Insomnia

 

Insomnia and sleeplessness may be put into three main categories:

 

• "Initial" insomnia- This is where you have difficulty in falling asleep, generally taking 30 minutes or longer to fall into a sleep state.
• "Middle" insomnia- This is where after falling asleep you have problems maintaining a sleep state, often remaining awake until the early morning hours.
• "Late" or "Terminal" insomnia- This is where you awake early in the morning after less than 6 hours of sleep.

 

Recent studies show that approximately 25 million Americans suffer from chronic insomnia. Some reasons for insomnia include:

 

• Restless Leg Syndrome
• Circadian Rhythm Disorders
• Depression
• Alcohol and other drug abuse
• Life changes and/or accumulation of life stressors
• Anxiety
• Sleep Apnea

 

You should consult with your doctor if you are not sleeping so that you can determine the exact cause of your sleep problems.  The doctor may order you to take part in a sleep study.  He may give you a depression screen, check your stress level, order a blood panel to check for vitamin and mineral deficiencies, suggest you stop drinking and/or smoking, give an anxiety scale or any number of other methods to identify a cause and get you started on the path to sleeping again.