...all about INSOMNIA

What do you mean by "Insomnia"?

• Insomnia means "without sleep". Many people fail to get a good night's sleep - seemingly lying awake all night watching the clock crawl towards morning.


• Clinical insomnia can be distinguished from restricted sleep by the degree of difficulty getting to sleep or maintaining sleep, and tends to be a symptom of a problem with many possible causes. Insomnia is broadly divided into Sleep Onset insomnias, and Sleep Maintenance insomnias.



• Chronic insomnia lasts longer than three months and usually requires some form of treatment for the problem to be resolved. Insomnia can be a symptom or complication of underlying medical problems such as chronic mood disorders or physical pain; or sleep disorders such as Periodic Limb Movement Disorder or Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder.

 

Sleepless nights, exhausted days.

• Daytime sleepiness is the most common and debilitating complication of sleep disturbance arising from difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep. The same amount of sleep disturbance will affect different people in different ways.
  
  
• Insomnia can have a significant impact on relationships.Tired people tend to be more irritable and short-tempered than people who have regular healthy sleep.
  
  
• Insomnia affects many people. Some studies have reported 49% of adults surveyed from the general population have brief periods of difficulty sleeping. About 10% of adults have insomnia lasting longer than two weeks at a time, such that it is a significant problem affecting their lives.
  
  
• Insomnia is frequently a symptom of illness, severe stress, or a primary sleep disorder. Sleep Well Clinic provides a range of tests and comprehensive medical consultation to help decide which treatment is most likely to provide a long-term solution for you.

What can I do to sleep at night?

Treatments are available for Insomnia using behavioural methods, specifically Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) coupled with an understanding of sleep physiology.

Without the understanding of how sleep works physically, CBT would be less likely to work.

Additionally, assessment and treatment of all other sleep disorders are available including the parasomnias - Sleep walking, Night terrors, Nightmares, Narcolepsy, and Restless Leg Syndrome, and shift work.

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Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome

Delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS) is similar to jet lag or shift work, except that it doesn't go away over time.

Sufferers have difficulty falling asleep before the small hours of the night, and find it almost impossible to wake early in the morning.

People who have DSPS can appear to be "night owls" and will function normally if allowed to sleep through until they get a full 7 or 8 hours of sleep, however this is often socially difficult due to school or work commitments.

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Periodic Limb Movement

Periodic leg movement disorder (PLMD) is characterised by repetitive, involuntary movement (usually of the legs) during the night, resulting in disturbed sleep or difficulty initiating sleep.

It is a condition which becomes more common with age, affecting about 10% of insomniacs.

PLMD can be primary or secondary. Secondary PLMD is caused by an underlying medical problem such as diabetes, iron deficiancy, sleep apnoea, or anemia.

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