You know that
dreaded routine.
Night falls. And there you are…staring at the ceiling, battling to shut your mind off, struggling to fall asleep.
You try counting sheep, dogs, and probably all the other animals that you are familiar with.
But nothing seems to work.
You know that your body is dead tired, and your mind is telling you to "go to sleep now!"
But you just can't.
Like it or not, you probably
have insomnia - difficulty falling, staying asleep
or waking too early and not being able to get back
to sleep. It is one of the most common sleep
problems. More than half (54 percent) of Americans
said they experience at least one symptom of
insomnia at least a few nights a week.
Additionally, one in five adults experienced
difficulty falling asleep, and one in three
reported waking too often during the night at
least a few nights a week.
Insomnia has many causes and may be a symptom
of some underlying problem. Healthcare
professionals find it useful to categorize
insomnia by duration of the symptoms:
- Transient insomnia — lasts no
more than a few nights and is usually triggered by
short-term stress (e.g., a job interview),
excitement or changes in sleep schedule or
environment.
- Short-term insomnia — lasts
no more than a few weeks and is usually associated
with ongoing stressful events (e.g., divorce or
moving to a new city), psychological trauma or
illness. It is common for episodes to recur.
- Long-term or chronic insomnia
— lasts more than a month, with poor sleep
occurring every night, most nights or several
nights per month. There may be underlying
behavioral, medical or psychiatric problems, such
as depression.
What Are the Effects of Sleep Loss?
A lack of restful sleep can negatively impact an
individual's waking hours. Lost sleep can result
in a reduced ability to concentrate, excessive
daytime sleepiness, and irritability. While not
all sleep loss is attributable to insomnia, sleep
deprivation can impair the ability to perform both
physical and mental tasks. The negative effects
include:
 getting sick very often
having slower reflexes
developing migraine and cluster headaches
not being able to concentrate
having no desire for sex
looking 20 years older
being easily agitated
developing anxiety attacks
sinking into deep depression
having a breakdown |
