What is insomnia?

This is a common sleep problem that occurs in people of all ages, but more so in women and the elderly. Experts in sleep disorders estimate that one third of Americans are affected by it. To say that this disorder negatively affects the quality of one’s life is putting it mildly. Common complaints from those who suffer from insomnia include: feeling tired all the time, having difficulty concentrating and staying focused on tasks, being uncoordinated and being irritable with family, friends and co-workers. Automobile accidents are often associated with fatigue due to the lack of poor sleeping for extended periods of time.

The ability to get quality sleep is often due to one or more of the following: difficulty falling asleep, waking during the night and not being able to return to sleep, and waking too early in the morning. Often people with insomnia make remarks such as “I’m as tired when I get up as I was when I went to bed.”
Insomnia may be short-or long-term and has a variety of causes, including some psychiatric disorders.
What is insomnia: There are two types of insomnia: primary and secondary:
Primary insomnia has no medical or physical causes.

Secondary insomnia means that sleep problems are caused by problems like a health condition such as asthma, depression, arthritis, cancer, or heartburn, chronic pain, medication(s); or the abusive use of a substance like alcohol.
Insomnia can be classified as acute or chronic and varies in how long it lasts and how often it occurs. It can be short-term, acute insomnia, or can last a long time, chronic insomnia. The disorder can also come and go, with periods of time when a person has no sleep problems.
Acute insomnia can last from one night to less than three months.
Insomnia is called chronic when poor sleep occurs most nights a week for a month or longer.

Other terms used to define insomnia are transient and short-term.
Transient insomnia is the inability to sleep well for a period of a few nights and lasts less than four weeks. This type of insomnia is usually brought on by excitement or stress and occurs in both children and adults. Children often experience it before the first day of school or a big test, while adults may sleep poorly before an important meeting or after an argument with a family member or friend. Exercising too close to bedtime can also be a cause for this type of insomnia.

What is insomnia?

Short-Term insomnia lasts from four weeks to six months. This type of insomnia is usually is often the result of periods of ongoing stress, and when the stressful situation is resolved, or the person adjusts to it, the sleep returns to normal. See anxiety-causes-insomniac

The amount of sleep that a person gets does not seem to be quite as important as the quality of sleep that they get but the two are still very important. Insomnia can have a very grave effect on one both physically and psychologically over a period of time. Impaired mental functioning, accidents, anxiety and depression, stress, heart attacks, and headaches are common consequences of insomnia. Health can deteriorate as the person gets mentally and physically weaker, becomes more irritable, and develops a weakened immune system that can lead to all kinds of illness. See circadian rhythm sleep disorder