Insomnia – Sleepless no More

Insomnia is a symptom of a sleeping disorder characterised by persistent difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. Insomnia is a symptom, not a stand-alone diagnosis or a disease. By definition, insomnia is "difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, or both" and it may be due to inadequate quality or quantity of sleep. It is typically followed by functional impairment while awake.

Types of Insomnia

• Transient insomnia lasts from days to weeks. It can be caused by another disorder, by changes in the sleep environment, by the timing of sleep, severe depression, or by stress. Its consequences - sleepiness and impaired functioning.

• Acute insomnia is the inability to consistently sleep well for a period of between three weeks to six months.

• Chronic insomnia lasts for years at a time. It can be caused by another disorder, or it can be a primary disorder. They include symptoms like sleepiness, muscular fatigue, hallucinations and mental fatigue; but people with chronic insomnia often show increased alertness.

Patterns of Insomnia

• Onset insomnia - difficulty falling asleep at the beginning of the night, linked to anxiety disorders.

• Middle-of-the-Night Insomnia - difficulty returning to sleep after awakening in the middle of the night or waking too early.

• Middle insomnia - waking during the middle of the night, difficulty maintaining sleep. Often associated with pain disorders or medical illness.

• Terminal (or late) insomnia - early morning waking. Characteristic of clinical depression.

Causes of Insomnia

Physical Causes

• Hormonal changes in women, caused by PMS, menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause.

• Decreased melatonin, the hormone that helps control sleep, decreases as a person ages.

• Medical conditions, like allergies, arthritis, asthma, heart disease, high blood pressure, hyperthyroidism, and Parkinson's disease.

• Pain, Caused by a medical illness/ injury likely to interfere with sleep.

• Genetics, Problems with insomnia do seem to run in some families, although researchers have yet to identify how genetics play a role.

• Other sleep disorders, like sleep apnea and periodic leg and arm movements during sleep.

Psychological Causes

• Anxiety, a condition in which individuals feel increased tension, apprehension, fear, worry, feelings of helplessness and uncertainty – due to work stress, financial worries, concerns over relationships.

• Stress, or how effectively a person copes with any emotional, physical, social, economic, or other factors that require a response or change.

• Depression, a mood disturbance characterized by feelings of sadness, discouragement and despair, loss of loved ones.

Treatment

"Sleep is the power source that keeps your mind alert and calm. Sleep recharges the brain's battery. Sleeping well increases brainpower, just as weight lifting builds stronger muscles, because sleeping well increases your attention span and keeps you physically relaxed and mentally alert at the same time."

• Identify the type, pattern and cause of your insomnia