Short-term and long term

Insomnia Research Resource

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What is Insomnia?

A frequent sleep condition is insomnia. If you have insomnia, you may find it difficult to go to sleep, stay asleep, or have a restful night's sleep. This occurs even if you have the time and ideal surroundings for restful sleep. Your regular tasks may be hindered by insomnia, and it may cause you to feel drowsy during the day.

Stress, alterations in your routine, or your environment can all contribute to short-term insomnia. A few days or weeks may pass before it ends. Insomnia that is chronic (long-term) occurs three or more nights per week, lasts more than three months, and cannot be adequately accounted for by another medical condition.

Your doctor may inquire about your sleeping patterns and request that you keep a sleep diary in order to identify insomnia. Additionally, your healthcare professional may advise you to adopt healthy lifestyle practices including a regular sleep routine, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, and the use of sleeping pills.

For some people, making positive lifestyle adjustments may also help with symptoms. The "optimal remedy for insomnia" does not exist. Whether the patient suffers short-term or long-term insomnia, as well as their medical history, will determine the specific treatments that should be prescribed.

Diagnosing Insomnia

A conventional physical examination and questionnaire will be used to diagnose insomnia. These tests enable your doctor to identify whether your sleeplessness is a standalone problem or whether the symptoms are a result of an underlying illness or medical condition. Your doctor can make a more accurate diagnosis if you keep track of your nightly sleep patterns, awakening episodes, and use of alcohol and caffeine in a sleep diary for one to two weeks prior to this consultation.

Your doctor may advise an overnight sleep study3 that is carried out either at home or at a specialized sleep clinic, depending on the results of this first exam and questionnaire. These tests may also be done throughout the day to assess how you feel and function during the day as well as your sleep latency, or how long it takes you to fall asleep. In addition, your doctor might advise you to undergo actigraphy, a monitoring test that calls for you to sleep with a body sensor on for up to two weeks. In order to rule out underlying medical conditions that cause the symptoms of insomnia, blood tests can also be advised.

Methods of Treatment for Insomnia

Since cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) does not come with the health hazards associated with sleep medications, it is regarded as a first-line treatment for insomnia. A licensed psychologist who has obtained training in CBT often administers it to patients. The primary goal of CBT is to identify the concerns about sleep that people with insomnia frequently have and to replace them with more constructive ideas and behaviors. Furthermore, this kind of therapy could include one or more of the following elements:

  • Sleep education and hygiene
  • Stimulus control
  • Sleep restriction and compression
  • Relaxation

Be cautious to speak with your doctor or another licensed physician before using any sleep aids. When sensory control, relaxation exercises, and other CBT strategies fail to improve a person's sleep, many turn to medication as a final option. This can be in the form of over-the-counter medications or prescriptions, like a melatonin agonist, can be used to treat sleeplessness.

Finally, a word about natural insomnia treatment methods. In the past, people have used herbal supplements like valerian and kava to improve their sleep and lessen the symptoms of insomnia. These supplements might not be as similar as previously believed, according to some recent findings. In general, it is not advised to use valerian or kava to treat insomnia because they have both been linked to unfavorable side effects.

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