INSOMNIA BY HEATHER DEROSE 52
DIS-LIST
If you’ve ever lain in bed tossing and turning or woke up early and been unable to go back to sleep, you may have experienced insomnia. Insomnia is the inability to promote and maintain quality sleep, despite having the opportunity for sleep to occur. Sleep disorders are one of the most common, but treatable, health problems that occur. Approximately 50-70 million Americans chronically suffer from a sleep disorder and are unable to get enough sleep, which negatively affects health and longevity.1 Millions of people have experienced a night without sleep at some point. Maybe it was because of something stressful the next day that you were lying awake thinking about, or maybe you ate too much before bed and you woke up with heartburn and couldn’t fall back asleep. The exact cause of the disorder can be complex and may involve a combination of biological, psychological, and social factors. Being a woman and at an older age may increase the risk of developing insomnia.2 Regardless of the reasons, going without adequate sleep, even for a night, can negatively affect your health and mood. Having a sleepless night here and there is very common, but chronic sleep loss can have detrimental effects on a person’s health and well-being. Chronic insomnia occurs when a person experiences sleep loss at least three times per week, which lasts for a month or more. The exact amount of sleep for each person varies, but most adults need seven to eight hours a night of sleep for optimal health.3 A doctor will evaluate each person before a diagnosis of insomnia, considering other variables which could account for sleep loss, such as other sleep disorders, medication side effects, substance abuse, depression, or other illnesses.
Sleep is important for overall health and well-being throughout our lives. Maintaining quality sleep each night can protect your mental and physical health, quality of life, and safety. Sleep helps the brain transform new information into memory, which is why getting adequate amounts of sleep after learning something new will help process and retain what you’ve learned. Sleep can affect metabolism and weight, by altering hormones and carbohydrate storage. Sleep loss also affects energy levels and mood throughout each day. Sleep loss can cause irritability, loss of patience, inability to concentrate, and moodiness. More serious side effects of chronic sleep loss may affect cardiovascular health. Sleep disorders have been linked to hypertension, increased stress hormone levels, and irregular heartbeat.4 There’s
