![]() ![]() For example, many people experience transitory insomnia when adjusting to a new medication, sleeping in a new environment, or after traveling. If you recently went through a divorce and subsequently had a period of several weeks when you had trouble with your sleep, that could be termed acute insomnia.įinally, t ransient insomnia is sometimes used to refer to very brief episodes of difficulty sleeping, usually on the scale of days to a week. If you’ve consistently had trouble falling asleep at night and going back to sleep when you wake up, and this has been the case for years, that might be termed chronic insomnia.Īlternatively, insomnia can be termed acute meaning that it was or has been of limited duration. Sometimes a person’s insomnia is described as chronic, which means that it has been ongoing for some time, typically months or years at a relatively consistent intensity. When two conditions are co-morbid, it simply means that they occur together, but there isn’t necessarily a direct causal connection between the two. Lastly, insomnia is sometimes described as being co-morbid with another condition such as depression or diabetes. In situations like these when the insomnia is secondary, it’s often best thought of as a symptom or set of symptoms of another condition. Similarly, other medical or mental health conditions such as hyperthyroidism, chronic pain, Parkinson’s Disease, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and depression can also cause and sustain insomnia. But because it was presumably caused by and maintained by the cocaine addiction, the insomnia would be thought of as secondary to the substance abuse problem. Secondary Insomnia, on the other hand, is when the insomnia is known to be caused by or directly related to another condition.įor example, someone who started abusing cocaine on a regular basis might well develop a difficulty falling and staying asleep. Primary insomnia is also sometimes called idiopathic insomnia (of unknown origin) or nonorganic insomnia (not caused by an organic physiological cause). Primary Insomnia is the term for insomnia that is unrelated to any other physical or mental health disorder. It’s also important to understand that insomnia itself is a general term for difficulty sleeping, and while both professionals and lay people alike use the term casually with this general meaning, there is a technical definition and diagnostic criteria for insomnia. On average, sleep maintenance issues (trouble staying asleep) tend to be the most common type of insomnia symptom, and on average people with insomnia tend to underestimate the amount of sleep they get by up to an hour and a half. More on both sleep efficiency and sleep anxiety later.Īccording to the most recent research, Insomnia is thought to occur in 10-20% of the population, is more common in women and older adults, and about half of the total number of cases are considered chronic. They also tend to think about and worry about their sleep and the potential negative consequences of not getting enough of it. People with insomnia almost always have poor sleep efficiency, meaning they spend too much time in bed relative to the amount of actual sleep they get. Where people with insomnia do differ from the rest of the population is in terms of sleep efficiency and sleep anxiety. In fact, most people with insomnia get sufficient sleep on a regular basis and on average only get 25 minutes less sleep than healthy sleepers without insomnia. Importantly, insomnia does not necessarily mean sleep deprived. They often describe being awake for long stretches at night, taking a long time to fall asleep initially, feeling as if they haven’t slept at all, and anxiety or worry about sleep and it’s consequences. People with insomnia desperately want to sleep better but feel as if they can’t. In it’s simplest form, insomnia can be defined as significant difficulty falling or staying asleep.
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