insomnia

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 Insomnia is said to be present when you regularly find it hard to fall asleep or stay asleep. It has several patterns. You may have trouble getting to sleep initially. Or even if you can fall asleep, you might not be able to stay asleep for as long as you would like. Also you may wake up during the night and not be able to go back to sleep for a long time. Many people have two of the above problems, or even all three. Because of these, you might feel tired during the day. 

Insomnia has many causes which can include:

• Some medicines and drugs e.g. asthma or blood pressure medication, caffeine, alcohol or smoking
• Chronic pain and other uncomfortable illnesses
• Stress at work or in your personal life
• Depression
• A friend or loved one passing away
• Anxiety and worrying, including worrying about not getting enough sleep
• Another sleep problem 
• Sometimes there is no clear cause for insomnia, in which case it is called primary insomnia

 Most people have experienced insomnia symptoms at some time of their lives. At any given time around 10% of people have at least mild insomnia. 

Older people with poor health have a higher risk. Also women have twice the rates compared to men. This may be related to higher rates of anxiety and depression, which can be associated with insomnia. Shift workers have a higher risk too. 

Treatment for insomnia can depend on the cause and might include:

• If poor sleep habits are the cause then these need to be improved with good sleep hygiene practices
• If your sleep habits seem to be okay but you are still having problems then you may need more specialist help. Cognitive-behavioural therapy for insomnia has been shown to be more effective in the medium and long term than sleeping tablets
• Stress, depression and anxiety are best treated by specialists, but taking steps to improve your sleep can also help with these
• Sometimes sleep specialists will suggest a sleep study to be sure they understand what may be causing the poor sleep and also check for sleep apnoea
• Actigraphy might be used to determine your sleep patterns over several days which can give you objective insight into your sleep practices. Actigraphy devices are small devices like a watch that record your body movements, skin temperature and heart rate