| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
Insomnia is most frequently defined by an individual's report of sleeping difficulties.[1] While the term is sometimes used in
sleep literature to describe a disorder demonstrated by polysomnographic evidence of disturbed sleep, survey studies define
insomnia simply as a positive response to either of two questions: "Do you experience difficulty sleeping?" or "Do you have
difficulty falling or staying asleep?"[1]
Thus, insomnia is most often thought of as both a sign and a symptom[1][2] that can accompany several sleep, medical and
psychiatric disorders, characterized by persistent difficulty falling asleep and/or staying asleep or sleep of poor quality.
Insomnia is typically followed by functional impairment while awake. One definition of insomnia is "difficulties initiating and/or
maintaining sleep, or nonrestorative sleep, associated with impairments of daytime functioning or marked distress for more
than 1 month."[3]
Insomnia can be grouped into primary and secondary, or comorbid, insomnia.[4][5][6] Primary insomnia is a sleep disorder not
attributable to a medical, psychiatric, or environmental cause.[7] A diagnosis will usually differentiate among --[citation needed]
insomnia as secondary to another condition,
primary insomnia co-morbid with one or more conditions, or
free-standing primary insomnia.
Types of insomnia
Insomnia can be classified as transient, acute, or chronic.
1.Transient insomnia lasts for less than a week. It can be caused by another disorder, by changes in the sleep environment,
by the timing of sleep, severe depression, or by stress. Its consequences - sleepiness and impaired psychomotor
performance - are similar to those of sleep deprivation.
2.Acute insomnia is the inability to consistently sleep well for a period of less than a month.
3.Chronic insomnia lasts for longer than a month. It can be caused by another disorder, or it can be a primary disorder. Its
effects can vary according to its causes. They might include muscular fatigue, hallucinations, and/or mental fatigue; but
people with chronic insomnia often show increased alertness.Some people that live with this disorder see things as if they are
happening in slow motion, wherein moving objects seem to blend together. Can cause double vision.
Patterns of insomnia
Sleep-onset insomnia is difficulty falling asleep at the beginning of the night, often a symptom of anxiety disorders or the
delayed sleep phase disorder.
Nocturnal awakenings are characterized by difficulty returning to sleep after awakening in the middle of the night or waking
too early in the morning: middle-of-the-night insomnia and terminal insomnia. The former may be a symptom of pain disorders
or medical illness; the latter is often a characteristic of clinical depression.
Poor sleep quality can occur as a result of, for example, restless legs, sleep apnea or major depression. Poor sleep quality
is caused by the individual not reaching stage 3 or delta sleep which has restorative properties. There are, however, people
who are unable to achieve stage 3 sleep due to brain damage who lead perfectly normal lives.
Major depression leads to alterations in the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, causing excessive release of
cortisol which can lead to poor sleep quality.
Nocturnal polyuria, excessive nighttime urination, can be very disturbing to sleep.
Sleep state misperception
Some cases of insomnia are not really insomnia in the traditional sense. People experiencing sleep state misperception often
sleep for normal durations, yet severely overestimate the time taken to fall asleep. They may believe they slept for only 4
hours while, paradoxically, sleeping a full 8 hours.
Causes and co-morbidities
Symptoms of insomnia can be caused by or can be co-morbid with:
Use of psychoactive drugs or stimulants, including certain medications, herbs, caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, amphetamines,
methylphenidate, MDMA and modafinil
Use of fluoroquinolone antibiotic drugs, see fluoroquinolone toxicity, associated with more severe and chronic types of
insomnia
Restless Legs Syndrome, which can cause sleep onset insomnia due to the discomforting sensations felt and the need to
move the legs or other body parts to relieve these sensations.
Periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD) which occurs during sleep and can cause arousals which the sleeper is unaware of.
Pain
An injury or condition that causes pain can preclude an individual from finding a comfortable position in which to fall asleep,
and can in addition cause awakening.
Hormone shifts such as those that precede menstruation and those during menopause
Life events such as fear, stress, anxiety, emotional or mental tension, work problems, financial stress, birth of a child and
bereavement.
Mental disorders such as bipolar disorder, clinical depression, generalized anxiety disorder, post traumatic stress disorder,
schizophrenia, or obsessive compulsive disorder.
Disturbances of the circadian rhythm, such as shift work and jet lag, can cause an inability to sleep at some times of the day
and excessive sleepiness at other times of the day.
Chronic circadian rhythm disorders are characterized by similar symptoms.
Certain neurological disorders, brain lesions, or a history of traumatic brain injury
Medical conditions such as hyperthyroidism and rheumatoid arthritis
Abuse of over-the counter or prescription sleep aids can produce rebound insomnia
Poor sleep hygiene, e.g., noise
Parasomnias which include such disruptive sleep events as nightmares, sleepwalking, night terrors, violent behavior while
sleeping, and REM behavior disorder, in which the physical body moves in response to events within dreams.
A rare genetic condition can cause a prion-based, permanent and eventually fatal form of insomnia called fatal familial
insomnia.
Physical exercise. Exercise-induced insomnia is common in athletes, causing prolonged sleep onset latency.
Sleep studies using polysomnography have suggested that people who have sleep disruption have elevated nighttime levels
of circulating cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone They also have an elevated metabolic rate, which does not occur in
people who do not have insomnia but whose sleep is intentionally disrupted during a sleep study.
Studies of brain metabolism using positron emission tomography (PET) scans indicate that people with insomnia have higher
metabolic rates by night and by day. The question remains whether these changes are the causes or consequences of
long-term insomnia.
A common misperception is that the amount of sleep required decreases as a person ages. The ability to sleep for long
periods, rather than the need for sleep, appears to be lost as people get older. Some elderly insomniacs toss and turn in bed
and occasionally fall off the bed at night, diminishing the amount of sleep they receive
In most cases we can really help.
Before you try our services - try this - in some cases it helps
To better understand sleeping problems - read this
Testimonials.
Click here to schedule an appointment in NYC Queens or/and send alternative medicine and healing without
medications acupuncture specialist your health question or call "Feel Good Acupuncture" at 646-327-7267.
| Insomnia |