Understanding Insomnia Sleep Disorder

Insomnia is a sleep disorder that deprives you of the ability to go to sleep. Insomniacs cannot sleep or rest for more than a few minutes at a time depriving them of the much needed rest. There are a variety of causes for this disorder. However, research show that the primary cause of this sleep disorder is stress. Aside from stress, extreme emotions like fear or happiness and too much intake of caffeine and alcohol cause a person to stay awake. Insomnia can be classified as transient, acute and chronic. These classifications are based on the length of an insomniacs inability to sleep. Of the three, transient insomnia occurs in the shortest time, usually from one day until a week. Jet lag is considered as transient insomnia. Acute insomnia is the inability to consistently have a restful sleep from three weeks to six months. Insomnia is classified as chronic if it occurs almost every night for a month or longer. There are reported cases of insomnia sufferers who endure this sleep disorder for years.

Sleep quality and not just the length of ones sleep is considered in classifying a sleep disorder as a cause for insomnia. Sleep apnea, which is interruption of the normal breathing function while sleeping, causes poor sleep quality that sufferers from this disorder still feel drowsy even if they had enough time to sleep. Circadian rhythm sleep disorder is another cause. This disorder deals with changes in the time when one sleeps. Jet lag experience falls under this category. Another is when one changes work shifts and is therefore forced to sleep at different times of the day. You may be able to sleep for eight hours but an eight-hour day sleep wont give you the same quality as the same number of hours of night time slumber.

There are other causes of insomnia such as parasomnia, gastroesophageal reflux disease and hypermania. Parasomnia is a disorder characterized by disruptions in the sleep process such as sleep walking, sleep talking, REM behavior disorder, night terrors, etc. Gastroesophageal reflux disease is a medical condition where one is awakened due to unpleasant sensations resulting from stomach acid flowing upward into the throat while asleep. Hypermania or Mania is a psychological condition experienced by those with bipolar disorder. This is a general feeling that they can get by with a little amount of sleep only to later on worry why they are not getting enough sleep.

Treatment will depend on the proper identification of what causes insomnia. Often, insomniacs take in sedatives or relaxants to help induce night time sleep. Temazepam, diazepam, lorazepam, nitrazepam and midazolam are some of the medications used. If the cause is psychological, common antidepressants such as mirtazaphine, trazodone and doxepin are prescribed. Alternative or natural methods are also encouraged if one opts for this. Although people swear by their effectivity, doctors still prescribe a combination of natural plus medicine intake as the best.

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