We almost never hear of babies suffering from insomnia, henceforth the term, sleep like a baby. On the other hand, a teenager suffering from insomnia would be another story and we'd need to determine the cause.



Many things could cause a teenager to suffer from insomnia. It could be a variety of things such as anxiety, hormonal changes, irregular sleeping patterns, which can be understandable for a teenager who is staying up late and getting up at about the same time every day. Other causes of insomnia in teenagers are drug or alcohol use. The best course of action is for the parent to speak with the teenager and try to find the cause of his/her insomnia.

If you are a working adult suffering from insomnia, try to remember the first time you first encounter this problem. You may have to

go back to your high school and college days to see if the problem started then and have only gotten worse over the years. For instance if you tend to suffer from insomnia before your annual appraisal at work, it may be a lingering effect of your college days, not being able to sleep the night before an exam.

The solution for this is to try and calm down. Ask yourself, am I going to lose my job if I don't do well at my appraisal? In most cases you'll not lose your job. So it you are nervous about the annual appraisal and know that even if you don't get a superior grade you'll still have a job and have another opportunity to do better next time. That should put your mind at ease and put you in a better mood to fall asleep.

Other causes of insomnia that I have heard of are to dread going to work the next day because you don't like what you do or if you are new at your work and are unsure of yourself therefore thinking about it will put undue stress on you possibly giving you a migraine and ultimately causing insomnia.

The way I personally deal with this stressful situation is, if you are new to a job, you'll have someone assigned to doublebank with you while you learn. Therefore you should start by developing a good relationship with that person so that he will be willing to teach you all he knows.

Dreading going to work because you hate your job is another story. First of all, if you really hate your job, find something else that

you like. But if you start hating the job you use to like, then see yourself as being blessed with a job that put a roof over your head and food on the table for you and your family.

I don't have to convince you, picture yourself as being fortunate with the good things in life. While the less fortunate, such as the

homeless people sleep under a bridge with no food, no shelter from wild animals and criminals etc. and you'll see that you have no

reason for not falling sleep. If you want a clearer picture, take a little drive downtown and see what condition the homeless people

are in and when you come back, your insomnia will be gone.

Things not to do before going to bed!

No food within 4 hours of going to bed. If you need some food, a light snack or a glass of milk will do. Don't go right to bed with a

full stomach. That will put your body in a less than comfortable position to try and digest the food while you try to sleep.

Don't drink caffeine or alcohol. It will increase your heart rate and keep you from falling sleep.

Daily exercise and breathing exercises are excellent for relaxation. Try not to worry too much pryor to going to bed. Don't forget to sleep on it and the solution will come to you in the morning.

One thing I have done occasionally when I can't fall sleep and it works everytime is to count backwards from 100. I have never gotten to 1 yet before falling sleep.

If all else fails, consider a visit to your local sleep disorder specialist for some indepth analysis and a possible solution. You'll be glad you did!