Re: What are the causes and cures of insomnia, particularly in a teenager?

Dear Wenee,

You may have hit upon the answer to your insomnia already: stress.  
Insomnia is often caused by stress and goes away after a few days or 
weeks. If your problem with insomnia lasts more than a couple of weeks, 
TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR. It often helps to have a long talk face to face with 
your doctor to find out just what is causing your problem sleeping.

Insomnia describes a problem with falling asleep, waking up often from 
sleep during the night, and waking up too early in the morning. It can 
leave people feeling tired, groggy and unrefreshed during the day. The 
word is from the Latin "in" (not) and "somnus" (sleep).

If you have insomnia, you are in good company. Most people have problems 
with insomnia at one time or another. 

It may be helpful to remember that insomnia is a symptom, not a disease. 
That is, it is a sign of an underlying problem and not the problem itself. 
(Just as a fever and cough are symptoms of the flu, and red spots are a 
symptom of measles.)

What kind of problems can cause insomnia? Lots of things. The most common 
are:

     Stress and Worry
          Changing neighborhoods, schools or jobs, worry about schoolwork,
          tests or papers, problems with friends, and many, many others

     Drugs
          Caffeine (Found in coffee, chocolate, tea, soft drinks)
          Alcohol
          Nicotine 
          Other prescription and nonprescription drugs

     Difficult area for sleeping
          Too much light, too noisy, too hot or cold

How can you help prevent or get rid of insomnia? By trying to solve the 
underlying problem. Some things that often help are:

     Relaxation
          Do not do strenous exercise just before going to bed
          Try taking a warm bath (not a shower) just before bed
          Sometimes drinking a glass of warm milk helps

     Develop a routine of going to bed and getting up at the same time

     Keep the bedroom properly quiet and dark and warm

     Avoid alcohol and other drugs than can interfere with sleep

     If you can't get to sleep in a half hour or so, get up and do 
     something peaceful and quiet -- read a book (no thrillers or scary   
     stories) or listen to calming music

You mentioned that you "dream vividly." Everyone dreams. Usually people do 
not remember their dreams unless they wake up in the midst of one. It may 
be that you wake up during the night while you are dreaming. If you sleep 
through the night better it may seem that your are dreaming less.

Remember again, insomnia is very common and usually lasts only a short 
time. If it does not go away, talk to your doctor.

For more information on insomnia and other problems try these sites:

www.nhlbi.nih.gov (National Institutes of Health)
www.vch.vh.org (Virtual Children's Hospital)
www.drkoop.com
www.mayo.edu (Mayo Clinic)
www.britannica.com (Encyclopedia Britannica)
www.encarta.com (Encarta)

Medical books such as Harrison's Internal Medicine have a lot of detailed 
information -- more than most people would ever want to know.

One of the world's experts (maybe THE expert) on sleep and sleep disorders 
is Dr. William Dement. Dr. Dement is a professor at Stanford University in 
California. He is a terrific teacher and written a number of books. If you 
have the time and interest you may want to look at one of them.

Have a good sleep!