How to OverCome Insomnia

Analysis Essay

How to overcome insomnia

There are two types of insomnia and most people are unaware of this and how serious it can be. Insomnia is a sleeping disorder that makes it hard for you to fall asleep and or stay asleep. People that have insomnia suffer from symptoms such as difficulty falling asleep, Waking up often during the night and not being able to fall back asleep, waking up too early in the morning and feeling tired when waking up.

There are two types of insomnia: primary insomnia and secondary insomnia. Primary insomnia means that a person is having sleep related issues that are not caused by any health condition or problem. Sleeplessness without any medical, psychological, or environmental cause can be divided into the following 3 subgroups: Psycho physiological insomnia, Idiopathic insomnia and Sleep state misperception.

Psycho physiological insomnia which is also called learned insomnia or behavioral insomnia is when sleeplessness begins because of prolonged stress. Tension and anxiety which is a result from stress is what causes people to awake during their sleep. The, sleep in those persons becomes associated with frustration and arousal which then causes poor sleep hygiene. In most people as their stress starts to decrease, their normal habits of sleep slowly start to return. In other people they start to worry more about their sleep and then the sleeplessness continues on for years after the stress has calmed down. Idiopathic insomnia, according to Department of Internal Medicine is a lifelong sleeplessness that is attributed to an abnormality in the neurologic control of the sleep-wake cycle involving areas of the brain responsible for wakefulness and sleep. Possibly, the sleep system possesses a lesion (change due to disease) that predisposes the person towards arousal. Sleep state misperception is when the person complains of having insomnia without even having any proof or evidence of any sleep problems.

Secondary insomnia means that a person is having sleep problems because of something else, such as a health condition like asthma, depression, arthritis, cancer, heartburn or a pain medication they are taking or a substance they are taking such as alcohol. Secondary insomnia differs from primary insomnia in the sense that a specific condition can be pin pointed as the cause of the sleep problem and should be checked and evaluated by a physician. Some examples of secondary insomnia are: Sleep apnea which according to www.sleepapnea.org is a sleep disorder caused by difficulty breathing during sleep. Persistent, loud snoring and frequent long pauses in breathing during sleep, followed by choking or gasping for breath are the main sighs of sleep apnea . Restless legs syndrome according to www.rls.org is a sleep disorder characterized by unpleasant sensations (creeping, burning, itching, pulling or tugging) in the legs or feet, occurring mostly in the evening and at night. Moving the legs around tends to relieve the unpleasant sensation temporarily.

Insomnia also varies on how long it lasts and how often it occurs. Insomnia can be short-term which is called acute insomnia or it can last a long time which is called chronic insomnia. Insomnia can also come and go and the person will have periods of time when they won't have any sleep problems and then times when they constantly do. Some causes of acute insomnia are a lot of stress that can be caused by anything such as your job, loss of a loved one, divorce and many more. Illness is another factor of acute insomnia because most illness is temporary so the acute insomnia only lingers with the illness. Emotional and or physical discomfort along with environmental factors such as noise, light, or extreme temperatures can interfere