How Insomnia Negatively Impacts Your Health

Insomnia is a complex and widespread sleep disorder that affects one in three adults worldwide — and millions of adolescents, too — at any given time. Even when conditions are perfectly conducive to getting rest, insomnia can:

• Make it hard to fall asleep when you go to bed (sleep onset insomnia)
• Wake you up in the middle of the night (sleep maintenance insomnia)
• Wake you up well before your morning alarm (early waking insomnia)

No matter how insomnia affects you, chances are you’re tired of how tired it makes you feel. But daytime fatigue isn’t the only reason to seek help from Dr. Ran D. Anbar and our team at Center Point Medicine. When you treat chronic insomnia, you also protect yourself from the many adverse health effects it can cause. Let’s take a closer look. 

When insomnia is an ongoing problem

Short-term insomnia can last for a few days or a few weeks. Whether it’s caused by a stressful event, changes in your routine, or a new environment, short-term insomnia typically resolves by itself and usually isn’t cause for concern.

Chronic insomnia, on the other hand, is a long-term sleep disorder that occurs at least three nights a week and persists for longer than three months. It can be more challenging to address because it’s usually the product of multiple coinciding factors.  

Chronic insomnia can wreak havoc on your daily life, causing low energy, exhaustion, irritability, and difficulty concentrating or remembering. It can also undermine your well-being, increasing your risk of developing a myriad of serious health problems.

Restorative sleep supports good health

When you sleep, your body is hard at work supporting — and, to a large degree, restoring — normal brain function and physical health. Just as children require adequate sleep to grow and develop normally, your adult body needs quality sleep to: 

• Repair blood vessels
• Keep your immune system strong
• Maintain balanced hormones
• Control your blood sugar levels
• Prevent and control inflammation 
• Form new brain pathways
• Process and consolidate memories

Simply put, routine sleep disruptions take a toll on many aspects of your health. 

Adverse health effects of chronic insomnia

Evidence suggests that poor sleep quality fuels inflammation in the body, helping set the stage for various physical illnesses. Chronic insomnia is strongly linked to: 

• Weight gain/obesity
• High blood pressure 
• Cardiovascular disease
• Heart attack/stroke
• Hormonal imbalances
• Insulin resistance/diabetes 

It’s also associated with suppressed immunity and a greater likelihood of acute infection — as well as an increased risk of breast, ovarian, colon, and prostate cancers. 

But that’s not all. Chronic insomnia can take a toll on your mental health, too, leaving you more vulnerable to chronic stress, anxiety, and depression — and a subsequent associated risk of substance use and addiction.

Treat your insomnia, safeguard your health

Fortunately, it’s not all bad news — there’s a lot you can do to overcome insomnia and restore a good night’s sleep, starting with improved sleep hygiene practices. We recommend that you:

• Get eight to ten hours of sleep each night as a teenager and seven to nine hours if you are an adult
• Prioritize daily exercise, but avoid evening workouts
• Create a cool, dark, and quiet sleep environment
• Avoid screens within an hour of your bedtime 
• Keep your smartphone outside of your bedroom
• Go to bed and wake up at the same times each day
• Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and napping in the afternoon
• Set the stage for sleep with a warm bath or reading

Treatment for anxiety, depression, or any other co-occurring mental health condition is also critical to restoring consistent, restful sleep. In addition to these proven strategies, our team also uses hypnosis therapy to help you reach deep levels of relaxation, so you’re better able to calm and relax yourself when you can’t sleep.  

Are you ready to gain the upper hand over insomnia? We can help. Call or click online today to schedule an appointment at your nearest Center Point Medicine office in La Jolla, California, or Syracuse, New York.