Sleep is essential in our lives. While we sleep, our bodies heal, regenerate, and prepare for the next day. However, even though sleep is vital, 40% of Americans suffer from a sleep disorder in some way. Insomnia is a sleep disorder in which a person cannot fall asleep or cannot sleep for long periods of time, making it impossible to get a full night's sleep. Insomnia can be generic, chronic, or occasionally caused by stress. Mental, physical, and emotional stresses all contribute to susceptibility to insomnia. “Most insomnia is what doctors call transient, usually occurring before or after a major life event, such as marriage or starting a new job, and lasting for three hours. or four nights” (Hales). Temporary insomnia is caused by mental stress. Many things can cause mental stress. This may be related to work, school or family life. You may be mentally stressed even if you don't realize it. A study was carried out in 2002 on people suffering from insomnia. Within two months of retirement, 65% of those diagnosed were sleeping better than they had in years (Beck). This is because they no longer had mental stress from work. Teenagers often experience insomnia during their high school years. Too much homework combined with procrastination and limited time can cause a lot of unwanted stress. If adolescents stay up late at night doing homework, they may suffer from learned or habitual insomnia (Hales). Their bodies become accustomed to staying up late and ignoring signs of weariness. When they have the opportunity to get a good night's sleep, their body tries to stay awake because it has formed this habit. It can take several months to retrain your body to succumb...... middle of paper ......ng stressed. If you're feeling overwhelmed, slow down a little and take it one day at a time. There is always time to accomplish everything you need to. So catch your breath, don't be stressed and get some rest. Works Cited Beck, Melinda. Wall Street Journal (online). New York, NY: February 20, 2010http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb? Index = 4 & did = 1966620971 & srchMode = 1 & sid = 11 & fmt = 3 & Vinst = prod & vtype = pqd & rqt = 309 & vname = pqd & ts = 1283435375 & Clientid = 3579, d. Get a good night's sleep. WorldBookOnline.com: retrieved September 8, 2010http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/media?id=sr195025&st=insomniaSchwartz, David. Family health. Edmonton: Winter 2009. Vol. 25, Iss. 4; P. 15, 2 pages.http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=6&did=1920685591&SrchMode=1&sid=12&Fmt=4&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1283435523&clientId=3579