Insomnia: What is it?

Sep 13

Insomnia is a common sleeping disorder that makes it difficult to fall asleep, stay asleep, and affects quality and duration of sleep. It can impact your energy level, mood, health, and quality of life.

Adults can experience at some point short term (acute) insomnia- lasting days or weeks which is the result of stress of a traumatic event. There are also people with long-term (chronic) insomnia that lasts for months.

Experts are not certain why insomnia happens, but the current knowledge includes several factors:

Genetics
Medical conditions
Life circumstances/change
Stress/anxiety
Habits/routines

Symptoms of insomnia include difficulty falling asleep at night, waking up during the night, 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, and ongoing worries about sleep.

Those mainly at risk for insomnia are light sleepers, alcoholics, those with anxiety or nightmare disorders, and those in unsafe environment.

If you think you have trouble sleeping and you have trouble functioning throughout the day from lack of sleep, see your doctor as told by the mayo clinic. There, your doctor can identify causes of sleep problemsas well as treat it. If diagnosed with a sleeping disorder, you can be referred to a sleep center for special testing.

There are several methods for treatment with the diagnosis and signs of insomnia. These include:

Medication to help you fall and stay asleep (Sedative or hypnotic drugs) developing better sleeping
Habits/schedules, Mental care, and Prescription drugs

Resource: How much sleep do I need?

The duration of sleep depends on your age group.

Preschoolers (3-5 years old) —> 10-13 hours

School-age children (6-13 years old) —> 9-11 hours

Teenagers (14-17 years old) —> 8-10 hours

Adults —> 6-9 hours

Written By Jasmine Segal

Sources:

Insomnia - Symptoms and causes. (2016, October 15). Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/insomnia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355167
Insomnia: Causes, risks & treatments. (n.d.). Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/12119-insomnia
How much sleep do I need? (2006, December 31). WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/sleep-requirements#:~:text=Preschool%20children%20(ages%203%2D5,hours%20of%20sleep%20each%20day