Definition of Insomnia
Insomnia is the failure to get enough quality sleep. In its simplest form insomnia can be defined as difficulty in falling asleep, staying asleep or waking after too short a period of sleep.
The causes of insomnia are many and varied but they can be divided into two groups:
- Primary Insomnia. Primary insomnia is a sleep disorder for which there is no specific underlying condition and is the most common form of insomnia. Stress, environmental changes (such as noise and temperature), disruptions
to your normal sleep pattern (caused perhaps through shift work or long-haul travel), and the side-effects of many medications can all give rise to primary insomnia. Other contributory factors include the excessive use of drugs, alcohol or caffeine and taking naps during the day.
- Secondary Insomnia. Secondary insomnia can be attributed to a specific underlying physical or psychological condition. These include other sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome and circadian rhythm disorder. Other physical and psychological conditions that often give rise to insomnia include depression, respiratory problems (including asthma), heart problems (such as congestive heart failure), arthritis, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer’s disease and hyperthyroidism.
What are the different types of insomnia?
There are two different ways of answering this question. The first considers the problem from the standpoint of time and divides insomnia into three types:
- Transient (or short-term) insomnia. Transient (or short-term) insomnia lasts for just one or two nights or, at most, may affect your sleep for up to a month. An important upcoming meeting, the excitement of a child's birthday or a minor illness might all give rise to transient insomnia and, as the underlying cause passes, your sleep pattern returns to normal. We all suffer from short-term insomnia from time to time and this is a normal part of life.
- Intermittent insomnia. If transient insomnia starts to occur frequently, so that your insomnia could be termed as "on and off", then you are said to be suffering from intermittent insomnia. Over time you may find that the periods of insomnia are coming closer together and lasting for slightly longer each time. This is usually a warning sign that should not be ignored and now is the time to start considering taking action to prevent matters from getting worse.
- Chronic insomnia. Once you reach the stage at which your sleep is being affected on most nights then you are suffering fr
om chronic or severe insomnia. At this point your insomnia will undoubtedly start to impact upon the quality of your life generally and you should certainly begin looking for an insomnia remedy.
The second answer to this question considers the specific difficulties you encounter in sleeping and again divides insomnia into three types:
- Initial insomnia. If you find difficulty in falling asleep, typically taking 30 minutes or more to get to sleep, then you are said to be suffering from initial insomnia.
- Middle insomnia. In the case of middle insomnia you experience problems in staying asleep. Here, it is not uncommon to wake several times during the night and then have difficulty in getting back to sleep, or find that you are only able to drift in and out of light restless sleep.
- Late or Terminal insomnia. In late or terminal insomnia you fall asleep with relative ease and sleep through the first part of the night but then wake early in the morning, usually have enjoyed less than 6 hours of sleep.
Anybody can suffer from insomnia and, at some point in our lives, just about all of us will experience some form of insomnia. However, some people are more prone to suffer this sleep disorder than others.
- Women suffer more than men. Apart from the clear difference of problems experienced by women during pregnancy, the monthly hormonal cycle often gives rise to problems of insomnia. Additionally, hormonal changes following the menopause can also result in sleeping difficulties.
- Older people tend to experience more difficulty sleeping and this is particularly true beyond the age of 60.
- Insomnia is also common amongst people who are divorced, widowed or separated and amongst shift workers and frequent long distant travelers, who are prone to jet lag.
- Many people with other medical conditions also experience differing degrees of insomnia. Such conditions are too numerous to list here but would include post-traumatic stress syndrome, brain injury and chronic conditions ranging from tinnitus to respiratory problems and heart disease.
What are the symptoms of insomnia?
Although a commonly asked question, this one is difficult to answer because, as already outlined above, insomnia is itself a symptom and not a disease. Insomnia symptoms are therefore essentially the characteristic of this particular sleep disorder. Namely:
- Difficulty falling asleep.
- Difficulty staying asleep.
- Waking too early in the morning.
In addition, a further characteristic, not so far mentioned, is the fact that sufferers start their day by feeling tired and un-refreshed and often perform poorly during the day.
What are the side-effects of insomnia?
There are many side-effects accompanying insomnia but perhaps the most significant are:
- Increased accident rate. Accidents at home, at work and particularly on the road can often be traced back to insomnia. Recent statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration attribute fatigue to some 100,000 vehicle accidents and 1,500 deaths in the United States alone during 2004.
- Premature death. There is no evidence to suggest that insomnia itself contributes to premature death, except in the rare case of a genetic disorder known as fatal familial insomnia. There is, however, good evidence to show that people who regularly take sleeping pills do have lower survival rates than the general population. These deaths therefore, while not directly resulting from insomnia, must certainly be attributed to it.
- Stress and depression. Insomnia can have a significant effect upon mood and increased hormonal activity resulting from insomnia can lead to anxiety, stress and depression.
- Heart disease. There is some evidence to suggest that severe insomnia can produce activity within the heart and nervous system that, in turn, may lead to heart disease.
- Headaches. Insomnia can often lead to headaches during the night and early in the morning.
If you suffer from secondary insomnia (insomnia resulting from an underlying physical or psychological condition) then the starting point in treating insomnia is clearly to treat the underlying condition. This will often solve the problem, although it may take some time and it is often wise to treat your insomnia symptoms at the same time.
In cases of transient (short-term) insomnia, medication (either prescribed or purchased 'over the counter') can sometimes be the answer, although more often than not the problem will simply disappear after a few days.
For more persistent insomnia a range of insomnia treatments are available. These should not, however, include the use of sleeping pills which are designed for short-term use. The longer-term use of sleeping pills can lead to various problems, including addiction, and can often result in prolonging your recovery, rather than assisting with it.
In this modern age where we want everything easily and quickly (usually yesterday) the use of these treatment techniques may seem 'old fashioned'. However, insomnia has been around since the dawn of time and many of these insomnia remedies have been developed, tried and tested over the centuries. More importantly - they work!
It would be nice to simply take a pill and banish our sleeping problems overnight, but the truth is that a natural cure for insomnia is the answer for today's insomniac. So, let's look at how to treat insomnia.
No comments:
Post a Comment