Insomnia

Insomnia Information

What Is Insomnia?

It is not unusual to have trouble sleeping from time to time. But if you feel that you do not get enough sleep (or enough satisfying sleep), you could possibly have a sleep disorder called insomnia. People with this condition have one or more of the following:

Difficulty falling asleep
Waking up often during the night and having trouble going back to sleep
Waking up too early in the morning
Non-refreshing sleep.

How Common Is It?

About 60 million Americans each year suffer from insomnia, which can lead to serious sleep deficits and problems. The condition tends to increase with age and affects about 40 percent of women and 30 percent of men.

Insomnia and Sleep

Insomnia is not defined by the number of hours you sleep every night. The amount of sleep a person needs varies. While most people need between seven and eight hours of sleep a night, some people do well with less, and some need more.

Effects of Insomnia

Insomnia can cause problems during the day, such as:

Tiredness
Lack of energy
Difficulty concentrating
Irritability.

A person with this condition may also have another sleep disorder, such as:

Common Types

The different types of insomnia can be based on the causes, as well as how long the condition lasts.

Common types that are based on specific causes include:

Primary insomnia
Secondary insomnia.

Types that are based on how long it lasts and how often it occurs include:

Short-term insomnia (including acute and transient)
Chronic insomnia.

Causes of Insomnia

There are many insomnia causes. Some are more likely to result in short-term insomnia, while others are more likely to cause chronic insomnia.

Short-term insomnia generally occurs in people who are temporarily experiencing one or more of the following:

Stress
Environmental noise
Extreme temperatures
Change in the surrounding environment
Sleep/wake schedule problems, such as those due to jet lag
Side effects of medication, particularly medications that treat:

Pain.

Chronic insomnia is more complex and often results from a combination of factors, including underlying physical or mental disorders. One of the most common causes of this type is depression.

Other medical conditions that can cause it include:

Chronic insomnia may also be due to behavioral factors, including:

Drinking alcohol before bedtime
Ingesting excessive amounts of caffeine
Excessive napping in the afternoon or evening
Chronic stress
Expecting to have difficulty sleeping and worrying about it
Smoking cigarettes before bedtime
Irregular or continually disrupted sleep/wake schedules, as may occur with shift work.

In 20 percent of chronic cases, the cause is unknown. This is known as primary insomnia.

How Is It Diagnosed?

In order to help diagnose insomnia, your healthcare provider will ask a number of questions about your medical history, perform a physical exam, and may ask you to fill out a sleep diary. He or she may also want to talk to your bed partner.

Treatments for Insomnia

There are several insomnia treatment options. The treatment your healthcare provider recommends will depend on:

How long the condition has lasted (acute versus chronic)
The cause (see Insomnia Causes)
Your age and general health.

Specific treatments include:

Doing nothing
Treating the underlying problem
Taking medications
Using certain behavioral techniques.

Insomnia and Good Sleep Habits

In many cases, mild insomnia can be prevented or cured by practicing good sleep habits.