The results of a study conducted by the researchers of the Universite Laval, Quebec, Canada has proved that one of the reasons for insomnia development in a person could be his/her family member. The results of the study which were presented at the 4th World Congress on Sleep Medicine highlight the fact that if at least one family member is suffering from insomnia, then the risk for another in the family to develop this sleepless symptom is increased by 67 percent. We know that people who suffer from insomnia, find it very difficult to fall asleep or to stay asleep for long.

Reasons for Insomnia – Family Members

Psychological problems, medical ailments, medications or family members, whatever or whoever may be the cause of insomnia, the after effects of this symptom can be really taxing and impact the performance of a person drastically.

Let us take a look at the research that shows the role of insomniac family members in the development of insomnia.

• As mentioned above, the research was conducted at the Universite Laval, in its School of Psychology. Dr. Charles M. Morin was the head of the research team, who conducted the study on 3,485 people. As part of the study, the 3,485 participants had to take part in a telephone survey. The survey inquired about the sleep quality of the interviewee and his/her immediate family members.
• Apart from the telephone survey, the participants were also asked to do a mail-in questionnaire thrice in a year.
• The results of the survey and the questionnaires showed that 40 percent of the 3,485 participants, had at least one member in the family who suffered from insomnia.
• Nearly 76 percent participants, had 1 member in the family suffering from this sleep issue, while 21 percent had two people in the family suffering from the issue and 3 percent of them had 3 people suffering from insomnia.
• In the first case i.e where there was one family member with insomnia, the risk of developing insomnia in another member increased by 37 percent. In the second cases, the risk increased to 250 percent and in the third case, it increased to 314 percent.

Thus, it is now proved that one of the reasons for insomnia can be your own family member.