Depression and Insomnia often Go Hand in Hand

It isn’t uncommon for people with sleeping problems to report symptoms of depression. For a long time now, medical experts have theorized that a link might exist between insomnia and depression.

Insomnia is a very common problem. It tends to affect both women than men. The issue also becomes more prevalent as people get older. While the presence of insomnia doesn’t necessarily mean that one is depressed, insomnia may be a common symptom of depression.

While sleep starvation doesn’t necessarily cause depression, it can exacerbate the situation; this along with attracting all sorts of medical and social complications. The longer a sleep disorder lasts, the more likely it is to point towards depression.

What is depression?

The term generally refers to a mood disorder. Individuals who are depressed not only feel sad but they tend to question their own self-worth, feeling helpless and hopeless. While such feelings may occasionally occur in most people, individuals who are depressed tend to immerse themselves in these negative moods for long periods of time.

There are many causes of depression, most of them personal in nature. The ailment can also manifest as a result of serious long term illnesses as well as drug and alcohol use. In some cases, depression simply runs in the family.

Left untreated, depression can severely debilitate the human body, causing a loss of appetite, attracting weight problems, and weakening the immune system.

What is Insomnia?

The term doesn’t only refer to a difficulty getting to sleep but difficulty remaining asleep as well. If you have insomnia, not only will you struggle to fall asleep but you will wake frequently throughout the night, eventually failing to acquire the amount of sleep you need to feel rested.

Sleep is essential for optimum health, allowing the human body to undergo restoration. The absence of proper sleep can lead to an increase in tension and irritability, this along with attracting physical and emotional trauma.

People with insomnia tend to struggle with fatigue. Failure to sleep properly forces people into a seemingly endless cycle in which they are not only more inactive during the day but their sleep is typically disturbed, which increasingly attracts both physical and mental negative symptoms.

There are numerous medical causes of insomnia, from arthritis to asthma and chronic back pain to mention but a few. Diets that constitute alcohol, caffeine and nicotine can also cause insomnia. This isn’t even taking into account mental factors like anxiety and depression.

Left untreated, insomnia can have an impact on one’s social and professional life, this along with weakening the immune system and attracting poorer health.

Insomnia and depression

Insomnia is often a symptom of depression. Insomnia can also cause depression shifting hormones and creating a negative change in one’s mood. Severe insomnia tends to manifest among patients with major depression.

The presence of insomnia can also make depression worse.

Treating insomnia and depression

These two ailments are often treated the same way, regardless of which one caused the manifestation of the other. Antidepressants are a common answer capable of reducing depressive attitudes. Selective Serotonin inhibitors are particularly common in such cases, along with sleeping pills.

Depending on the intensity of one’s depression, psychotherapy can also prove useful with providing coping skills that individuals can use to fall asleep with greater ease.

Brands like Desyrel, Zoloft, Celexa, Paxil, Effexor, Lunesta, Sonata and Ambien are very common medicaments for individuals struggling with insomnia and depression.

Fighting insomnia and depression

It isn’t always necessary to pump your body full of pills in order to combat these two ailments. There are other more natural methods of fighting insomnia and depression. These include the following:

• Exercise regularly. Daily exercise will make sleeping easier, this along with combating anxiety. But do not exercise too close to your bedtime.
• Meditation is an effective way of relaxing. Along with listening to soft music or reading a book before bedtime, meditation allows you to focus on pleasant thoughts.
• Avoid caffeine and alcohol in the evening. They will make your sleep uneasy.
• Keep your head clear of anxious concerns by listing all the activities you need to accomplish the next day and telling yourself that you will deal with them tomorrow. This could put your mind at ease.

Insomnia and depression are bad enough on their own, but when combined they can wreak serious havoc on your physical and mental health. Endeavor to seek out treatment as soon as possible before either of these illnesses consumes you.