Insomnia is a sleep disorder in which a person experiences poor sleep or has trouble sleeping. It includes a broad spectrum of sleep disorders, from the lack of quantity of sleep to the lack of quality of sleep. Insomnia is often separated into three types. Transient insomnia occurs when symptoms last from a few days to a few weeks. Acute or short-term insomnia is when symptoms last for several weeks. Chronic insomnia is characterized by insomnia that lasts for months and years.

Insomnia can affect all age groups and is more common in adult women than adult men. The condition can lead to poor performance at work or school, obesity, depression, anxiety, poor immune system function, reduced reaction time, and an increased risk and severity of long-term disease.

What are the symptoms' of insomnia?

Insomnia can involve:

• Difficulty falling asleep
• Difficulty staying asleep (that is, waking up many times during the night), without necessarily having had any difficulty falling asleep
• Waking up too early in the morning
• Not feeling refreshed after a night's sleep

In any of these cases the person feels tired the next day, or feels as if he or she did not have enough sleep.

Poor sleep for any length of time can lead to mood disturbances, lack of motivation, decreased attention span, trouble with concentration, low levels of energy, and increased fatigue.

About one-third of the average person's life is spent sleeping. Healthy sleep is vital to the human body and important for the optimal functioning of the brain and other organs.

What causes insomnia?

Insomnia can be caused by physical factors as well as psychological factors. There is often an underlying medical condition that causes chronic insomnia, while transient insomnia may be due to a recent event or occurrence. Causes of insomnia include:

• Drugs, alcohol, and medicines: caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, stimulants, antidepressants, heart and blood pressure medications, allergy medicines, decongestants, weight-loss medicines, antihistamines, cocaine, ephedrine, amphetamines, methamphetamine, fluoroquinolone antibiotic drugs
• Disruptions in circadian rhythm: jet lag, job shift changes, high altitudes, noisiness, hotness or coldness
• Psychological issues: stress, anxiety, depression, mania, schizophrenia
• Medical conditions: brain lesions and tumors, stroke, chronic pain, chronic fatigue syndrome, congestive heart failure, angina, acid-reflux disease (GERD), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, sleep apnea, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, hyperthyroidism, arthritis
• Hormones: estrogen, hormone shifts during menstruation
• Other factors: sleeping next to a snoring partner, parasites, genetic conditions, overactive mind, pregnancy.

Is Insomnia Serious?

Insomnia can have physical and psychological effects. The consequences of insomnia include:

• Impaired mental functioning. Insomnia can affect concentration and memory, and can affect one's ability to perform daily tasks.
• Accidents. Insomnia endangers public safety by contributing to traffic and industrial accidents. Various studies have shown that fatigue plays a major role in vehicle and machinery accidents. As many as 100,000 motorcar accidents, accounting for 1,500 deaths, are caused by sleepiness.
• Stress and depression. Insomnia increases the activity of the hormones and pathways in the brain that cause stress, and changes in sleeping patterns have been shown to have significant affects on mood. Ongoing insomnia may be a sign of anxiety and depression.
• Heart disease. One study reported that people with chronic insomnia had signs of heart and nervous system activity that might put them at risk for heart disease.
• Headaches. Headaches that occur during the night or early in the morning may be related to a sleep disorder.

Who is more at risk?

Some people are more likely to suffer from insomnia than others. These include:

• Travelers
• Shift workers with frequent changes in shifts
• The elderly
• Drug users
• Adolescent or young adult students
• Pregnant women
• Menopausal women
• Those with mental health disorders

How is insomnia treated?

Some types of insomnia resolve themselves when the underlying cause is removed or wears off. In general, treating insomnia focuses on determining the cause of the sleeping problems. Once identified, this underlying cause can be properly treated or corrected. In addition to treating the underlying cause of insomnia, both medical and non-pharmacological (behavioral) treatments may be employed as adjuvant therapies.

Non-pharmacological approaches to treating insomnia include:

• Improving "sleep hygiene" - don't over- or under-sleep, exercise daily, don't force sleep, try to maintain a regular sleep schedule, avoid caffeine at night, do not smoke, do not go to bed hungry, make sure the environment is comfortable
• Using relaxation techniques - such as meditation and muscle relaxation
• Cognitive therapy - one-on-one counseling or group therapy
• Stimulus control therapy - only go to bed when sleepy, refrain from TV, reading, eating, or worrying in bed, set an alarm for the same time every morning (even weekends), avoid long daytime naps
• Sleep restriction - decrease the time spent in bed and partially deprive your body of sleep so you are more tired the next night.

Medical treatments for insomnia include:

• Prescription sleeping pills
• Antidepressants
• Over-the-counter sleep aids

If you feel overly tired and found that you cannot sleep at night, you might suffer from insomnia. Consult your doctor or go to the nearest Day Hospital or City Clinic for a health examination.

Sources:

• webmd
• medicalnewstoday
• ehealthmd 

Page Created: 08 September 2010
By: Thurlo Cicero