Diagnosing Your Dreamless Nights: 6 Health Conditions Known To Disrupt Sleep

While the benefits of some well-deserved shut-eye often remain out of sight and out of mind, sleep is the key to a healthy body and mind. Without these hours of precious rest, day-to-day life can become a nightmare realized, as sleepers awake to side effects sparked by sleep deprivation, i.e., a lowered immune system, paranoia, mood swings, and puffy eyes.  

Some issues souring your sleep rituals may be external and unavoidable, such as professional stress or restless little ones tapping on your shoulder. Still, there may be an underlying health condition disrupting your sleep. For a deep dive into the health conditions sabotaging your deep sleep, review the sleep-disrupting health conditions below.  

 

Creative Ways to Beat Insomnia

Before diagnosing your dreamless nights, you’ll need to get creative in your insomnia-combating strategies. There are dozens of tips and tricks available to help you get a better night’s rest and release your mind from the clenching fist of sleepless nights.  

A Lift Chair

Beds are the norm for sleep, but sometimes they don’t offer the support and position that you need to go and stay asleep. Chairs like these offer many different ways to get comfortable and keep your body elevated.

This elevated and adjustable positioning is a great way to address some leading health conditions that inhibit sleep.  

Aromatherapy

Essential oils are a simple, pleasant way to soothe yourself into sleep. A diffuser, roll-on, or spray on your pillow can help you relax and get to sleep. Lavender, chamomile, sage, and marjoram oils are but a few examples of soothing scents that can coax you to sleep.  

ASMR or Background Noise

Sleeping in silence might work for some people, but the loud truth is the silence might be keeping you awake. For those sleepers bombarded by thoughts that leave you tossing and turning, try playing white, pink, or brown noise as you drift to sleep.  

If ocean waves or white noise machines aren’t enough to cure your insomnia-riddled nights, ASMR can trigger the nerves in your brain through certain noises or movements. Whether it be delicate whispers or the click-clacking of typewriters, ASMR can calm your heart and reduce anxiety, giving you a tingling sensation.  

 

Six Health Conditions That Can Disrupt Sleep  

With these sleep remedies tucked under your pillow, you’ll be drifting off to dreamland in no time. However, in some cases, a white noise machine or aromatherapy treatment can only serve as a bandage for a deep-rooted health issue. For a closer look into the root cause of your insomnia, review the health conditions spotlighted below.  

Depression

Mental health is tied closely with sleep, so it’s no surprise that having depression is one of the leading causes of insomnia.  

Often, the first signs of depression are sleeping too little or too much. Lying awake at night with negative feelings can keep you from finding rest when you need it most.  

If you are feeling down, seek professional help to help relieve the symptoms.

Anxiety

Anxiety causes racing thoughts, heart palpitations, and detrimental nervous system disruptionsall of which interfere with your ability to fall and stay asleep and might even cause nightmares. Meditating, aromatherapy, and of course, professional help are some ways to combat anxiety.

Heartburn

Heartburn is uncomfortable and, if it occurs often, the symptoms can keep you up at night. The burning sensation in your stomach and esophagus is known to hinder sleep, especially if you’re a notorious back sleeper.  

If you struggle with frequent heartburn, sleeping with your back propped up can help keep the acid settled. However, taking your doctor’s advice on diet and medication is the best course of action for managing your heartburn.

Thyroid Disease

If you have an overactive thyroid gland, sleep might be a sensitive subject for you. Hyperthyroidism stimulates your nervous system and increases body temperature, leaving you sweaty and uncomfortable from dusk to dawn.  

Signs of an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) are excessive fatigue, feeling cold all the time, and weakness in your muscles. Note that this sense of fatigue will last, regardless of your daily tally of catnaps and caffeine rushes.  

Finding out if your thyroid is out of balance requires a simple blood test from your doctor. Treatment can be prescribed to help you mitigate symptoms or eliminate them altogether, allowing you to rest discomfort-free.  

Arthritis

Arthritis and other musculoskeletal disorders like fibromyalgia can lead to persistent discomfort and pain, especially with movements during the night. By targeting the discomfort that results in restless night’s sleep, you’ll notice dramatic improvements in your energy levels.    

Living with constant pain is exhausting, and the best ways to help are to speak with your doctor. Acclimating to the proper sleeping position and investing in a better mattress, pillow, or even a sleeping chair can help alleviate the pressure on the joints.

Cardiovascular Diseases

Both heart failure and coronary artery disease can lead to difficulties in scoring an interruption-free night of sleep. When your heart fails to pump blood, disruptions in oxygen circulation occur, which causes uneven breathing, fatigue, and fluid building up around the lungs.  

The extra fluid in your body puts pressure on your lungs and might cause disrupted sleep. Sleeping with your back propped up helps keep the fluid from pooling and inflicting further issues. While a doctor’s guidance on medication and other treatment is needed, switching up your sleeping position can serve as a short-term remedy.  

 

Final Thoughts

Getting a better night’s sleep might be as simple as upgrading your sleeping position, tuning into the right ASMR video, and spraying some lavender oil on your pillow. In all other cases, regular check-ups with your doctor for your physical and mental health will ensure that any underlying problems are addressed. With a physician coaching you through the lows of insomnia, you can make headway in your journey towards sound sleep.  

 

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HealthStatus has been operating since 1998 providing the best interactive health tools on the Internet, millions of visitors have used our health risk assessment, body fat and calories burned calculators. The HealthStatus editorial team has continued that commitment to excellence by providing our visitors with easy to understand high quality health content for many years.

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Written by HealthStatus
Medical Writer & Editor

HealthStatus has been operating since 1998 providing the best interactive health tools on the Internet, millions of visitors have used our health risk assessment, body fat and calories burned calculators. The HealthStatus editorial team has continued that commitment to excellence by providing our visitors with easy to understand high quality health content for many years.

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