Insomnia

  • Insomnia can be described as difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, waking up too early or having “unrefreshed” sleep
  • Over 64 million Americans of all ages fail to get a good night's sleep on a regular basis
  • Quality of life, safety, and health are all affected by insomnia and the lack of good sleep associated with it

Overview of Insomnia

Insomnia leaves people feeling tired, irritable, lethargic, and less focused on tasks at hand. This is a particular problem when driving or performing safety-critical tasks at work. Being tired is highly linked with a greater likelihood of a car crash.

Symptoms of Insomnia

There are varying degrees of insomnia. Transient (short term) insomnia is often caused by excitement or stress, such as a long anticipated vacation or a highly important business meeting. The end result is usually sleeplessness for a few nights. Intermittent insomnia is characterized by several bouts of sleeping difficulty occurring over several weeks. The most debilitating form of sleeplessness is chronic insomnia, resulting in poor sleep almost nightly for a period of a month or more. According to the American Association of Sleep Medicine, 35 million Americans suffer from chronic insomnia.

Causes of Insomnia

Insomnia affects people of all ages, however senior citizens, women (especially after menopause) and those with a current depression or anxiety disorder are more likely to suffer from chronic insomnia.

There are several lifestyle-related factors that may produce insomnia. Persistent stress, such as a troubled marriage, a sickly child or a demanding job can be a major cause of insomnia. Quality of sleep can also be impacted by environmental conditions, such as noise levels, extremes in temperature and changes in sleeping locations and time zones.

Some medications can also trigger episodes of sleeplessness. Nicotine and caffeine are stimulants that can prevent the onset of sleep or trigger awakenings throughout the night. Likewise, the ingredients in many popular over-the-counter medications for the flu, weight loss or asthma can lead to poor sleep.

The causes of chronic insomnia are more complex, often involving a variety of underlying mental or physical disorders, such as depression, arthritis, kidney disease, heart failure, asthma, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome, Parkinson’s disease and hyperthyroidism.

Treatment for Insomnia

Treatment of insomnia starts with cognitive behavior education – coaching people how to get better sleep and putting a plan of sleep therapy in place. Medication (sleeping pills) are commonly prescribed, but there are long-term effects and they should not be regarded as the first solution. There are also new drugs that act differently than the classic 'knock you out' sleeping pills. The natural supplement Melatonin is used by some people. If you believe you suffer from the symptoms of insomnia, you should talk to your physician or sleep specialist.