Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention of Insomnia

Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention of Insomnia

Insomnia means having trouble with the quality or quantity of sleep. It can be caused by difficulties in either falling asleep or staying asleep. Self-reported sleeping problems, hating the sleep quality and day time tiredness are the only defining characteristics of insomnia because it is such an individual experience. The concept of good sleep is different from person to person. While the average night's sleep for an adult is around seven or eight hours, some people only need four, while others like up to 10 hours or more. What seems like insomnia to one person might be considered a good sleep by another (Florence Cardinal, Your Guide to Sleep Disorders.)

There are three types of insomnia: Secondary insomnia, Primary sleep disorders, and Idiopathic insomnia. Secondary insomnia is due to a range of medical and psychiatric problems and the chronic use of drugs and alcohol. Primary sleep disorders include circadian rhythm disorders, central sleep apnoea-insomnia syndrome, inadequate sleep syndromes and periodic limb movement or restless legs syndromes. Idiopathic insomnia is sleeplessness without a known cause, formerly called childhood onset insomnia. (Defined by Florence Cardinal, Your Guide to Sleep Disorders.)

In this paper I will try to go over all the causes, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of insomnia. I will go over all the many people who suffer from insomnia and why? The topic is something I understand somewhat because I have suffered from this sense the year 2000. Hopefully I will be able to inform and maybe understand this problem better with this research.

A reaction to change or stress is one of the most common causes of short term insomnia which includes an acute illness, injury or surgery, the loss of a loved one, job loss, extremes in the weather, an exam, traveling, or trouble at work the list can go on and on. In most cases, normal sleep almost always returns when the condition resolves, the individual recovers from the event, or the person becomes accustomed to the new situation (Lamberg &Smolensky, 2000.) Then there is real insomnia or what doctors call Psycho physiologic insomnia which could happen if the short term insomnia is not solved. In many cases, it is unclear if chronic insomnia is a symptom of some physical or psychological condition or if it is a primary diso...

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...tressed out that we can't sleep at night. Insomnia can affect a person really fast and it's hard to get rid of this disorder without a lot of effort. If we follow the advice of the doctor’s and begin to live a structured life all could be well.

Bibliography

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission. Retrieved March 19, 2005 from http://www.urac.org/

Cardinal,F.(2004). You’re Guide to Sleep Disorders. Retrieved March 19, 2005 from http://www.adam.about.com/

(2003) National Center on Sleep Disorders Research. Retrieved March 19, 2005 from http://www.medceu.com/course-no-test.cfm?CID=1109/

Smolensky, M., & Lamberg L. (2000) The Body Clock Guide to Better Health. Retrieved March 19, 2005 from http://www.aamcc.org/body_clock.htm

(2004) University of Maryland Medical Centers Insomnia Research. Retrieved March 21,2005 from http://www.umm.edu/

President and Fellows of Harvard College (1998 Dec.1) Insomnia: Get a Good Night Sleep. Retrieved March 21, 2005 from MEDSYS database.

Heilman, E. (2000). Rest for the Weary: Words from an Insomnia Expert. Retrieved March 21, 2005 from http://www.healthysleeping.com/