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What Is Insomnia?

Insomnia Studies

Scientific data about insomnia is constantly changing while at the same time being challenged. A recent study of 1699 random adults conducted by researchers at the University of Missouri in Columbia found that the consumption of alcohol does not cause sleep problems. Tellingly, 25% of the selected respondents indicated that they currently take some sort of over-the-counter or prescription medication to combat insomnia, a reflection of just how pervasive the condition is in today's stressful, modern societies. In the end, this study's main finding is actually that if someone is using alcohol as a way to try and help induce sleep, they are a likely candidate for hazardous drinking.

Stressful Influences and Insomnia

The convergence of many different stressful influences is also only just beginning to be understood in terms of its possible link to insomnia. A pilot research project by at the JFK Sleep Center in Edison, New Jersey found some alarming connections between text messaging and trouble with sleep. Emails and texts woke up survey participants at least once a night on average, three quarters of whom then had trouble getting back to sleep. This is certainly an upside-down form of insomnia, one that seemingly could easily be cured by a person simply turning off their phone. But very few people do that. The study also found links between heavy post-bedtime text messaging and such daytime afflictions as anxiety, depression, learning difficulties and attention deficit disorders. The study also found that even if people do not wake up when an inbound text comes in, it can often affect the quality of their sleep by causing sudden body movement disruptions.