By Bharathi Arivazhagan
Published 1:10 AM EST, Thurs May 6, 2021
What Is Insomnia?
Insomnia can be caused by numerous reasons in an individual’s life. Two types of insomnia can be experienced in someone’s life. There is acute insomnia and chronic insomnia. Acute insomnia is short-term and can be caused by a multitude of various causes. Immense pain in itself can cause acute insomnia due to its disruption to a person’s ability to sleep. Jet lag when traveling to another country is another prominent example of acute insomnia. Acute insomnia is caused when someone is getting used to a new environment and any stress that may be widely significant during that certain time for that person. Chronic insomnia has to last for three months at least to be considered as so as chronic insomnia. It can be distinguished between as either primary or secondary. Primary is when there is no known or aware cause to be able to be identified for that specific condition of insomnia. Secondary insomnia can be caused by underlying conditions in terms of psychology. This includes psychological conditions for anxiety and depression. Diabetes is another example of something that can promote insomnia in the lives of individuals. Medical conditions can also promote the prominence of insomnia in the lives of many individuals. Furthermore, acute insomnia can be caused by stress which can emphasize insomnia in that certain person’s life. This can be also emphasized by a trauma the person witnessed, which could have deeply upset them in order to trigger an instance of insomnia in their life. If someone changes their environment, such as staying in a new place, or a new country, due to unfamiliarity, the person can undergo acute insomnia due to this unfamiliar situation. There is also the instance of certain intakes of certain medicines that can promote acute insomnia in the individual who is ingesting the specific medication. In regards to chronic insomnia, substance use is an example that would emphasize this is in regards to substance use. Medical conditions vary for insomnia including cancer and sleep apnea. Additionally, there are also some instances that it could occur in regards to insomnia, in regards to food intake. When you eat too late in the day, the uncomfortable sense of your full stomach will cause discomfort in terms of sleep.
What Is Transient Insomnia
Transient insomnia is another type of insomnia that a person can gain. Transient insomnia is when it lasts for less than a week for the individual affected. This differs from someone possessing chronic or acute insomnia. Going into detail of the symptoms that may arise due to insomnia are all in regards to difficulty in terms of sleep in the affected individual’s life. It is related to waking up, leading to either waking up at insufficient times. It could lead to waking up too early or waking up in the night. It can cause difficulty in starting to sleep at night, causing one to stay awake amidst vast hours. This will cause overall stress in terms of one’s performance on an ongoing day afterward. This will affect one’s attention span, as it’s difficult to manage focus due to the lack of sleep. There will be trouble remembering and managing focus in regards to remembering certain things they needed to do. This will cause a decrease in accuracy in terms of the person’s performance in daily activities as the lack of sleep has a major prominent effect on their life overall.
Treatment For Insomnia
Treatment can be taken in regards to insomnia. Above all, a doctor must be contacted in regards to what action can be taken to combat insomnia for that specific person. Some doctors prescribe melatonin supplements for people who have insomnia. When there are higher melatonin levels present in one’s body, they tend to become sleepier. The dosage is highly influential for how well it will perform for a person’s body, as higher dosages can cause some detrimental alterations to a person’s sleep. Dosages can be discussed with their doctor. Other sleep medications can also be prescribed to the patient by the doctor to help with sleep. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is also recommended by some doctors to aid with sleep overall in the individual. Insomnia affects many individuals on a day-to-day basis, and more research is being dedicated to learning more about it today.
Bharathi Arivazhagan, Youth Medical Journal 2021
References
“Insomnia.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 15 Oct. 2016, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/insomnia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355167.
“Effects of insomnia on the body.” Healthline https://www.healthline.com/health/insomnia-concerns#see-a-doctor
“Everything You Need to Know About Insomnia.” Healthline https://www.healthline.com/health/insomnia
Youth Medical Journal 