{Symptoms}
Insomnia symptoms may include:
# Difficulty falling asleep at night
# Waking up during the night
# Waking up too early
# Not feeling well-rested after a night's sleep
# Daytime tiredness or sleepiness
# Irritability, depression, or anxiety
# Difficulty paying attention, focusing on tasks, or remembering
# Increased errors or accidents
# Ongoing worries about sleep
If you find it difficult to fall asleep or sleep right through the night, then there's a perfect chance that you have insomnia (or, to be technical - insomnia sleep disorder).
Insomnia tends to fall into two broad categories. If your sleeping problems tend to come and go and normally only last for a few days at a time, then you are said to be suffering from transient insomnia. However, if your insomnia persists and lasts for more than just a few days, running literally into weeks, then your insomnia is classed as being permanent.
As a general rule, women tend to suffer from insomnia more than men do, almost certainly due toy hormonal changes that womthatperience. Additionally, a sedentary lifestyle, an underlying medical condition, or the side effects of prescription medication can also increase the likelihood of insomnia. So the condition is also often seen as increasing with age.
Transient insomnia can result from various causes, including too much stress, traveling across different time zones, and environmental factors such as noise or temperature variations of more than a few degrees. Exposure to too much light or loud or persistent noise, such as traffic or even a partner snoring, can create an environment in which sleep is difficult. Insomnia can even be the result of learned behavior.
In general, transient insomnia does not require treatment (in the sense of medical treatment). The condition will generally remedy itself once you recognize the cause of your insomnia and take a few, usually straightforward, steps to remove it.
By contrast, permanent or chronic insomnia can be serious and require some form of the treatment plan. Just how severe a problem your insomnia presents will depend very much on the underlying cause, and the first step in the process to cure insomnia is to find out just what is causing it.
One possibility is that your insomnia results from an underlying medical condition which could include hundreds of different possible causes, including anxiety, depression, asthma, heart disease, kidney problems, sleep apnea, and many more. Therefore, your first port of call should be your doctor because your insomnia cure clearly lies, at least in part, in treating your underlying medical condition.
If the problem is not medical,, you need to widen your search and consider other possible causes such as your working pattern (especially true in the case of shift workers), your consumption of alcohol, tea, coffee, and other drinks,,, and the long-term use of medication for existing ailments.
Determining just what is causing your insomnia can be a long process. It will often mean selecting one possible cause at a time and addressing that to see if it makes a difference before moving on to the next possibility. However, even though it may take some time, this is a necessary process and, without an obvious cause, it is one step that cannot be avoided.
Diagnosing insomnia is also difficult because the whole subject of sleep itself is subjective. The right amount of sleep for one individual will not necessarily be right for somebody else,. Determining the extent of a sleep problem in each individual is often a matter for debate. One good way to assess the extent of the problem is to keep a sleep journal and then, based upon the information which you gatherPsychology Articles, assess yourself against a sleep questionnaire or even to seek the help of a sleep specialist who has the tools necessary to help to diagnose your insomnia.
Poor sleep habits
Poor sleep habits include an irregular bedtime schedule, naps, stimulating activities before bed, an uncomfortable sleep environment, and using your bed for work, eating, or watching TV. Computers, TVs, video games, smartphones, or other screens just before bed can interfere with your sleep cycle.
Eating too much late in the evening.
Having a light snack before bedtime is OK, but eating too much may cause you to feel physically uncomfortable while lying down. Many people also experience heartburn, a backflow of acid and food from the stomach into the esophagus after eating, which may keep you awake.
Improper Sleeping habits
Sleeping in later to make up for lost sleep can confuse your body’s internal clock and make it difficult to establish a healthy sleep schedule.
{Types of Insomnia}
Insomnia can come and go, or it may be an ongoing, longstanding issue. There is short term insomnia and chronic insomnia:
# Short-term insomnia tends to last for a few days or weeks and is often triggered by stress.
# Chronic insomnia is when sleep difficulties occur at least three times a week for three months or longer.
{Complications}
Sleep is as important to your health as a healthy diet and regular physical activity. Whatever your reason for sleep loss, insomnia can affect you both mentally and physically. People with insomnia report a lower quality of life compared with people who are sleeping well.
Complications of insomnia may include:
# Lower performance on the job or at school
# Slowed reaction time while driving and a higher risk of accidents
# Mental health disorders, such as depression, an anxiety disorder,, or substance abuse
# Increased risk and severity of long-term diseases or conditions, such as high blood pressure and heart disease
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