Lack of Sleep Can Lead to Suicide

Contemplating suicide just because you can't sleep may seem a bit drastic, and this would be true if the insomnia only lasted for a night or two or even several nights. But if it goes on for night after night, week after week, month after.... Well, you get the depressing picture.

There are several types of insomnia, and each one can be broken down into dozens of variations. The three basic types are:

Transient Insomnia - This usually only lasts a night or two and is most often brought about by an outside influence such as sleeping in a strange bed or stress over an upcoming job interview.

Short Term Insomnia - This type can last anywhere from days or weeks and, again, can be caused by stress. Poor sleep habits can also bring on short-term insomnia.

Chronic Insomnia - This is the worst type. It can go on, night after night, sometimes for years. Chronic insomnia is a serious problem and can lead to sleep deprivation and all sorts of physical and mental health problems, including thoughts of suicide.

A study done by the University of Michigan revealed that one in three people suffer from insomnia with women twice as likely to be affected and 10% of people have clinical insomnia. The good news is that there are was to treat this with techniques like cognitive behavior therapy.

The researchers studied three types of sleep and insomnia problems, difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep and waking at least two hours earlier than desired.

In the previous year, people who suffered from sleep problems nightly were twice as likely to report suicidal thoughts and attempts. This only emphasizes the necessity of getting adequate sleep.