Insomnia

Insomnia is a sleeping disorder characterized by persistent difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep despite the opportunity.

It is typically followed by functional impairment while awake. Insomniacs have been known to complain about being unable to close their eyes or rest their mind for more than a few minutes at a time.

Types of insomnia include :

1. Transient insomnia lasts from days to weeks. It can be caused by another disorder, by changes in the sleep environment, by the timing of sleep, or by stress. Its consequences sleepiness and impaired psychomotor performance are similar to those of sleep deprivation. If this form of insomnia continues to occur from time to time, the insomnia is classified as intermittent.
2. Acute insomnia is the inability to consistently sleep well for a period of between three weeks to six months.
3. Chronic insomnia lasts from months to years. It can be caused by another disorder, or it can be a primary disorder. Its effects can vary according to its causes. They might include sleepiness, muscular fatigue, and/or mental fatigue; but people with chronic insomnia often show increased alertness.

Insomnia can be caused by :

• Psychoactive drugs or stimulants, including certain medication, herbs, caffeine, cocaine, ephedrine, amphetamines, methylphenidate, methamphetamine and modafinil.
• Hormone shifts such as those that precede menstruation and those during menopause.
• Psychological problems like fear, stress, anxiety, emotional or mental tension, work problems, financial stress, unsatisfactory sex life.
• Mental Disorders such as clinical depression, bipolar disorder, general anxiety disorder.
• Disturbances of the circadian rhythm, such as shift work and jet lag can cause an inability to sleep at some times of the day and excessive sleepiness at other times of the day.
• Certain neurological disorders, brain lesions or history of traumatic brain injury.
• Medical conditions such as Hyperthyroidism and Wilson's syndrome.
• Abuse of over the counter or prescription sleep aids can produce rebound insomnia.
• Poor sleep hygiene.
• Parasomnia, which includes a number of disruptive sleep events including nightmares, sleepwalking, violent behavior while sleeping, and REM behavior disorder, in which a person moves his / her physical body in response to events within his / her dreams.
• a rare genetic condition can cause a prion-based, permanent and eventually fatal form of insomnia called fatal familial insomnia.

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