Treatment of Insomnia
Insomnia is difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep for long enough to feel refreshed the next morning at least 1 month condition. Actually, Insomnia is a symptom, not a stand-alone diagnosis or a disease. Many people have poor sleep hygiene and do not observe their circadian rhythm, Because of that rare people only those coming to the doctors looking for treatment of insomnia.
Experiencing insomnia is typically a symptom of other life balance issues, such as anxiety, weight gain, stress at work or home, changes in lifestyle and a disrupted sleeping environment. People with insomnia have one or more of the following symptoms:
- Difficulty falling asleep
- Feeling tired upon waking
- Waking up too early in the morning
- Waking up often during the night and having trouble going back to sleep.
Type of Insomnia :
There are two types of insomnia ; Primary insomnia and Secondary insomnia. Primary insomnia means that a person is having sleep problems that are not directly associated with a medical, psychiatric, or environmental cause. Secondary insomnia means that a person is having sleep problems because of something else, such as a health condition (like asthma, depression, arthritis, cancer, or heartburn); pain; medication they are taking; or a substance they are using (like alcohol).
Insomnia also varies in how long it lasts and how often it occurs :
- Transient insomnia lasts for less than a week. It can be caused by another disorder, by changes in the sleep environment, by the timing of sleep, severe depression, or by stress.
- Acute insomnia is the inability to consistently sleep well for a period of less than a month
- Insomnia is called chronic when a person has insomnia at least three nights a week for a month or longer. Its effects can vary according to its causes, for example due to muscular fatigue, hallucinations, and/or mental fatigue.
How it may affect you :
The most common problem in young people with insomnia is difficulty falling asleep (sleep-onset insomnia). An insomniac may also experience some of list bellow ;
- waking early in the morning
- waking in the night (most common in older people)
- feeling irritable and tired and finding it difficult to concentrate
- waking when they have been disturbed from sleep by pain or noise
- not feeling refreshed after sleep and not being able to function normally during the day
Treatment of Insomnia :
It is important to identify or rule out medical and psychological causes before deciding on the treatment for insomnia. Once your condition is treated, your insomnia will often disappear without further medical help. Transient insomnia resolves when the underlying trigger is removed or corrected.
Acute insomnia may not require treatment, Attention to sleep hygiene is an important first line treatment strategy and should be tried before any pharmacological approach is considered. if your insomnia is severely affecting you during the day, they may prescribe you a short course of sleeping tablets
Treatment for chronic insomnia includes first treating any underlying conditions or health problems that are causing the insomnia. Management of chronic insomnia remains unclear. If insomnia continues, your health care provider may suggest behavioral therapy. Hypnotic medication is therefore only recommended for short-term use, especially in acute or chronic insomnia. But generally, treatment of insomnia entails both non-pharmacologic (non-medical) and pharmacologic (medical) aspects.
Disease and Treatment @ 4:20 AM,
