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Insomnia Facts and Treatments
What Is Insomnia
Insomnia is the perception or complaint of inadequate or poor-quality sleep because of one or more of the following:
- difficulty falling asleep
- waking up frequently during the night with difficulty returning to sleep
- waking up too early in the morning
Insomnia is not defined by the number of hours of sleep you get or how long it takes you to fall asleep. People vary a lot in their need for, and satisfaction with, sleep.
Insomnia is present if lack of sleep causes problems during the day. If you are tired or lacking in energy, have difficulty concentrating or feel irritable. In other words, you are tired.
Insomnia can be classified as transient (short term), intermittent (on and off), and chronic (constant). Insomnia lasting from a single night to a few weeks is referred to as transient.
What Type of Insomnia Do You Have?
If episodes of transient insomnia occur from time to time, insomnia is said to be intermittent.
Insomnia is considered to be chronic if it occurs on most nights and lasts a month or more.
What Causes Insomnia
There are many causes of insomnia. Transient and intermittent insomnia generally occur in people who are temporarily experiencing one or more of the following:
- stress
- environmental noise
- extreme temperatures
- change in the surrounding environment
- sleep/wake schedule problems such as those due to jet lag or shift work
- medication side effects
- ingesting excessive amounts of caffeine
- drinking alcohol before bedtime
- smoking cigarettes before bedtime
- excessive napping in the afternoon or evening
- expecting to have difficulty sleeping and worrying about it
Who Gets Insomnia?
Insomnia is found in males and females of all age groups, although it seems to be more common in females (especially after menopause) and in the elderly. The ability to sleep, rather than the need for sleep, appears to decrease with advancing age.
Chronic insomnia often results from a combination of factors, including underlying physical or mental disorders. One of the most common causes of chronic insomnia is depression. Other underlying causes include arthritis, kidney disease, heart failure, asthma, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome, Parkinson’s disease, and hyperthyroidism.
Chronic insomnia, not cased by a medical condition, is usually due to behavioral factors, including the misuse of caffeine, alcohol, or other substances; disrupted sleep/wake cycles as may occur with shift work or other nighttime activity schedules; and chronic stress.
Diagnosing Insomnia
If you have insomnia this can be evaluated with the help of a medical history and sleep history. To gather your sleep history you may be asked to keep a sleep diary. If you have a sleep partner they may be asked to take part in an interview to assess the quantity and quality of your sleep.
Specialized sleep studies may be recommended, but only if there is suspicion that you have a primary sleep disorder such as sleep apnea or narcolepsy.
Insomnia Treatment
Transient and intermittent insomnia may not require treatment since episodes last only a few days at a time. For example, if insomnia is due to a temporary change in the sleep/wake schedule, as with jet lag, the person’s biological clock will often get back to normal on its own.
Treatment for chronic insomnia consists of:
- First, diagnosing and treating
underlying medical or psychological problems.
- Identifying and stopping behaviors that may cause or worsen insomnia
- Therapies including: relaxation, sleep restriction therapy, and reconditioning.
What About Sleeping Pills?
For some people who experience daytime sleepiness and impaired performance as a result of transient insomnia, the use of short acting sleeping pills may improve sleep and next-day alertness. Long-term use of sleeping pills for chronic insomnia is not advisable.
If you are taking sleeping pills you should be under the supervision of a physician to closely evaluate effectiveness and minimize side effects. In general, these drugs are prescribed at the lowest dose and for the shortest duration needed to relieve the sleep-related symptoms.
For some of these medicines, the dose must be gradually lowered as the medicine is discontinued because, if stopped abruptly, it can cause insomnia to occur again for a night or two.
As with all drugs, there are potential side effects.
Sleep Restriction
Some people suffering from insomnia spend too much time in bed unsuccessfully trying to sleep. They may benefit from a sleep restriction program that at first allows only a few hours of sleep during the night. Gradually the time is increased until a more normal night’s sleep is achieved.
Reconditioning
Another treatment that may help some people with insomnia is to recondition them to associate the bed and bedtime with sleep. For most people, this means not using their beds for any activities other than sleep and sex. As part of the reconditioning process, the person is usually advised to go to bed only when sleepy.
If unable to fall asleep, the person is told to get up, stay up until sleepy, and then return to bed. Throughout this process, the person should avoid naps and wake up and go to bed at the same time each day. Eventually the person’s body will be conditioned to associate the bed and bedtime with sleep.
Relaxation Therapy
There are specific and effective techniques that can reduce or eliminate anxiety and body tension. As a result, the person’s mind is able to stop “racing,” the muscles can relax, and restful sleep can occur. These therapies include:
- progressive muscle relaxation
- meditation
- self hypnosis
- visualization
- brainwave entrainment
Sleep Sound Program Complete Insomnia Program
The Sleep Sound Program uses brainwave entrainment to relax your brain waves. Sleep Sound also includes an audio guided relaxation using visualization and self hypnosis.
The ebook that accompanies the program describes how to do several relaxation techniques including meditation and visualization.
Sources include: NIH National Center on Sleep Disorders Research (NCSDR)
