It helps people stay emotionally balanced and most likely plays
important roles in memory and learning. Sleep is also believed
to be important for appropriate brain functioning and may be
necessary for other organ systems to work well. For example,
sleep loss may impair the body's ability to fight infection.
It is also critical for growth, at least in children. When
sleep is poor, people may experience fatigue, a loss of energy
and/or a loss of interest. They may have problems with memory
and feel ill, sleepy, frustrated or less than perfect. Poor
sleep can cause accidents, loss of work time and may make medical
and mental conditions worse. For these reasons, it is important
to take sleep seriously and to carefully sort out the causes
of insomnia.
Perhaps the most important point to realize about insomnia
is that it is not a disease, but rather a symptom. This
symptom can occur with many different types of illnesses
or conditions. Insomnia is the feeling that one has experienced
poor sleep or has had difficulty sleeping. In the majority
of cases, underlying causes exist for the insomnia. When
no other underlying causes can be found, the patient is
said to be suffering from primary insomnia. People who
suffer from insomnia, regardless of the cause, may have
trouble falling or staying asleep and/or they may wake
too early in the morning. Insomnia is a major health problem
because it is common, appears to contribute to car and
industrial accidents and can be quite frustrating for patients.
Sleep likely serves many important functions in maintaining
good health and in healing illnesses. When people do not
get enough sleep, their ability to
think and perform worsens and their ability to fight infections is reduced.
Everyone needs different amounts of sleep. Usually, people require 5 to 9 hours
a night. Even if people get the right number of hours of sleep, if the quality
of sleep is poor, they feel the difference in the morning. For instance, if
one is repeatedly awakened from a baby, loud snoring from a bed partner or
repeated trips to the bathroom, he/she will feel tired even if the total sleep
time is normal. Occasionally, sleep is said to be "lighter," meaning
that one cannot get into a deep sleep. Sleep should feel restorative. Sometimes
people are unable to get into "dream" (or rapid-eye-movement) sleep
and this impairs their ability to perform well and to remember certain things.
Over 90 percent of people get insomnia at some point. The
vast majority of these people have transient insomnia,
which is a sleep disturbance that lasts between 1 day and
2 weeks. Transient insomnia is usually due to some emotional
stress. When the stress resolves, the insomnia resolves
as well. If daytime sleepiness occurs with transient insomnia,
one should discuss the insomnia with his or her physician.
Approximately 30 percent of the population have insomnia
that lasts longer (chronic insomnia). If one's insomnia
lasts longer than a few weeks and is affecting his/her
mood, relationships or ability to function at work, it
is advisable to see a doctor. There are many different
causes of insomnia including medical disorders and medications,
mental disorders and conditions, caffeine, over-the-counter
medicines and herbal therapies. Alcohol, while helping
some people fall asleep, causes problems with late night/early
morning sleep. Sleep also worsens with age, menopause and
pregnancy. In most cases, there are simple measures that
can improve sleep.
The most common causes of insomnia are stress, anxiety
and depression. Insomnia can also be caused by factors
such as daytime napping, caffeine, smoking or
alcohol. Exercising before bedtime can make falling asleep difficult. Shortness
of breath from asthma or other medical problems (such as prostate disease
and heartburn), back or arthritic pain and leg discomfort
can all cause significant
sleep problems. Various sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea (in which one
suffers from snoring with numerous or prolonged breathing pauses during sleep),
narcolepsy (in which one can not control staying awake or falling asleep)
and periodic leg and arm movements during sleep (in which
one's muscles excessively
twitch or jerk), often produce sleeping difficulties. Disturbances in one's
body clock (technically know as the circadian rhythm) may cause one to need
sleep at atypical hours, such as 3 a.m. until noon. This disturbance of sleep
timing is especially common with travel to different time zones, night shift
work and in high school and college-aged individuals. It is often misinterpreted
by parents or friends as laziness. Many medical illnesses such as pain, ulcers,
diabetes and asthma can disturb sleep. Caffeine, nicotine, alcohol and various
medications (both over-the-counter and prescribed) contribute to sleeplessness
as well. Despite the variety of factors that can cause insomnia, there are
very effective strategies that a patient, a doctor and a sleep specialist
can undertake to overcome insomnia, whether it is mild
or even chronic and disabling.
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Referring
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