This common sleep disorder can impact your ability to function during the day. Learn how to spot the symptoms and get the right treatment if you need it.

1. Occasional Sleeplessness
2. Reasons For Occasional Insomnia
3. Dealing With Occasional Insomnia
4. Benadryl For Occasional Insomnia
5. Sleeplessness

Insomnia is a common sleep disorder that makes it hard for you to fall asleep or stay asleep. It leads to daytime sleepiness and not feeling rested or refreshed when you wake up. According to the. If you suffer from insomnia, do not balance the checkbook, study, or make phone calls, for example, while in bed or even in the bedroom, and avoid watching television or listening to the radio.

1. Insomnia is more than just occasional trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. In fact, most people experience sleep disturbance at some point in their lives. If you have chronic trouble (meaning more nights than not) falling or staying asleep, don’t feel refreshed in the morning, and especially if lack of sleep begins to impact your personal or professional life, it might be time to seek.
2. Acute insomnia, which lasts for a few days, can be connected to a particular event like a work deadline or examination. Sleep usually gets better when the stressor goes away, says Deirdre Conroy.

Insomnia—with all its tossing, turning, and nighttime disturbance—can wreak havoc on your sleep routine and the way you feel during the day. This disorder often prevents people from achieving the quality or quantity of sleep that their body needs to function at its best. The end result: daytime fatigue, as well as a decline in focus, concentration, and cognitive performance during waking hours. Learning the risks factors and symptoms associated with insomnia can help you understand ways to improve your sleep habits, plus when to seek professional help to find treatments for this challenging sleep disorder. No matter how long you may have had insomnia, effective treatment is available.

What Is Insomnia?

Insomnia is a sleep disorder that disturbs a person’s ability to fall asleep and/or stay asleep. You may wake up too early or struggle to return to sleep after awakening during the night. Approximately 40 million Americans experience insomnia every year and more than 57 percent of older adults experience a decline in quality of life and overall health due to insomnia. But while this sleep disorder is common, it’s also a complex condition that goes beyond experiencing an occasional sleepless night. Repeated occurrences can take a toll on your energy level, mood, productivity, and cognitive skills.

The two main types of insomnia are acute insomnia and chronic insomnia. Acute insomnia is short-term and often triggered by stressful life events. This form of insomnia typically resolves on its own without medical treatment. Chronic insomnia, a long-term and more serious form of the condition, occurs at least three nights per week for at least three months. Those suffering from chronic insomnia may find relief with lifestyle changes, cognitive therapy, or medical intervention.

Risk Factors for Insomnia

Insomnia sufferers don’t always have an underlying or coexisting condition that causes the sleep disorder. Still, there are certain factors that can make you more likely to experience recurring episodes of insomnia. For example, major life events such as the death of a loved one, job loss, divorce, illness, starting a new job, or moving may trigger stress that leads to insomnia. Women are also more prone to experience insomnia than men due to hormonal changes during their menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and menopause.

Other common risk factors for developing insomnia include:

• Chronic medical conditions and mental health disorders, such as asthma, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), arthritis, depression, anxiety, allergies, and thyroid problems
• Taking certain medications
• Changes in sleep patterns and health as you get older
• Jobs with odd working hours, frequent travel, or changes in schedule
• Poor sleep habits and sleeping environment
• Excessive use of alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine

Look Out for These Symptoms

People with insomnia often complain about its effect on their ability to function during the day. Insomnia symptoms vary from person to person and can range from fatigue to anxiety, mood swings, and difficulty doing routine things. These are some of the common signs that you may have insomnia:

• Difficulty sleeping
• Waking up repeatedly or for long periods during the night
• Waking up too early
• Morning fatigue
• Moodiness, irritability, or depression
• Cognitive impairment
• Relationship problems
• Forgetfulness
• Increased errors or accidents
• Ongoing anxiety about sleep

If your symptoms worsen or persist over an extended period of time, talk with your healthcare provider about treatment options to address your insomnia symptoms.

Diagnosing Insomnia

Although there is no single definitive test to diagnose insomnia, your healthcare provider can use a variety of methods to determine the cause and impact of your sleep issues, rule out potential illnesses, and get to the root of the problem. A physical exam and blood test may also be used to determine if other coexisting medical conditions, medications and other substances, or underlying health issues are contributing factors to your sleep problems. It may help to keep a sleep diary to document your sleep patterns and symptoms for a few weeks. Your healthcare provider might suggest additional testing to determine if what appears to be insomnia is another type of sleep disorder.

Occasional Sleeplessness

How to Treat Insomnia

If you’ve tried to self-soothe your way back to sleep during a restless night, you’re not alone. Herbal tea, reading, listening to soft music, and even drinking alcohol are just a few of the tricks people may try to help themselves fall asleep. Self-medicating with alcohol, though, is unwise: It tends to disrupt sleep and causes long-term side effects.

If your DIY remedies aren’t getting you the insomnia relief you need, it’s time to talk to your healthcare provider about other treatment options. Finding an insomnia treatment that works for you is crucial for your mental and physical health. Left untreated, insomnia can increase the risk of developing obesity, hypertension, depression, and other illnesses.

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution for treating insomnia. Some people will find relief through cognitive therapy and relaxation techniques, while others might need prescription medication to improve their sleep quality. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) works by helping patients identify and eliminate beliefs and behaviors that negatively affect their sleep. This treatment option also focuses on implementing strategies to develop good sleep habits and reduce excessive worrying that keeps you up at night.

Over-the-counter sleeping aids with sedating effects include the antihistamines diphenhydramine and doxylamine succinate, and supplements like melatonin and valerian root are available for short-term use.

Prescription sleeping pills are recommended for short-term or longer-term use, depending on the patient’s needs. Some options include:

• Benzodiazepine sedatives and non-benzodiazepine sedatives. These work to help people fall asleep. Examples of benzodiazepine sedatives are triazolam, estazolam, temazepam, flurazepam, and quazepam. Examples of non-benzodiazepine sedatives are zolpidem, eszopiclone, and zaleplon.
• Orexin receptor antagonists affect the action of the hormone orexin (chemicals involved in regulating the sleep-wake cycle) in the brain to help you sleep. Examples of orexin receptor antagonists include suvorexant and lemborexant.
• Low-dose doxepin works to block histamine receptors. It is intended for people who have trouble staying asleep to continue sleeping.

• Ramelteon is another insomnia medication that works differently than the other sedative medications by affecting melatonin receptors. It is designed specifically to help people fall asleep.

Reasons For Occasional Insomnia

Many sleeping aids and medications can have side effects, such as daytime dizziness and grogginess. So make sure to talk with your healthcare provider about all the options, as well as any other medications that you might be taking, before making a treatment decision.

In summary, choosing safe and effective treatment options are key to managing insomnia. Start with some lifestyle changes, such as establishing a regular bedtime and reducing your caffeine intake later in the day so it doesn’t interfere with nighttime sleep. You might also benefit from creating a calm, relaxing sleep environment and eliminating distractions such as TV or texting on your phone before bed. As an additional step, you may want to talk to your healthcare provider about CBT-I and medication options. It can be a challenge to know exactly what’s causing your insomnia, but there are ways to help address it. Working with your healthcare provider to develop a personalized insomnia treatment plan can help you find the relief you need for a solid night’s sleep.

This content was created by the National Sleep Foundation

The causes and treatments for insomnia

Insomnia is a sleep disorder that disturbs not only a person’s ability to sleep at night, but also a person's ability function during the day. Someone who suffers from insomnia will find it difficult to fall asleep and/or stay asleep at night, and during the day, the person may suffer from concentration and memory issues, fatigue, and worries about sleep.

If these symptoms sound familiar, you’re not alone—some 40 million Americans experience insomnia every year, and it’s the most common sleep disorder in the U.S.

What is Insomnia?

Insomnia can come in one of two forms. One type—acute insomnia—lasts anywhere from one night to a few weeks, and is often associated with some kind of stressful life event, like a death in the family. Normally this form of insomnia goes away on its own without any need for medical intervention.

The other, more serious type is called chronic insomnia. This occurs if you have disrupted sleep at least three nights per week for at least three months. Various treatments (more on those in a minute) can often help people who suffer from chronic insomnia.

Determining whether a person is suffering from actual insomnia or just sleeplessness can be tricky, but in general people with insomnia will encounter at least one of these symptoms.

• Difficulty falling asleep
• Waking up during the night, along with trouble falling back to sleep
• Non-restorative sleep
• Fatigue or low energy
• Cognitive impairment
• Mood problems
• Interpersonal relationship problems
• Difficulty at work or school
• Behavioral issues

Dealing With Occasional Insomnia

In many cases, a sleepless night here or there won’t be too harmful, as long as it doesn’t turn into a pattern. Consider how your form of insomnia affects your day-to-day life, and if troubleshooting the problem alone isn’t working, seek professional help.

Common Causes

Insomnia is associated with or caused by many different factors. A few of the most common associations and causes include:

• Depression: It's not clear whether insomnia causes depression or vice versa, but there's an association between insomnia and people with depressive disorders.
• Anxiety: Experiencing tension, worrying excessively, or feeling overwhelmed can all make it difficult to sleep.
• Lifestyle: Working late into the night, taking long naps in the afternoon, or working shift hours can all make it harder to establish solid sleep routines.
• Food and drink: Certain substances like alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, and heavy meals near bedtime can all contribute to insomnia.

Getting a Diagnosis

While there are no definitive tests for insomnia, your doctor may use one of many different tools to diagnose you. Blood tests, sleep logs, and sleep studies are some of the more popular options.

Treating the Condition

Treatments may be non-medical or medical. Some non-medical treatment options include relaxation training and cognitive behavioral therapy, while medical options include over-the-counter and prescription medications.

Benadryl For Occasional Insomnia

If you think you could be suffering from insomnia, it’s important to see a doctor. After all, why waste another good night’s sleep when you don’t have to?

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