An Overview of Insomnia

Insomnia is a sleep disorder that can be not being able to fall asleep or not being able to stay asleep. About 60 million people are affected by insomnia every year in adults and in children.

Insomnia can be acute or chronic. Acute insomnia can last a few weeks or just one night. Insomnia is defined as chronic when a person can’t sleep at least three nights a week for a month period or longer. Some causes of acute insomnia can include: stress, illness, physical or emotional discomfort, and when sleep schedule is interfered. Chronic insomnia can be caused by: chronic stress, depression and anxiety. Some symptoms of insomnia include: a hard time falling asleep, getting up too early in the morning, waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to go back to sleep.

To diagnosis insomnia your doctor will want to do an evaluation. He might want a physical exam, a medical history, and your sleep history. He may ask you questions like, how many hours do you sleep at night? How long does it take you to fall asleep? How often do you wake up in the middle of the night and how long does it take you to fall back to sleep? Do you have a healthy diet? How much caffeine do you intake daily? Among many more questions. He might even have you keep a journal with your sleep patterns.

“Insomnia can affect you physically and mentally. People with insomnia say they have a lower quality of life compared to people without insomnia. Some complications of insomnia are, lower performance at school or work, slower reaction time, depression or anxiety disorders, irritability, overweight, depressed immune system, an increased risk and severity of conditions or long-term diseases, like high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes, and substa...

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...me to wake up. During the day the internal clock helps the body fight the urge to fall asleep. When night falls, the internal clock signals that it's time to sleep. A disruption of this natural process may make it difficult to fall asleep. Rozerem works with the body's internal clock to help the body fall asleep. This allows the sleepiness built up during the day to take over when you're ready for bed, helping you to drift off to sleep without feeling sedated” (Rozerem.com).

I personally believe the best therapy is behavioral therapy. I think that if you can fix your disorder without taking any medication is best for your body. I would rather change my sleep schedule than have to take unnecessary medication. I don’t think that sleeping pills actually work because my grandma takes Ambien and she still can’t sleep I think that sleeping pills are all in the head.