What is insomnia and why is it happening to me?

Insomnia takes a variety of forms

1. Chronic insomnia
   If you’ve had insomnia symptoms for 3 or more nights a week for 3 months or more, you may have chronic insomnia³. Long-term stress, poor sleep habits, pain and certain medical conditions can all cause chronic insomnia. Your doctor can help to diagnose the cause and recommend treatment options.
2. Acute insomnia
   If you’ve had insomnia for less than 3 months, and you think you know what’s causing it, you may have ‘acute insomnia’³. Things like stress, jet lag and shift work can all contribute to acute insomnia. Normally, once you’ve taken steps to address the underlying problem, your sleep should improve.
3. Co-morbid insomnia
   When insomnia is associated with an existing medical condition, doctors call it ‘co-morbid insomnia’⁴. Co-morbid insomnia can cause a medical condition or can be caused by a medical condition.
4. Sleep onset insomnia
   Sleep onset insomnia occurs when you go to bed but have trouble falling asleep. It often occurs when your mind is still busy processing the day’s events and you haven’t been able to relax enough to fall asleep.⁵
5. Sleep maintenance insomnia
   If you fall asleep without difficulty but wake during the night and can’t get back to sleep easily, you might have sleep maintenance insomnia.
6. Early wakening insomnia
   Many people get into a habit of waking very early, feeling they haven’t had enough sleep. Early wakening insomnia is particularly common amongst middle-aged and older women.⁴

If you work rotating or night shifts you may be at risk of shift work sleep disorder.⁶ You may have excessive sleepiness and/or an inability to fall asleep at a time that suits your work schedule.

Shift work sleep disorder may lead you to have trouble concentrating and getting enough good quality sleep. There are a number of techniques you can employ to enhance your sleeping environment and your body’s desire to sleep at the appropriate time:

• Because you have to sleep when others around you are awake, try and rearrange social events so that you can participate without giving up your sleep time. Unless you’re on a rotating shift, try to stick to the same bedtime and wake-up time every day.
• Ask other people in your family to consider your need for sleep. Turn off your phone and consider getting some earplugs or a white noise machine to help block out noise.
• Make sure your bedroom is dark and cool.
• Don’t drink coffee, caffeinated drinks or alcohol before going to bed. Avoid using sleeping pills or smoking.
• Can you arrange to sleep just before going to work? This could be better than sleeping earlier in the day. Otherwise, you could try and sneak in a nap before heading off to work.
• Can you take a break during your shift? If so, think about using it to grab a short 15-minute nap. If you nap any longer than this, you may have trouble waking up.

Here are a few things that could happen as a result of a lack of quality sleep. Life is all about being in perfect harmony with your body, mind and spirit so that you can live well every single day.

When you open your eyes in the morning, being well-rested means that you’re full of energy and open to the possibilities that lie ahead! Your body and mind are also more prepared, allowing you to embrace the coming day with enthusiasm.

There are some problems that come from getting poor sleep:

1. It can contribute to gaining weight
2. It can impact your sociability and emotions
3. It can lower your sex drive
4. It can put you at risk of serious illnesses

Insomnia and sleep apnea are closely related – if you’ve got one of them, there’s a chance you may also have the other.

Insomnia, or the inability to fall and/or stay asleep, is not uncommon; most of us have dealt with it at certain times in our lives. Some of the more well-known causes of insomnia are stress (we can’t sleep if we can’t stop worrying) and stimulants (taking caffeine or certain medications before bed can keep us awake).

But curing insomnia isn’t always quite as simple as avoiding coffee after 5:00 p.m. Like those wondering how to sleep without snoring, people suffering from insomnia may be experiencing the first symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) – the regular disruption of sleep caused by partial or blocked breathing.

So how can you tell if your insomnia is caused by everyday stress, or if it’s a symptom of sleep apnea? Start by taking our quick sleep apnea quiz to determine if you have other OSA symptoms such as daytime drowsiness or high blood pressure.

Now, if you still suspect your insomnia is sleep apnea related, it’s time to reach out to your physician for a full sleep apnea diagnosis test.