Insomnia may be transient or persistent. Transient insomnia is most often associated with anxiety, either as a sequela to an anxious experience or in anticipation of an anxiety provoking experience eg a job interview or prior to an exam. Sometimes it can be associated with grief, loss, or any life change. Specific treatment for the condition is usually not required. Difficulty in falling asleep is usually seen in the younger age group, while difficulty in remaining asleep is usually seen in older people.
Anxiety is the commonest cause of sleep disturbances.
You may not be experiencing the anxiety but instead it shows through via a discharge through physiological channels. Lack of sleep, tremors, diarrhoea, sense of vomiting, abdominal cramps are common associated symptoms in anxiety. The anxious person often complains of apprehensive feelings or ruminative thoughts that keep him or her from falling off to sleep. Your sleep disturbance is associated with your being off key, low colour, down in the dumps, feeling blue, your appetite is going down, you have weight loss, you don't feel like having sex, you don't have any zest in life, you are not interested in anything, you are at a loss of confidence and self esteem. Drugs, pills, alcohol or even excessive coffee or tea can cause sleep disturbances via a direct drug effect.