Insomnia - A Sleeping Disorder

When writing and researching the hubs I wrote for the Healthy Hubs Contest the hubs I wrote nearly all revolved around the subject of insomnia so it seem a logical step to take these hubs and group them together and put some structure to them. The first step in adding the structure was to add this hub which explained about insomnia in more detail.

We all recognise that insomnia is a sleep disorder and if you asked anybody to explain what insomnia is I expect they would tell you that insomnia is where a person can't get to sleep. This is of course true but waking up too early in the morning or, waking up in the night and then having problems getting back to sleep are also both symptoms of insomnia which then cause us to feel tired the next day or as if we didn't get enough sleep.

We spend about a third of our lives asleep and getting a healthy night's sleep is vital to ensuring that our bodies function at their optimal performance levels, but just like the three bears from Goldilocks had different tastes in porridge we all have different needs in the amounts of sleep we require.

Most people's need for sleep would fall in a range somewhere in between seven and nine hours of sleep a night but we all know people who can function pefectly well with only four or five hours of sleep a night. So how do you know whether you are getting the right amount of sleep or not. Well I guess how you feel is probably the best measure to use as if you are deprived of the correct amount of sleep for any length of time it will start to show. If you feel well, have a regular sleeping pattern and wake feeling as if you've had enough sleep you're most likely to be getting enough sleep.

Insomnia can have wide ranging physical and psychological effects some of which include:

Irritability and Mood Swings - This can result in every day occurrences such as spilling a drink provoke a reaction which is totally out of proportion, for example insomniacs may burst into tears or become very angry.

Chronic Fatique - When our bodies don't get enough sleep our muscles and joints can become inflamed and they become sore and ache just as if we had flu.

Stress and Depression - A prolonged lack of sufficient sleep may cause you to become depressed and it also increases the activity of hormones that cause stress. But stress and depression can also lead to Insomnia.

Impaired mental functioning - Insomnia can affect one's ability to perform daily tasks as it impairs your concentration and memory,

Heart disease - A study of people suffering with chronic insomnia were found to have heart and nervous system activity that might put them at risk for heart disease.

Headaches - Headaches that develop in the night or early in the morning may be caused by insomnia.

Obesity - If you're not getting sufficient sleep the chances are that your BMI (body mass index) will increase. This is due to the fact that your body produces more of the appetite enhancing hormone ghrelin and less of the appetite surpressing hormone leptin so not getting enough sleep can cause you to eat more.

Insomnia is considered to be either primary or secondary:

• Primary insomnia is where the sleep problems are not due to any other underlying medical condition or illness.
• Secondary insomnia is where the sleep problems are caused by something else such as an such as the side effects of alcohol or an illness or medical condition

Insomnia is usually broken down into three categories, transient, short-term and chronic.  We have transient insomnia when we lose one or two nights' sleep worrying about something like giving a presentation and there is little or no impairment to our functioning during the day.  We have short term insomnia when we can’t sleep for a week or two such as when we are greiving over the loss of a close friend and this is likely to mildly impair our functioning and give us feelings of irratibilty and tirdness.  Once the problem continues for longer than three weeks the insomnia is considered chronic.  This can severely impair our functioning during the day and cause strong feelings of anxiety, irritability restlessness, irritability and fatigue

If you are already suffering from chronic insomnia you should consult your physician without delay. It doesn’t mean that you will have to resort to the conventional medical treatment of sleeping tablets but your doctor will want to discuss your sleeping habits and your lifestyle. He or she will check your medical history for any medicines or medical conditons that may be causing your insomnia, and they will ask if you are taking any other substances, such as recreational drugs and will question you about your drinking habits.

If your insomnia is less serious you may want to try some of alternative methods of natural treatments before consulting your doctor. Either way the keeping of a sleep diary can be extremely useful in helping you understand the pattern of your insomnia.

This should be kept for a minimum of two weeks and should contain information about:

• time of going to bed,
• time taken to get to sleep,
• the number of episodes of waking throughout the night,
• the time of getting up,
• episiodes of daytime tiredness and naps, and
• times of meals, alcohol consumption, and significant events during the day such as exercise or stress.

Below is one example of a sleep diary which you can or adapt to meet your own circumstances.