Insomnia ¦ Trouble Sleeping: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, Remedies for Kids and Adults (I wake up often)

Does alcohol cause insomnia? Can birth control cause insomnia? How to diagnose insomnia? There are many books out there elaborating on insomnia that can teach you about and offer solutions on how to deal with insomnia, for both long-term and new insomniacs.

Some of the popular books are:

• The Effortless Sleep Method
• Say Goodnight to Insomnia
• Sleep Soundly Every Night, Feel Fantastic Every Day
• The Insomnia Workbook
• Sleep Smarter

Be careful with using the TV or other electronic devices as part of your bedtime routine. Artificial, or blue light, produced by electronic screens, can severely impact your night rest in a negative way, especially when you watch at screens late at night.

Create a technology-free bedroom. The lure of the screen is too strong for many to turn off. If you simply must watch TV late at night, at least decrease brightness so it's affecting you less. 

Everybody's different - that's why no advice can be applied to everybody. If you have trouble sleeping, you will need to find out what works for you and what doesn't. The best way to find out about it is to observe, and document it in a "sleep diary".

Make a chart with spaces for:

• The time you went to bed/woke up
• How long and well you slept
• If and when you were awake at night
• How much alcohol and nicotine have you consumed and when
• What and when you ate and drank
• What drugs or medication you took and when
• Stress situations you endured during the day
• Level of activity

You can find online many sleep diaries that you just need to print to use them. One of them can be found here. If you do this for a week or two, you might be able to determine what causes your irregular sleep or inability to fall asleep.

One of the causes for a sleep disorder and trouble sleeping is a poor quality of your mattress. Your mattress might be worn out or just plain wrong for you and it might be time to invest in a new one. Low-quality mattresses can cause you a number of health disorders, insomnia being one of them.

When it comes to mattresses, don't be stingy. Inform yourself to find out what is the best mattress for you and forget about the cost. Of course, that doesn't mean you should buy the most expensive mattress on the market. Just don't let the price stop you from buying a mattress you find comfortable and just to your taste. Perfect mattress can change your life. It is recommended you buy a new mattress every 8 to 10 years.

For tips how to find a mattress that suits you, visit WebMD.com.

When you have trouble sleeping, even a tiny bit of light can disrupt your sleep. Make sure that your room is pitch black, which is one of the ways to sleep well. Then, you can try the following:

• Use heavy curtains that don't let any light through
• Remove any object that emits light (cell phone on a charger, turned off TV that has that standby light, digital clocks with fluorescent digits)
• Put on an eye mask

Ideally, the temperature in your bedroom should be 65-75 Fahrenheit (18-24 Celsius) or whatever temperature you find most comfortable and properly ventilated. If you get hot, your body will struggle to cool you down and make you sweat, which can wake you up and ruin your sleep.

If it gets too cold, you get shivers, your body struggles to keep you warm, and again, wakes you up. That's why it is important that the temperature in your room remains the same throughout the night.

If you are not sleeping well, try using sleep tracking gadgets. There are a couple of pieces of technology that can give you insight about what causes your irregular sleep and how to achieve a more peaceful night. Some of them are free (iOS/Android apps), and some cost money (various wristbands and similar gadgets), but all of them can record how much it takes you to fall asleep from the moment you went to bed, when certain sleep phases occur (REM and NREM) and many other things. 

You can then upload this data to certain websites that will analyze collected data and maybe help you determine what causes your restless nights.

Some of the most popular apps and gadgets are:

• Sleep Time (free app)
• Fitbit Charge ($146.00, wristband)
• Sleep as Android (free 2-week trial app)
• Vidonn Wristband (wristband)
• SleepBot ( free app)
• Sleep Cycle alarm clock ($1.07, app)

Studies show that sex and a good night sleep are closely related. One affects the other. Not only does sex leave you tired due to physical exertion (usually men more than women), but it also releases hormones that relax you and make it more natural for you to transcend into sleep.

As an insomnia treatment, engage in sexual activities before bed. Sex can relieve you of stress, depression and anxiety, all of which are often connected to a poor quality of sleep, and can make you sleep better and longer. Reversely, good night sleep can increase your sexual desire and quality of your sexual experience.

If you are not sure how to deal with insomnia, try wearing ear plugs. Outside noises like traffic, neighbour's pet, loud party on the floor above you, all that can interfere with a good night rest. To cancel out agitating noises and enjoy a complete silence, use earplugs.

You can order them at Amazon. There are many types, so learn which ones works best fo you.

If you can't seem to sleep through the night and achieve recommended 8 hours of sleep and you are not sure how to stop insomnia, you might want to consider switching to alternative sleeping schedule.

Sleeping 8 hours per day in one block is called monophasic sleep pattern. It is natural and easy to maintain. You can pick when to go to bed and when to wake up. But, some people might not be suited for this kind of sleep pattern and could thrive on a biphasic sleep schedule.

Biphasic sleep pattern is common in Mediterranean countries and Latin America. It includes 4-6 hours of "core" sleep per night and one afternoon nap that usually lasts 30-90 minutes, or more if needed. Some studies show that, for some people, biphasic sleep pattern could lead to higher quality sleep, improved mood, work efficiency, and other health benefits. 

Biphasic sleep pattern could be a better option if you cannot stay asleep the whole night, suffer from a substantial dip in alertness during the day, have a work schedule or other obligations that prevent you from sleeping 8 hours straight.

If you don't like insomnia pills, try Pzizz. It's an interesting app for Android and iOS with a patented algorithm. It uses isochronic tones, binaural beats and a combination of soothing male voice and music. 

Its success lies in the fact that each soundtrack is slightly different than the one before, so even though all soundtracks are very similar to each other, they are distinctive enough to prevent your brain getting accustomed to them. 

You can learn about it and download it from pzizz.com. It's completely free.

Meditation is a well-known technique for reducing stress. And with reduced stress, sleeping becomes much better. Make meditation part of your bedtime routine. For meditation techniques visit life.gaiam.com.

Keeping your brain active and entertained during the day is a great way to improve your intelligence, memory and even reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease. But, late at night, that is the last thing you want to do. A "busy" brain in the evening hours tends to stay busy at night as well and prevent you from sleeping.

In the evening, avoid watching complex movies, reading challenging books or engaging in activities that stimulate your brain (such as playing chess, or discussing the origin of the universe with your friends). Focus on light reading, or simple house chores.

Can depression cause insomnia? Possibly, it can. If it does, to fight against insomnia, you need to win the fight against depression, first. St. John's Wort is a plant that works as an antidepressant and as such can relieve your anxiety and help you sleep better. You can order St. John's wort pills at Amazon.

Always check with your doctor if you are trying any herbal remedy.

Eating a large meal late in the evening can occupy your digestive system for hours, make you bloated and gassy and give you heartburn, all of which could interfere with your sleep.

You don't want to go to bed too hungry because hunger can keep your brain alert and cause you discomfort and a sleepless night. The best thing to do is to have a moderate, healthy meal 2-3 hours before bedtime.

Alcohol may help you to fall asleep, however, it can disrupt your sleep cycles and make you restless at night. You don't have to completely abstain from alcohol, just don't drink it after 6 PM.

Even couple of beers late at night can cause you problems due to multiple visits to bathroom and dehydration that forces you to get up and have a glass of water in the middle of the night.

Vitamin B-6 has a very important role in regulating your sleep-wake cycles. Deficiency in vitamin B-6 can disrupt your sleep pattern or even cause you insomnia. You can order it at Amazon.

However, taking too much vitamin B-6 can also cause you problems with sleeping so it is not advised to use it on your own. Consult your doctor to find out if vitamin B-6 deficiency is what's causing you insomnia.

Always talk to your doctor before trying any supplements.

I frequently woke up during the night, and my mind started to become active, and getting upset about not sleeping (thinking I need the sleep to feel rested in the morning), which caused an issue of itself. 

I managed to reduce this issue by reminding myself that just lying in bed without sleeping can also be very restful. It's the same with naps: you don't have to sleep in order for the nap to give you new energy. 

Try it out: one time you get up during the night and become active (e.g. work), and on another occasion you stay in bed, with your eyes shut, and letting your thoughts wonder about. See how much more rested you feel during daytime in the latter case. 

I don't know why this is - maybe just keeping your eyes shut, blocking out visual signals is helping to recover - but I don't care about the exact reasons why. For me this is the case, so every time I awake during the night, I just stay in bed, reminding me about this fact, and not getting upset anymore than I cannot sleep. Which, ironically, helps me to sleep again.