What is Sleeplessness? Types of Sleeplessness(Insomnia)

Sleeplessness (Insomnia) is a sleep disorder in which a person has difficulty in falling asleep or experiences poor sleep. It can involve any or all of the following:

Difficulty in falling asleep:

you are trying to sleep but you just can't get any sleep. You may try counting sheep, reading a book, tossing about in bed or just anything but nothing seems to put you to sleep.

Difficulty in staying asleep:

you experience frequent breaks in the sleep at night due to any reason and then face difficulty in going back to sleep again.

Waking up too early in the morning and then not being able to get back to sleep again.

Unrefreshed feeling on waking up from sleep; feeling as if one has not slept at all at night.

Sleeplessness (Insomnia) can be of 3 types:

Transient Insomnia:

Transient insomnia may last from 1 night to a few nights. It is usually mild and does not severely hamper a person's ability to function during the daytime. It passes off after a few days and the person functions normally.

Short-term Insomnia:

This type of insomnia may last anywhere from a few nights to a month. This usually affects the daytime functions of a person though it may not be very severe. Usually, some kind of irritability and tiredness may occur due to short-term insomnia.

Chronic Insomnia:

This is the most debilitating of all types of insomnia. It lasts for more than a month and may extend up to many months or even longer. It severely affects the mental capacities of an individual, his concentration, mood, task handling, etc.

Consequences of sleeplessness:

These may vary from person to person and include some or all of the following in varying intensities:

• Impaired concentration for work
• Difficulty in memorizing minor daily tasks
• Irritability
• Mood swings
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Accident proneness
• Fatigue
• Inability to handle stressful situations effectively

In the long run, sleeplessness can also be the trigger for many gastrointestinal disorders such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome, frequent heartburn, frequent indigestion, etc. Long-term insomnia can also increase the risk of developing Hypertension and Diabetes (Type II).

The biggest impact of sleeplessness is that it reduces your quality of life and leads to daytime tiredness which makes you feel drained.

Written & Approved by-

Dr. Rajesh Shah

M.D. (Hom.)