Insomnia – What is it? Causes of sleep disorders

Insomnia – What is it?

Insomnia is categorized by basically an inability to sleep and/or to remain asleep for any reasonable period of time. It causes fatigue from sleep deprivation, and it impairs a person’s normal performance, impacting on every aspect of their daily life.

People with insomnia are unable to sleep despite the fact that they are constantly and chronically tired, and have a great desire just to sleep. When they do actually get off to sleep, it is often only a light and fitful sleep which leaves them still tired and fatigured when they wake up.

Common Insomnia Symptoms:

Lack of concentration
Frequent headaches
Irritability
Takes longer than 30 or 40 minutes to get off to sleep
Constantly tired
Not feeling refreshed upon waking up
Repeatedly waking up during the night
Waking up too early and not being able to get back to sleep
Only able to sleep by using sleeping pills or alcohol
Sleep better away from home

Insomniacs are probably a result of our modern-day life. It’s common knowledge that people suffering from insomnia complain of not being able to close their eyes or even rest their minds for any decent length of time. They are often plagued with problems and things to do that just don’t get done. Worries and concerns constantly float around in their minds.

Some lucky people have insomnia for a only few nights in a row. But sometimes it will last a lot longer. In fact, insomnia is often categorized by how long it does last. Here are the different types of insomnia:

Transient Insomnia which only lasts for a few days.
Short-term Insomnia which lasts no more than three weeks.
Chronic Insomnia will occur when a person has difficulty getting to sleep, remaining asleep, or experiences non-refreshing sleep for at least 3 nights a week, and for one month or longer. Their normal daily functioning is often impaired.

When insomnia is the single complaint of a person, then it is considered to be Primary Chronic Insomnia. However, there are also secondary sleep disorders such as:

Sleep Apnea: This is a sleep disorder which is caused by difficulty breathing when asleep. For more information on Sleep Apnea visit www.sleepapnea.org.

Restless Leg Syndrome: This is a sleep disorder which is characterized by unpleasant sensations in the feet or legs. These feelings can be a burning sensation, a creeping sensation, itchiness or a tugging feeling. Moving your legs around seems to relieve these sensations. For more information on Restless Leg Syndrome visit www.rls.org.

Sometimes insomnia is defined by an inability to sleep at the conventional sleeping times. There is a sleep disorder where people can only fall asleep very late at night or very early in the morning, but otherwise they have a normal sleep. Or as sometimes happens with older people, they experience excessive sleepiness in the morning or wake up very early in the morning hours.

There are certain drugs and medications which can create sleep disturbances. Sleep problems can occur when either when taking the medication, or when withdrawing from it.

When a person is dealing with emotional problems, this can cause him to have trouble sleeping. If you find that you lay awake in bed worrying about numerous matters, or if you are extremely sad or have a loss of interest in life, and this happens for a number of weeks, then it is wise to should consult a physician.

It might help for you to look at your basic sleeping patterns. Doctors will use common patterns to identify specific insomnia and sleep disorders.

Tags: chronic insomnia, excessive sleepiness, Insomnia, Insomnia Symptoms, Insomniacs, Restless Leg Syndrome, Short-term Insomnia, Sleep Apnea, Sleep Deprivation, Sleep Disorders, Transient insomnia