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Insomnia
Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder, affecting one in three Americans. This sleep disorder presents itself as trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. Not only are your sleeping hours disturbed, but your waking hours are disrupted by feeling sleepy during the day.
Insomnia is usually a symptom of another problem that is going on in your life. These problems could be illness, stress, depression or some of the medication you may be taking. It can also be caused by lifestyle choices, such as caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, shiftwork or inactivity.
There are basically three different types of insomnia. Transient, Short-term and Chronic insomnia.
- Transient insomnia is the inability to sleep restfully over a couple of nights. Usually stress or excitement brings on transient insomnia. Children may toss and turn the night before a big test. Adults may have difficulty sleeping after a stressful day at work or the night before leaving on a trip.
- Short-term insomnia is when the restless nights continue for two to three weeks.
- Chronic insomnia affects more than 35 million Americans. This is when poor sleep happens every night, or at least on most nights. In almost half of the cases of insomnia, a physical ailment is to blame.
We do not advocate the persistent use of sleeping pills. In some cases of short-term insomnia when the cause is a traumatic event such as a death in the family or a divorce, sleeping pills may be warranted. If sleeping pills need to be taken for more than two-three weeks, then the cause of your insomnia should be fully investigated.
Cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia is a new treatment solution that research shows is as or more effective than sleeping pills, without the potential side effects.
