Insomnia

INSOMNIA

Chandler Cook

Ridge Point High School

Abstract

With constant and continued inability to sleep, a person physical and psychological makeup begins to breakdown.  This could may lead to sickness or perhaps death for those more critical cases. Therefore, sleep is essential for acceptable levels of physical and mental performance. Many people suffer various types of sleep disorder in which the calming sleep is disrupted.

One such disorder is called insomnia.  Insomnia is a highly common sleep disorder. Regardless of developments in prognosis and management, it often goes undiagnosed and untreated.  If not diagnosed, insomnia will increase the progression of other sicknesses and disorders including depression, diabetes, hypertension, and possibly even be the root cause of death. Many people suffer from either primary or secondary insomnia.  Primary insomnia occurs when a patient is experiencing difficulty sleeping independently of any other disorder or illness. Secondary insomnia is the opposite.  A patient experiences this type of insomnia when it is accompanied with another health problem such as cancer, asthma and arthritis.  

In this paper, we will explore background, causes and effects and recommended treatment and its benefits of primary and secondary insomnia.

.    

About Insomnia

Insomnia is lack of sleep due to the inability to fall asleep, irritability during the night, awakening too soon or recuperative sleep that does not allow a person to feel rested after a sufficient amount of sleep. Insomnia is not the amount of sleep one acquires or the length of time it takes to fall asleep. It is contingent upon the need and the quality of sleep. Insomnia can lead to tiredness during the day, a lack of concentration, moodiness, and the ability to restored.

Insomnia can be categorized as sporadic, persistent, or recurrent. Insomnia lasting one to three months is described to as sporadic. If the symptoms continue longer than three months, the insomnia is considered as persistent. Insomnia is recurring if numerous incidents arise inside of a year. Physiological conditions such as stress, anxiousness, a medical problem, or the use of certain medications make its occurrence more likely.

Symptoms of Insomnia

 Insomnia has at least three serious symptoms. There is not one of the symptoms are more serious that the other, because if an individual has one it is just as detrimental as the others. One symptom is when an individual has issues resting during their sleep. This primarily shows up in the form of not getting enough quality sleep. This may include constantly turning over, being woken up by a bad dream or simply just waking up for no apparent reason. Another symptom, which is most common and many relate to, is not going to sleep at all. When and individual goes to bed and time passes by without going into deep sleep. Some may say it seems like I’ve been up all night and in most cases they probably were. The final symptom is seemingly falling asleep, but keep waking up throughout the night. This to some may seem like mini-power naps, but over time the result is still the same, not enough sleep or insomnia. So as previously stated, there is not one form that is more harmful than the other. There are some individuals that may go through a phase of one of these, but it doesn’t last. The insomnia could have been triggered by stress, medication, an illness or none of the above. As long as it is not continuous over a more than a few days or so it could just be a phase. It only becomes chronic when there is an extended pattern over time.

Causes of Insomnia

To appropriately mitigate or eliminate insomnia, a person should evaluate and identify the root cause of their deprivation. For numerous people, emotional problems such as stress, anxiety, and depression is the primary source for insomnia.  However, their daily and nightly habits and physical condition may play a huge part in the quality of sleep one gets.

Insomnia, sometimes no more than a couple of days, especially when its temporary such as an upcoming speech or a first date. Chronic insomnia, however, is typically attached to an underlying mental or medical condition. Chronic insomnia is mostly caused by anxiety and depression.  Stress, grief, trauma and other psychological and emotional disorders are also common for chronic insomnia. Countless medical illnesses can be a factor for insomnia such as cancer, kidney disease, asthma, and acid reflux. In addition to habits and other medical conditions, prescription drugs can also impact the quality of sleep.  Medications such as high blood pressure, hormones, steroids and regular over the counter prescriptions that contain alcohol.

Effects on patients

Sleep is essential to mental and physical well-being.  Therefore, a lack thereof can affect a person’s quality and life expectancy.  There are numerous adverse effects of insomnia.  Some those effects could impact employment and school performance, cause drug and alcohol abuse, heighten depression and anxiety, increase the risk of motor vehicle accidents due to reduce reaction time or increase risk of stroke and heart attacks which results in death.

Diagnosis

Contingent on the circumstances, the diagnosis of insomnia and exploring the source may consist of physical examination, an in-depth review of sleep habits and routines, and participating in a sleep study. If causes are undetermined, a physical or psychological test may be used to assess the signs of the disorder.  Sometimes blood test can be used to check other underlying causes such as thyroid problems.   Additionally, a questionnaire or daily diary may be used to determine patterns with sleep habits. This method can be effective for primary or sporadic insomnia.