What is Insomnia?
Insomnia is a sleeping disorder that prevents you from getting enough sleep because you have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep throughout the night, and/or you wake up much earlier than intended, and can't go back to sleep.
If you have insomnia, you never feel like you are getting enough rest – probably because you aren’t. It’s frustrating to not be able to sleep when you want to, and accompanying this frustration are the physical and mental consequences of being sleep deprived. Continue reading to learn more about the different types of insomnia.
Types of Insomnia
There are two types of insomnia: secondary insomnia and primary insomnia.
Secondary insomnia means that you have insomnia as a direct result or symptom of something else, such as a health condition, medication, pain, substance abuse, etc. For example, depression can be an underlying cause for insomnia.
Primary insomnia is the opposite of secondary insomnia, and means that your trouble sleeping is not directly related to some other underlying issue.
While these terms are convenient and in many cases clear cut, it’s also easy to see that the line can become blurred. For example, in the case where both insomnia and depression are present, the question is, “Which came first?”
Acute Insomnia vs Chronic Insomnia
Insomnia varies in how long it lasts, and the frequency with which it occurs. Primary and secondary insomnia are further broken up into two descriptors for short and long term insomnia:
- Acute insomnia is short-term, such as dealing with insomnia for up to a month, but no more
- Chronic insomnia is symptomatic long term (defined as insomnia at least three nights per week for a month or more)
Taking these further descriptors into account, you can have:
- Secondary/acute insomnia – temporary insomnia in response to a temporary illness, stress, etc.
- Primary/acute insomnia – temporary insomnia for no discernable reason
- Secondary/chronic insomnia – chronic insomnia in response to (usually) chronic a chronic life problem such as pain, long term illness, etc.
- Primary/chronic insomnia – chronic insomnia with no discernible cause
Causes of Acute (Short-Term) Insomnia
Short term insomnia is usually caused in response to temporary, external factors such as:
- Short term illness
- Jet lag
- Switching shifts at work
- Temporary regimens of medication
- Travel
- Significant stress (divorce, job loss, death of loved one, moving)
Generally, acute insomnia may clear up once the cause goes away.
Causes of Chronic (Long-Term) Insomnia
Causes of chronic insomnia include things like:
- Chronic stress
- Chronic anxiety
- Depression
- Chronic pain
- Circadian rhythm disorders
- Dependence on certain medications
- Habitual lifestyle choices
- Chronic substance abuse
- Especially in Alaska, seasonal effects or transitions (light/dark extremes)
Treatment for Acute and Chronic Insomnia
Insomnia should be treated differently depending on what type of insomnia you have. Acute insomnia will likely go away on its own, especially in the case of secondary/acute insomnia. When the cause goes away, the insomnia should disappear.
Chronic insomnia treatments may be a little less straightforward, and will likely require some type of intervention– usually behavioral therapy. This might include:
- Therapy
- Education on good sleep habits
- Lifestyle changes
- Ways to reduce severity of chronic causes (such as pain treatment)
- Avoiding screens before bedtime
It is not recommended to treat chronic insomnia with over-the-counter medication, such as melatonin, because they may have undesired side effects and lose their effectiveness over time.
The other reality is that sometimes chronic insomnia is the direct result of choices we make or don’t make. Insomnia might be caused by chronic TV binge watching, when it could be fixed simply by making the choice to turn off the TV, or stop scrolling, etc.
For more information about treating insomnia in Alaska, contact our sleep specialists by clicking the orange button below and taking our free online sleep test.
