Things that can rob you of sleep

1. Pets. The new puppy need to go outside at midnight, or the kitten decides that it wants to eat your nose. Pets don't understand why you would rather to sleep.
2. Ideas. The mind is a difficult thing to quiet when it decides to run. A flood of ideas is welcomed when you are trying to work, but when you want to sleep? They can be irritating.
3. Neighbors. Some neighbors are nice, and share a similar desires to sleep at a reasonable hour. Others prefer to have noisy parties until well into the wee hours of the morning. The real question to ask: which are you?
4. Illness. When you are sick, it can be hard to sleep. With a stuffy or runny nose, achy head, and many other potential aliments, a restful night is hard to achieve.
5. Distractions. Sometimes, sleep is put off because there are other things which you find more interesting, or something prevents you from being able to fall asleep. A loud television in the other room, a cliffhanger in the book you just put down, or a younger sibling's anticipation of an upcoming event. There is no end to what might distract from sleep.
6. Fear. When you are afraid, sleep does not come easily. And when it does, the normally restful companion you knew is often exchanged for one riddled with nightmares.
7. Anger. When you are upset, your mind often dwells on the cause. And the more it dwells, the more frustrated you become. So you toss and turn, tension building until finally you fall into a sleep which does not bring any relief.
8. Pain. Injury can make it hard to get comfortable, and a lack of comfort makes sleep difficult to find. Other pains also leave one restless, which often feeds those pains and invites them to linger, thus continuing the cycle.
9. Work. When a thing need to get done, sleep is a common casualty.
10. Uncomfortable sleeping conditions. Sure, some people enjoy a cold rock slab as their bed. Others, a cloud of softness. It's hard to rest when your only option is undesirable, but if you refuse to even try, then sleeplessness has already won.