5 Potential Causes of a Sudden Bout of Insomnia
Insomnia is getting worse. More and more people in the UK are reporting poor sleep quality, with approximately one in three people suffering from sleepless nights, according to new evidence.
For many, this is a longstanding issue. In most cases, insomnia doesn’t appear overnight – it builds gradually, often fuelled by a combination of lifestyle factors. Over time, these patterns can disrupt the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle, making it harder to fall asleep, stay asleep, or simply feel rested upon waking.
However, while this is the most common path to chronic insomnia, it’s not the only one. In fact, acute insomnia – in which sleep disturbance appears unexpectedly, without a previous history of sleep problems – also represents a mounting issue. In other words, more people than ever are suffering from disturbed sleep.
It’s important to realise that acute insomnia doesn’t exist in a vacuum – it’s usually triggered by something, even if the cause is not immediately obvious. We’re going to look into five of the most likely causes below, as well as a few notes on how to solve the problem.
Stress, Anxiety, or Depression
Perhaps the biggest cause of a sudden bout of insomnia is mental health-related. In other words, if you’ve recently been feeling a lot of stress, or even anxiety or depression, there’s a good chance it’s going to impact your sleep.
This is down to the way mental health directly affects your body’s arousal system. When you’re stressed or anxious, your brain activates the ‘fight-or-flight’ response, which releases hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. These chemicals then work to increase alertness, elevate your heart rate, and keep your mind racing, making it difficult to wind down and get the sleep you need.
There are many ways to treat this, of course, but one of the most talked about in recent years has been the CBD flower, which many claim calms the nervous system without the intoxicating effects associated with THC.
Sudden Disrupted Sleep Schedule
One of the key wellness benefits of CBD is its potential to ease the effects of a sudden disrupted sleep schedule, which is another cause of acute insomnia. Perhaps the reason this disorder has become more prevalent is due to the increasingly irregular lifestyles many people lead today.
Shift work, late-night screen use, social commitments, and, in some cases, travel across time zones all work to disrupt our natural circadian rhythms. When your body’s internal clock is thrown off track, it can be hard to not just fall asleep, but stay asleep at the right times.
This is why it’s so important to practice good sleep hygiene, like maintaining consistent bedtimes, minimising blue light exposure before sleep, and doing your best to create a restful environment.
Stimulants or Medication
Another cause for a sudden bout of insomnia can be put down to stimulants or even medication. Studies have shown that stimulants like caffeine and nicotine can significantly interfere with the ability to fall and stay asleep, especially when they’re consumed later in the day.
Caffeine, for example, can stay in the bloodstream for up to six hours, delaying the onset of sleep and reducing overall sleep quality. Nicotine, similarly, increases the heart rate and alertness, which can disrupt the body’s natural ability to wind down.
What’s more, certain medications – particularly antidepressants or corticosteroids – have been known to lead to insomnia as a side effect. This is mainly because these drugs can activate the noradrenergic and dopaminergic systems, which can subsequently raise alertness levels or cause jitteriness.
In both of these cases, it’s important to talk to your doctor and walk them through your symptoms. If your antidepressants, for instance, are disrupting your sleep, your doctor may be able to adjust the dosage or switch you to a different medication entirely.
Illness or Pain
Research also shows that there’s a strong correlation between insomnia and pain, with both conditions exacerbating the other. In another study, it was found that approximately 50% of people living with chronic pain experience insomnia, and conversely, 50% of those with insomnia report chronic pain.
This bidirectional relationship suggests that the two conditions are closely intertwined, and even short-term illnesses like colds, flu, or digestive issues can play a part in disrupting sleep patterns. When the body is unwell, of course, it often enters a heightened state of physiological stress – signified by inflammation, discomfort, and increased sensitivity to pain – all of which can interfere with the ability to relax and stay asleep.
The positive thing here is that the side effect often ends along with the illness or pain itself. As the body begins to recover, discomfort fades and inflammation decreases, making it easier to fall back into regular sleep patterns. When this doesn’t happen, again, natural remedies like CBD flower could offer support, reduce pain sensitivity and calm the nervous system, potentially making it easier to sleep at night.
Emotional Trauma
One last cause for a sudden bout of insomnia could be emotional trauma. A recent upsetting event can provoke a hyper aroused state that can keep the brain alert at night, making it difficult to switch off.
This is a common response to emotional shock, as the body’s response goes into overdrive, releasing cortisol and adrenaline, while keeping the mind racing to the point where it feels almost impossible to get to sleep. Supportive interventions like therapy can be crucial here.
While a definitive number isn’t known, a study undertaken in 2015 suggested a significant portion – around 73% – of participants reported improvements in sleep quality within three months of therapy sessions.
For this reason alone, it’s at least worth exploring therapy as an option. Perhaps you won’t have the same effects as others, but when it comes to insomnia, it’s important to try as many methods as possible to discover which works for you.