Healthy Sleep for the Rest of Your Life

Insomnia

What is insomnia?

Looking at both the daytime and the nighttime factors of insomnia can help individuals and their healthcare professional understand the causes of this condition, and provide a basis for treating the disorder. Recent research into psychological, lifestyle, environmental, physical and psychiatric factors behind sleep disorders is making it possible for healthcare professionals to help most troubled sleepers.

What kinds of insomnia are there?

Insomnia can occur in people of all ages. Most individuals just experience a night or two of poor sleep, but sometimes the sleep disturbance can last for weeks, months, or even years. Insomnia is most common among women and older adults.

Transient Insomnia
Transient insomnia is the inability to sleep well over a period, lasting fewer than four weeks. This type of insomnia is usually brought on by excitement or stress. Children, for example, may toss and turn just before school starts in the fall, or before an important exam or sporting event. Adults might sleep poorly before an important business meeting or after an argument with a family member or close friend. People are more likely to have trouble sleeping when they are away from home, especially if they have traveled across time zones. Physical activity close to bedtime (within four hours) and illness can also cause this type of insomnia.

Short-term Insomnia
Short-term insomnia is the inability to sleep well for a period of four weeks to six months. Periods of ongoing stress at work or at home, medical conditions, psychiatric illness or other persistent factors can result in short-term insomnia. As the cause resolves or the sleeper adjusts to it, sleep will usually return to normal.

Chronic Insomnia
More than 20 million Americans complain of chronic insomnia, defined as poor sleep every night or most nights for more than six months. While most of these individuals worry about their sleep, it's wrong to blame all troubled sleep on worrying. Insomnia may also be due to a physical problem. According to a nationwide study by the Association of Sleep Disorders Centers, physical ailments - such as disorders of breathing or abnormal muscle activity - are often the cause of sleep disruption and may account for a large number of self-diagnosed cases of insomnia.

What is the next step?

If you experience recurrent problems with insomnia and it interferes with the way you feel or function during the day, see your healthcare professional or ask for a referral to a sleep disorders specialist. An effective treatment approach may require evaluation of diverse areas such as your psychological state, stress level, activities of daily living and sleep schedule. Your medical history, a physical exam, and some blood tests may help identify certain causes of your sleep problem. Your bed partner and other household members may have useful information about your sleep, such as whether you snore loudly or sleep restlessly. Your healthcare professional will also need to know whether insomnia makes you sleepy, depressed, or affects your life in other ways.

If you are advised to get an evaluat a sation leep disorders center, you may be asked to keep a sleep diary showing sleeping and waking patterns for a week or two. If you attend a sleep center, you can expect a thorough physical and psychological examination.

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