An Overview On Chronic Insomnia

Chronic insomnia could be one of the most dreaded types of insomnia yet. Find out the facts behind this sleeping disorder and how it differs from transient or intermittent insomnia.

Chronic insomnia may either be unceasing or constant and it may also be recurring or habitual. It is for this reason that this type of insomnia is commonly dreaded by most individuals. Sometimes, even if you want to get out of the problem, possibilities lead you to even more negative thoughts. Find out what you can do about it.

Man Awake in Bed Some studies found out that sleep problems tend to run in families. About 35% of insomniacs have a family history of insomnia. The family members most commonly affected are the mothers. However, more studies are currently being done to provide more facts if genetics will also be one of the causes of insomnia.

Introduction to chronic insomnia

Have you slept fairly for the last 4 weeks? Or has it been a non-restful sleep after waking up in the morning? Were there successive nights when you can’t sleep at all? Are you still having those frequent night awakenings that bother you and your partner? Do you usually experience those symptoms at least 3 times a week for the last month? Have you consulted a doctor about it? You could be having chronic insomnia.

To understand better, let us first give a comparison between transient insomnia or intermittent insomnia, the counterparts of chronic insomnia. Transient or intermittent insomnia takes place only in a number of days. They are usually related to several aspects of life like medical condition, stress from the workplace, relocation or change in shift schedule. Insomnia can be defined as chronic when the time frame is at least four weeks or more. Those caused by jet lags or shift work are not classified as chronic insomnia. In most cases, transient or intermittent insomnia can be relieved by managing the cause.

What is chronic insomnia?

Chronic insomnia is defined as the difficulty in falling asleep and staying asleep or non-restful sleep that persisted for at least four weeks or more. It also involves more frequent nighttime awakenings, at least three in a week. It is often related to a medical or psychological condition. It affects the elderly more than some other people in other life stages. If transient insomnia usually passes away in a few days, chronic insomnia requires an intensive management utilizing both pharmacological and non-pharmacological aspects of treatment. Some individuals recuperate faster and others need months especially if there are other medical conditions causing the chronic insomnia.

Chronic insomnia is more complex and requires a more directed approach to its identification, etiology and treatment. After identifying how long the insomnia has been, a differential assessment will be made. The doctor will also look for the factors causing the insomnia since the sleeping disorder is essentially a symptom and not a diagnosis.

The doctor will go into details and will require you to have a sleep diary to identify other causes of your chronic insomnia. The sleep diary will also serve as an evaluation tool and a reference on which treatment is best for you. Your doctor will not prescribe medications right away since there could be underlying medical conditions causing your chronic insomnia. Since medications can greatly affect the elderly who are the most common victims of chronic insomnia, the lowest most effective doses are given.