Chronic insomnia is one of the sleep disorders, which affects one’s quality of life. Statistics shows that one third of Americans are facing the danger of chronic insomnia. The sleeplessness is generally classified into different categories, according to its period of consistent occurrence. Of these, chronic insomnia is the most serious type, which lasts consistently for a prolonged period of time, say one month or more. It is clear that insomnia does not result any lethal problems, however, it affects the normal functioning of a person and results in reduced productivity.
Causes
On the basis of the cause of occurrence, chronic insomnia is classified into primary insomnia and secondary insomnia. Primary insomnia is caused by personal ill-effects, whereas secondary insomnia is resulted as a side effect of any external disturbances such as medication, environmental reasons, and psychiatric conditions.
The general causes for insomnia include poor sleep hygiene, anxiety, depression, hormonal imbalance, and circadian rhythm disorders. Most often, chronic insomnia is not a disorder of its own but a symptom of more serious physiological and psychological disorders. The people suffering from the diseases such as allergy, asthma, hypertension, heart disease, cancer, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), rheumatologic complaints, neurodegenerative diseases, endocrine diseases, kidney failures, and restless leg syndrome are more likely to get affected by the disorder. The behavioral disorders such as excessive consumption of caffeine, alcohol, and drugs could also lead to insomnia. Due to biological specialties, women and elderly people are more prone to the risk of chronic insomnia.
Effects of insomnia
Chronic insomnia affects the mental stability of a person and weakens the immune system. It shows the symptoms such as dizziness, dilemma, anxiety, impaired concentration, lowering thinking capability, and deteriorates decision making skills. Chronic insomnia will increase chances of accidents while driving and may lead to many serious clinical manifestations.
Symptoms
Chronic insomnia feature troubles in a sound sleep, such as reduced sleep time, frequent wake ups in the middle of the sleep, and day symptoms of irritability and sleepiness. A person has to seek the assistance of a physician, if he experiences any of the conditions such as absence of sleep even in tired conditions, only light sleep in night that results fatigue on awakening, and waking up very early.
Diagnosis
Physician will diagnose the disease, with the help of certain questionnaires such as the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS). Multiple Sleep Latency test is the diagnostic tool to confirm chronic insomnia. An expert physician will focus to find out underlying reason for chronic insomnia.
Treatment
Chronic insomnia is often a curable disease. Early diagnosis and proper medication will help for speedy recovery. Physicians generally suggest hypnotics for the treatment of insomnia. The common prescriptions for chronic insomnia include benzodiazepines, non-benzodiazepines, and antihistamines. The behavioral therapies such as stimulus control, progressive muscle relaxation, paradoxical intention, biofeedback, cognitive behavioral therapy, and light therapy are recommended in some cases of chronic insomnia. The natural herbals such as Valerian root, Kava kava, and melatonin are practiced in alternative therapy as remedies for chronic insomnia.
Remember, healthy sleep habits and proper lifestyle including balanced diet and exercise, relieves a normal person from the risk of chronic insomnia.
Frequently Asked Questions
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QUESTION:
This Doctor told me I had severe Sleep Apnea, Because My neck is 20 inches, but He couldn't even test me unles?
I marked 2 or more symptoms on the questionaire. That just doesn't make any sense, guidelines say you have to have 2 or more of the following symptoms:* Excessive daytime sleepiness.
* Waking with an unrefreshed feeling after sleep, having problems with memory and concentration, feeling tired, and experiencing personality changes.
* Morning or night headaches. About half of all people with sleep apnea report headaches.2
* Heartburn or a sour taste in the mouth at night.
* Swelling of the legs.
* Getting up during the night to urinate (nocturia).
* Sweating and chest pain while you are sleeping.Symptoms of sleep apnea that others may notice include:
* Episodes of not breathing (apnea), which may occur as few as 5 times an hour (mild apnea) to more than 50 times an hour (severe apnea). How many episodes you have determines how severe your sleep apnea is.
* Loud snoring. Almost all people who have sleep apnea snore, but not all people who snore have sleep apnea.
* Restless tossing and turning during sleep.
* Nighttime choking or gasping spells.I snore, so does a lot of people I know, not that loud tho. Well I gave in and said yes to a couple of more just so he could test me for sleep apnea. My wife who sleeps next to me every night told him that i didn't have any of these symptoms and she never notice me stop breathing or grasping at night. But the Doctor says I have severe sleep apnea just by examining my neck and throat. He says I stop breathing 40 times a night.
Well the Question is - Can anyone tell me why this doctor think I have severe SLeep Apnea just because of my neck size, when i suffer from none of the symptoms in the questionnaire? He had me lie on my questionnaire so I could take the test.
Kat - I have no symptoms - except I snore and I don't even snore loud.-
ANSWER:
A larger neck is often associated with sleep apnea. But to actually diagnose someone because of that and even guessing "severe apnea where you stop breathing 40 times a night/an hour" seems impossible. You need to take a real test where doctors examine you while you are sleeping to get a real diagnosis. You should definitely see another doctor, or at least get tested.What are your symptoms?
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QUESTION:
what do you think about this research (related to sleep hours)?
Women's Study Finds Longevity Means Getting Just Enough SleepA new study, derived from novel sleep research conducted by University of California, San Diego researchers 14 years earlier, suggests that the secret to a long life may come with just enough sleep. Less than five hours a night is probably not enough; eight hours is probably too much.
A team of scientists, headed by Daniel F. Kripke, MD, professor emeritus of psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine, revisited original research conducted between 1995 and 1999. In that earlier study, part of the Women’s Health Initiative, Kripke and colleagues had monitored 459 women living in San Diego (ranging in age from 50 to 81) to determine if sleep duration could be associated with mortality. Fourteen years later, they returned to see who was still alive and well.
Of the original participants, 444 were located and evaluated. Eighty-six women had died. Previous studies, based upon questionnaires of people’s sleep habits, had posited that sleeping 6.5 to 7.5 hours per night was associated with best survival. Kripke and colleagues, whose 1990s research had used wrist activity monitors to record sleep durations, essentially confirmed those findings, but with a twist.
“The surprise was that when sleep was measured objectively, the best survival was observed among women who slept 5 to 6.5 hours,” Kripke said. “Women who slept less than five hours a night or more than 6.5 hours were less likely to be alive at the 14-year follow-up.”
The findings are published online in the journal Sleep Medicine.
Kripke said the study should allay some people’s fears that they’re not getting enough sleep. “This means that women who sleep as little as five to six-and-a-half hours have nothing to worry about since that amount of sleep is evidently consistent with excellent survival. That is actually about the average measured sleep duration for San Diego women.”
Researchers uncovered other interesting findings as well. For example, among older women, obstructive sleep apnea (pauses in breathing during sleep) did not predict increased mortality risk. “Although apneas may be associated with increased mortality risk among those under 60, it does not seem to carry a risk in the older age group, particularly for women,” Kripke said.
Co-authors of the study include Robert D. Langer of the Jackson Hole Center for Preventive Medicine; Jeffrey A. Elliot and Katharine M. Rex of the UCSD Department of Psychiatry; and Melville R. Klauber of the UCSD Department of Family and Preventive Medicine.
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i think that it might not be true for everyone... this was conducted only to the old women
and younger people probably need more time to sleep than just 7 hours because
they are more active and things they do require more energy, thus need more for body to get
recovered.
what do you think?
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ANSWER:
i think the research is good for older grown people. younger people like kids and teens need their sleep. You grow while you sleep and when your younger you need to grow obviously. kids should sleep 8 hours.
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QUESTION:
how to get prescribed a cpap?
i know the doctor has to prescribe it but here is the problem.i need a doctor or someone in the field to answer this for me.
my psychiatrist ordered a sleep study last week. it didnt go well because i barely slept. the tech said i went into rem sleep a few times and my total sleeping time was about an hour. she said i snored loud and that was it. she said i never stopped breathing. my psychiatrist and i went through a questionnaire and i had most symptoms of sleep apnea. i knew i had sleep apnea from a long time ago but i never told my psychiatrist. the reason why my psychiatrist is interested in this is because i have some mood disorders which medication is barely treating and he doesnt want me on more meds which is understandable since i am on a lot already. he says sleep is important for me because i have adhd and bipolar and anxiety
my primary care doctor ordered a sleep study done back in 06 and it was positive for positional sleep apnea.
which doctor and which sleep study will get me a cpap?
im afraid that the 06 study is too old and im afraid that the recent sleep study is inaccurate.
see the dilemma?
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ANSWER:
I would go through the primary care doc. Go in for an appointment, explain your symptoms (fatigue, drowsiness, etc.), the results of your recent sleep study, and update him on your meds. I would think that he will again order a sleep study (since the most recent doesn't seem to hold much value) and hopefully they catch the problem the second time around. The CPAP may or may not be answer to your problems, though.
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