Types of Insomnia

Insomnia is a leading sleep disorder that causes trouble when trying to fall asleep and staying asleep. Classified under two types, insomnia can be acute or chronic. That being said, insomnia might come and go with time, meaning it's not tied down to a fundamental issue. While acute insomnia stays from one night to a few weeks. Chronic insomnia can easily last from three nights a week, to three months or more.

Insomnia affects over 35% of adults worldwide and is considered the most challenging issue they have to deal with. Thinking that the most common symptoms of insomnia are getting to sleep, sleeping through the night, and sleeping as long as you want. Meaning it makes it harder to keep up with your life and day-to-day activities and work. Moreover, it can have more severe effects such as excessive daytime sleepiness - making you prone to more accidents, and an overall health decline caused by sleep deprivation. 

The leading causes of insomnia include stress, poor sleeping habits, irregular sleeping schedule, mental health disorders such as depression & anxiety, physical illness & pain, sleep disorders, neurological problems, and some medications.

Type Of Insomnia 

Not every insomnia is the same, and individuals experience the conditions in different ways. Short-term insomnia is also known as acute insomnia only lasts for a few days, while chronic insomnia can easily last for months to come. Similarly, some individuals may only face issues such as falling asleep, while others might find themselves struggling to stay asleep. 

How an individual is affected by insomnia is based on the issue they root cause, its severity, and how underlying health conditions add to the mix. 

Common Cause of Insomnia 

Insomnia can be the primary issue, or it might be associated with another condition. Therefore it's essential to find the root cause of insomnia. 

Chronic insomnia results from stress, unsettling life events, or habits that you cannot seem to shake off. Any one of these can cause chronic insomnia and disrupt your sleep for months to come. Fortunately, treating underlying causes can help resolve insomnia. Therefore, it's ideal to get help, keeping in mind that insomnia might take years when left untreated.

Common causes of chronic insomnia include:

• Stress - It can be concerned about work, school, health, finances, or any family related issue that keeps you up during the night. Moreover, it can be stress from losing a job, losing a loved one, illness, divorce, trauma, stressful situations that cause insomnia. 
   
• Travel or work schedule - When you are travelling or working at odd hours, your sleep-cycle breaks down. Leading your metabolism to slow down, and your body temperature to vary. Therefore, we suggest you keep your body's circadian rhythms in check and fight off insomnia in the best way possible. 
   
• Poor sleep habits -  A poor sleeping habit is developed when you keep irregular bedtime schedules, take unnecessary naps, take part in stimulating activities before bed, have an uncomfortable sleeping environment, and use your bed for other activities such as eating, working, watching TV, playing games, etc. 
   
• Overeating later in the evening - When you eat a heavy meal after 8 pm it disrupts your internal system, as it does not give your body enough time to break it down and process it properly. Leading to heartburn, backflow of acid, and other issues that might keep you up through the night.

Yours in self-care,

Adrian Wilk