What is Insomnia
About Insomnia
According to a research astonishing 50% of population have experienced insomnia or what is also can be called sleeplessness at some time of their lives. About 10% of population are suffering from chronic insomnia.
What is Insomnia
This is a symptom, not a disease, and it means that a person has a difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep or both, or is suffering from poor quality sleep.
Each person’s need in sleep varies, so it can not be defined by a number of hours of sleep people get, as that depends on needs and practices.
However we all know what it means to have insomnia, and how it can affect our health and performance, only a few of us will seek medical help. Many people are not aware that there are options, medical and behavioural, that can treat insomnia.
This disorder can affect all ages, however more often it affects women other than men, and this tendency increases with age.
This condition is often triggered by stress, especially the short-term insomnia, however it can easily develop into chronic insomnia. As mentioned above about one third of americans have stated that they have troubles getting asleep, and there seems to be a link between anxiety, depression and insomnia, however the nature of this connection is still unknown.
What is Causing Insomnia
There is a few reasons that can cause insomnia. Amongst those conditions are sleep problems, medical factors, psychiatric conditions and other situational factors. It can also be transient, chronic or short-term, classified by the duration of a disorder. The first one one lasts about a week, short-term about a month, and chronic presumes that it lasts for more than a month.
Many causes of the first two insomnias are similar in their nature and includeĐ–
- Jet leg
- Shift work and changes in shifts as well as doing night shifts
- Exposure to excessive noise, so it makes it hard to fall asleep
- Uncomfortable conditions such as room temperature
- Physical symptoms like pain,fever or other medical conditions
- Stressful situations
- Withdrawal from medicines
- Alcohol and drugs
Long-term insomnia can be caused by more serious psychological problems, such as depression, anxiety, serious stress, mania, schizophrenia and other mental illnesses. There are also physiological causes that can cause sleep-wake problems and imbalance. The most common conditions that can trigger insomnia would be:
- Chronic pain syndrome
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Heart disease
- Acid reflux disease
- Asthma
- Obstructive sleep apnea
- Brain tumours and strokes
There are a Few Groups of People that are at Risk of Developing Insomnia
This includes people that travel often; people that do rotating shifts, and night shifts in particular; older people; young students; pregnant women and menopause women; alcoholics and people that use drugs.
Some medicines such as cold and asthma drugs, antidepressants, anti-anxiety and medicines for the treatment of high blood pressure can also cause insomnia.
There are some other conditions that can cause insomnia, like drinking alcohol or coffee before you go to bed. In case you suffer from this condition it is always a good idea to see a doctor.
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