Insomnia Symptoms and Signs

Insomnia is the difficulty someone has getting to sleep and/or staying asleep for a minimum of one month. Most adults have suffered from sleeplessness or insomnia at some point in their lives. It is estimated that 30-50% of the population is affected by insomnia and 10% of sufferers have experienced chronic insomnia.

Insomnia is just a particular symptom and not a disease or diagnosis by itself and may be caused by inadequate quantity or quality of sleep. Insomnia is not characterized by a certain amount of hours of sleep someone gets, since everyone varies greatly in their sleep practices and needs. Even though many people know what insomnia means and how it makes them feel, very few seek medical attention. Many people live through it not knowing what the medical and behavioral options are available to treat it.

Getting the proper amount of sleep is important for a healthy lifestyle; it can affect the body both mentally and physically. Not getting the right amount can make you feel irritable, tired and depressed. It also makes it hard to concentrate and perform during the day. Not getting the proper amount of sleep regularly, can put someone at risk for diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.

Symptoms of insomnia include:

~difficulty falling asleep on a regular basis

~falling sleep or feeling tired during the day

~the feeling of not being refreshed or feeling tired after just waking up

~waking up many times while sleeping

~trouble falling asleep

~irritability

~waking up and having a hard time falling back to sleep

~waking up too early

~problems concentrating

How much sleep the body needs varies from one person to another. Most adults need between seven and eight hours each night. Insomnia is usually characterized based on the problem’s duration. Symptoms of insomnia usually lasting one week are considered to be transient insomnia. Symptoms lasting between one and three weeks are considered short-term insomnia and symptoms lasing more than three weeks are classified as chronic insomnia.

People who suffer from insomnia usually keep thinking about how to get more sleep; the more they try, the greater their distress and frustration becomes and which eventually leads to greater difficulty in sleeping.