Insomnia is somewhat of a complex topic. It's not as simple as "I can't sleep." In fact, there are actually two types of insomnia, and two modes of insomnia. Here's a closer look at how to distinguish these types/modes of insomnia
The two types of insomnia are:
The two modes of insomnia are:
So in total, there are actually four different combinations of mode/type, meaning that your insomnia might look different than many other peoples' insomnia. Insomnia can be short-term/acute, short-term/chronic, long-term/acute, long-term/chronic.
Symptoms of insomnia are fairly straightforward:
The long-term effects of insomnia include a whole host of serious medical problems, including increased risk of [WebMD]:
Truly, the most immediate detrimental effects of insomnia-induced sleep deprivation are centered on potential degradation of social relationships, physical and cognitive performance, and emotional relationships. Depending on the severity of the insomnia and sleep loss, these depredating effects can be crippling.
Primary insomnia is insomnia with causes you can clearly identify. Note that not all short-term insomnia is usually caused in response to temporary, external factors such as:
Acute insomnia often clears up after some time has elapsed, and primary insomnia often clears up when the root cause of the insomnia is addressed.
Causes of chronic, long-term insomnia are contributed to by any of the following:
There are many risk factors for developing insomnia. Those at risk are many, as potential causes are many. For example, causes range from natural biological changes to external, chronic environmental stresses.
For example, one biological factor is your sex: insomnia is more common in women than men. Biological aspects of being female like pregnancy, premenstrual syndrome, and menopause can increase your risk for developing insomnia. Also, as we age our sleep cycles change. We tend to go to bed earlier, wake up earlier, and require naps during the day to get the right amount of sleep. People over the age of 60-65 are more likely to have insomnia and report trouble with sleep.
People with certain underlying psychological conditions are at risk for developing primary insomnia, such as:
Many diseases can also affect our ability to sleep, and make us at risk for developing insomnia:
People who take certain medications are also at risk for insomnia (primary) as a side effect. Medications include:
In short, there are so many things that may make you at risk for insomnia - which can be frustrating if you are experiencing insomnia and don't know why. Sleep specialists can help with this.
Insomnia should be treated differently depending on what type of insomnia you have. Acute insomnia will likely go away on its own – once the cause is removed you will likely be sleeping well again.
Chronic insomnia treatments may be a little less straightforward, and will likely require some intervention of some sort – usually behavioral therapy. This might include:
It is not recommended to treat chronic insomnia with over the counter pills, such as melatonin, because they may have undesired side effects and lose their effectiveness over time.
Treating insomnia will likely require direct consultation with your doctor or a sleep specialist, and may require trial and error to narrow down possible causes and best treatment options.
If you live in Alaska and are worried that you are struggling with insomnia, please contact one of our sleep specialists.