to get the sleep and rest we need.

2) Too Much Sugar before Bedtime

How often have you found yourself sitting down for a quick snack before going to bed? Perhaps a few donuts, or a few cookies, or a bottle of your favorite soft-drink? All of these things have a tendency to fill our bodies with sugar. As you may or may not realize, sugar will usually give your body a surge of energy. This energy can be very useful during the day to help you get things done. However, at night, it can often be a recipe for insomnia. Your body will simply have a hard time shutting down at the end of the day. When this happens, you'll find yourself feeling somewhat hyperactive and jittery.

The good news is that these two common causes of insomnia can be easily treated. The first step is understanding what can cause insomnia, which now you do.

Not that long ago I was speaking to a friend of mine who had been looking somewhat haggard and sleepy lately. I asked my friend if there was something the matter. He explained that he had been dealing with a lot of stress at work, and that as a result; he hadn't been able to sleep as well at night. I'm no stranger to insomnia, and I could tell that my friend seemed to be a bit shy to open up and talk about his symptoms and what he had been experiencing.

There are a variety of myths and misconceptions that revolve around insomnia that I'd really like to put to rest, pun intended. Here are two of my favorites:

1) Younger people don't need much sleep.

This is ridiculous. My friend isn't THAT old, and it's obvious that he's not getting as much sleep as he should be. The results are as clear a day. He looks haggard. He has trouble concentrating. I even seemed to notice him stumble on his own feet while trying to get up from the sofa we were sitting on. Anyone who tells you younger people don't need much sleep doesn't know what they're talking about.

2) You can make up for lost sleep by sleeping longer the next night.

Your body needs rest every night. You can't simply decide to stay in bed for 5 days in a row, and then stay away for 5 days. It doesn't work like that. Likewise, you can't really make up for lost sleep by staying in bed longer the following night. Think about it this way. You can't purchase more gasoline than can be put into your gas tank. So if you run out of fuel, you just need to fill up the tank again. You can't make up for the fact you ran out of fuel the previous day by trying to stuff twice as much gas into the gas tank.

I told my friend that he should try doing some deep breathing exercises before going to sleep, and to clear his mind of all thoughts. No worrying about the future, no regrets about the past. Since we last spoke, my friend told me that he's feeling a lot better and getting more sleep, which is good!

Are you finding it hard to fall asleep at night? If so, you may be suffering from insomnia. But before applying that label to your problem, let's dig a little bit deeper. Are you sleeping problems a relatively "new" occurrence? In other words, is this just something that started happening recently? One bad night doesn't necessarily rise to the level of properly being classified as insomnia. But if you notice that you're persistently awake most nights, then there's a reasonable chance you're dealing with insomnia. Let's go into more detail.

Insomnia is usually defined as a condition that keeps someone from getting sleep at night over a prolonged period of time. It's important to emphasis the prolonged aspect of the symptoms because not being able to fall asleep on one particular night cannot accurately be defined as being insomnia.

You may notice that your thoughts drift while trying to fall asleep. You might notice that you have an elevated heart-rate, or that you develop cold sweats. Some people even report the need to just get up out of bed and start working on something. This might strike you as unusual behavior, perhaps even extreme behavior, but it's important that the true symptoms of insomnia not be glossed over.

It's highly recommended that you make an appointment to speak to a doctor if you suspect you might have insomnia and your symptoms include sweating, chills, nausea, or headaches. These might be indications that your sleep disorder stems from an underlying medical condition that needs to be treated. Don't become panic stricken if you've had some of the aforementioned additional symptoms -- it's more than likely NOT something serious. However, it makes sense to play it safe and to get checked out by your doctor.

In closing, don't allow yourself to suffer through insomnia night after night in silence. If you think your symptoms match some of what has been listed here, then odds are you have insomnia. There are a lot of different treatment options available. You don't have to accept this as being the reality for the rest of your life.

There are two general approaches to treating insomnia. The first approach revolves around pills and elixirs and the second approach revolves around holistic modifications to one's thoughts and actions. Reading this information, it might seem as though both approaches are complimentary -- to a degree, they are. There's nothing inherently wrong with being prescribed sleeping medications. But many people are distrustful of large pharmaceutical companies and would rather try to deal with their insomnia through holistic methods first, before having to turn to pills.

The first thing you should do is really think about what your daily life looks like, and whether or not some simple changes can effectively treat your insomnia. For example, if you are in the habit of eating big meals right before you try to go to sleep, you could inadvertently be setting yourself up for a bout of insomnia. Why? The food you consume likely contains sugars and other carbohydrates that will give your body a jolt of energy. That's not inherently a bad thing during the day, but not so good when you're trying to get some sleep. Alternatively, do you regularly find yourself drinking coffee late into the night before trying to fall asleep? This too can be a recipe for disaster since coffee -- especially regular coffee -- will often give you a surge of energy.

If behavior modification fails to solve the problem, look inside your mind. Are you stressing yourself out by lying in bed at night and thinking about the troubles of tomorrow while at the same time reminiscing about the regrets of yesterday? If so, this is a toxic strew of thoughts that is virtually guaranteed to give you a great deal of stress and anxiety. Try to clear your mind of all thoughts and take some deep relaxing breaths before trying to fall asleep. You'll notice the positive results fairly quickly.

Finally, if all else fails, speak to your doctor. Your doctor can give you a prescription for sleeping medications that will knock you out cold. Just be sure to continue working on your behavior modification program if you ever want to be able to get some sleep without having to take a pill every night.

Generally speaking, there are three types of insomnia that have been identified by the medical community. What follows below is the identification of each type and a quick description.

1) TRANSIENT INSOMNIA

Duration: days to weeks

Causes: an illness or disorder, changes in the sleep environment, changes in timing of sleep, severe depression, stress, anxiety, jet lag

Effects: daytime sleepiness, fatigue, reduced psychomotor functioning, irritability, reduced ability to perform creative tasks

2) ACUTE INSOMNIA

Duration: three weeks to six months

Causes: a disorder or illness, clinical depression, anxiety disorder, stress, a lack of calcium and magnesium, poor eating habits, eating too close to bedtime, unhealthy diet

Effects: fatigue, irritability, reduced cognitive functioning, daytime sleepiness, reduced energy for professional and social activities

3) CHRONIC INSOMNIA

Duration: six months to years (sometimes even 5, 10, 15 or 20 years)

Causes: a disease or illness such as hypoglycemia, muscle aches, indigestion, breathing problems, physical pain, stress, grief, clinical depression, anxiety disorder, caffeine consumption; the use of certain medications: including a) the common decongestant pseudoephedrine, which is found in most cold and allergy medications; b) most appetite suppressants; c) many antidepressants; d) beta-blockers, which are drugs used to treat high blood pressure and heart ailments; e) thyroid hormone replacement drugs.

*Insomnia may be the primary disorder or may be a secondary illness.

Effects: fatigue, drowsiness, muscular pain, mental fatigue, irritability, depression, reduced daily functioning, compromised productivity; often causes relationship and/or marital problems; contributes to other health problems

If you can relate to any of these types of insomnia based on your own sleeping patterns, its best you see a doctor. Some people are reluctant to seek medical help when dealing with something that can seem as relatively benign as insomnia. However, not getting a good sleep at night can have serious consequences for you and those around you. Just imagine what it would be like if our highways were filled with, for example, truck drivers who were constantly battling to get good nights sleep.

Here's the bottom line: there are three types of insomnia that have been discussed in the paragraphs above. If you or someone you know suffers from any of the types of insomnia we have discussed, seek medical help as soon as possible. You'll be glad you did.