There are many people who feel like they have a good night’s sleep but still deal with excessive daytime sleepiness. The main reason for this might be some underlying medical conditions or an adverse effect of therapy to treat a certain issue. Additionally, stressing out about some health issues can also trigger insomnia and daytime drowsiness.

So, some of the most common health conditions which can cause sleep disturbances include musculoskeletal disorders, heartburn, kidney disease, neurological disorders, cardiovascular disease, thyroid disease, diabetes, and respiratory problems. Sleep can also be impacted by a number of prescription and over-the-counter medications. However, let’s take a closer look at which might be the medical causes of insomnia.

Medical Causes of Insomnia

Diabetes

When there are elevated levels of blood sugar in the blood, the person has a chronic disorder known as diabetes. This condition is a result of in appropriate response to insulin or when the pancreas can’t produce more insulin in response. Thus, people who have diabetes are susceptible to experience sleep issues as a result of a frequent need to urinate, low blood sugar or night sweats. Likewise, it is often the case that diabetes damaged certain nerves in the legs and that’s when the pain disturbs sleep.

Kidney Disease

Kidney disease means that a person has damaged kidneys which can no longer remove waste, filter fluids, or keep electrolytes balanced as before. Thus, this leads to waste buildup which in result triggers insomnia or restless legs syndrome. However, even when the kidney disease is managed with kidney dialysis or transplant, the sleep disturbances don’t resolve.

Heart Failure

Heart failure means that a person has a gradual decline in the heart’s ability to pump or circulate blood properly. Consequently, there might be a fluid buildup in the tissues and the lungs. Hence, people with heart failure are often awakened during sleep as a result of shortness of breath or by a series of increasingly deep breaths followed by a brief cessation of breathing. Many people find relief from using Benzodiazepine sleep medications, while others have to use supplementary oxygen.

Heartburn

If you have been dealing with heartburn before, you might have noticed that lying down in bed often worsens the condition and can cause insomnia and many sleepless nights. Thus, you might want to reduce the intake of fatty and heavy foods, coffee, and alcohol. Moreover, you can reduce the heartburn and thus prevent insomnia by elevating your upper body.

Musculoskeletal Disorders

Arthritis pain or fibromyalgia are two musculoskeletal disorders which make it hard for people to fall and stay asleep. Moreover, as the treatment for arthritis requires steroids, they also cause insomnia.

Nocturia

If you frequently feel the need to get up and urinate during sleep it probably means that you have nocturia. This is a very common condition among elderly people. Hence, a person might need to get up five or six times during the night to urinate which triggers insomnia. Nocturia is usually a result of aging, but can also happen due to some medical conditions, such as diabetes, enlarged prostate, heart failure, multiple sclerosis, and urinary tract infections.

Pain and Itching

Pain is one of the most obvious medical causes of insomnia as people who are in pain cannot sleep well. Pain can be a result of a number of medical conditions, including cancer, arthritis, and chronic back issues. Itching badly, on the other hand, due to eczema or psoriasis can cause sleep disturbances too.

Thyroid Disease

An overactive thyroid can be the medical cause of insomnia. Hyperthyroidism can trigger night sweats and makes it harder to fall asleep.

Parkinson's Disease

This is another condition which interferes with brain and nerve signaling and triggers insomnia. However, insomnia and sleep apnea can also be triggered due to depression and anxiety which often come together with this disease.

Menopause

Last but not least, hormonal imbalance is quite common in menopause, as well as, stress. Moreover, women in menopause often experience hot flashes and increased body temperature which makes insomnia even worse.