What is insomnia?
Insomnia is the term used to describe inadequate or poor quality sleep, which may be due to one or more of the following: difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, waking up too early in the morning and being unable to get back to sleep, and unreflecting sleep.

How does insomnia affect daytime functioning?
Insomnia results in unrefreshing sleep and can lead to daytime problems of tiredness, lack of energy, difficulty in concentrating, and irritability.

Are there different types of insomnia?
Period of sleep difficulty lasting between one night and few weeks are referred to as acute (transient) insomnia. Chronic insomnia refers to sleep difficulty during at least 3 nights a week for 1 month or more.

How common is insomnia?
Insomnia is the most common complaint that is related to sleep and wakefulness. About 30-40 percent of adults have some degree of insomnia within any given year, and about 10-15 percent indicate that the insomnia is chronic or severe. Insomnia increases with age and is more common in women. Women are about 1.3 times more likely to report insomnia like sleep problems than men are. People over 65 years of age generally have approximately 1.5 times higher rates of sleep difficulty compared with adults below the age of 65. Children can also have problems with insomnia and the rates for adolescents are similar to adults. Sleep onset insomnia is most common in young people.

What cause insomnia?
Insomnia is nearly always related to a medical, psychiatric circadian, sleep, behavioral, lifestyle, or environment disorder, acute insomnia is closely related to a major life event, such as pregnancy, significant stress at work or bereavement. Once the event loses its intensity, the insomnia should also lessen. The development of chronic insomnia is often complex. An important factor appears to be a tendency to hyperarousal, or increases alertness during the day and night. People with hyperarousal have increased anxiety, and higher heart rate while sleeping.

What are the consequences of insomnia?
Insomnia can result in excessive sleepiness during the day, which can impact on activities such as driving and the operation of machinery, as well as decreased concentration and ability to learn. Other consequences can relate to mood. Many people with ongoing insomnia problems become depressed or generally agitated. Insomnia can also worsen an underlying medical condition.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, September 1st, 2007 at 7:19 am and is filed under Insomnia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.