According to a study by the National Sleep Foundation, the prevalence of insomnia increased by 13% between 2000 and 2010, with an estimated 30-40% of adults reporting symptoms of insomnia each year.
Another study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that up to 35% of adults in the United States get less than the recommended seven hours of sleep per night, increasing their risk of developing sleep disorders such as insomnia.
There are several reasons why insomnia seems to be in full swing in recent years. One contributing factor is the high demand placed on modern society, including longer work hours and more demanding schedules, leading to increased stress, anxiety, and depression.
This, in turn, makes it harder for people to relax and fall asleep. Additionally, the increased use of technology and electronic devices has been shown to disrupt natural sleep patterns, making it harder to fall asleep.
Furthermore, recent studies have shown that insomnia may be associated with an increased risk of developing several chronic health conditions, including cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes. This has led to more emphasis on the importance of treating insomnia to prevent these conditions.
Dr Alison Bentley, Restonic’s Sleep Expert, explains that there are particular criteria for diagnosing insomnia and different types of insomnia. According to her, it’s easiest to describe insomnia as a reduced quantity of sleep. But to be an insomniac, the reduction in hours of sleep has to cause some kind of problem with daytime function.
This could range from poor concentration to memory problems, trouble focusing on tasks that need to be done, and fatigue.
In addition to a short-term decline in daily performance, insomnia can have a variety of long-term negative impacts on health, such as cardiac problems and metabolic diseases like obesity and diabetes. It is therefore important to address insomnia as soon as possible.
According to Dr Bentley, there are three main symptoms of insomnia; the condition can also either be acute or chronic.
1. Trouble falling asleep
2. Waking in the middle of the night and battling to go back to sleep
3. Waking too early in the morning.
She notes that the majority of people experience many symptoms, however not every symptom corresponds to a specific cause.
Types of insomnia
Acute insomnia
Acute insomnia occurs when sleep is disrupted due to a specific stressor and in most people only lasts for as long as the stress does, after which it resolves and sleep becomes normal again.
Chronic insomnia
The definition of chronic insomnia is when a person experiences one of the three symptoms restricting sleep at least three days per week for at least three months. “At this point, it’s usually not stress causing the sleeplessness, but changes in the way we think of sleep (cognitive issues), as well as some bad habits (behavioural issues) that we adopt to try to get more sleep,” said Dr Bentley.
Other possible causes of insomnia
There are also many medical and sleep disorders which can cause insomnia. These include depression and anxiety, chronic pain, obstructive sleep apnoea and restless legs syndrome. Various medications used to treat other medical disorders can also interfere with sleep, for example, medications that lower cholesterol, and antiretrovirals for treating HIV infection.
How do you know if you have insomnia?
According to Dr Bentley, a lot of people think they must have insomnia if they don't get the "normal" amount of sleep, but this is not always the case.
Seven to eight hours a night are typically cited as "normal sleep" hours. But this is not entirely accurate. Yes, the average amount of sleep for a population is between 7 and 8 hours. However, some people require less, while others require more.
If you feel you may have insomnia, please speak to your doctor. Several conditions cause insomnia and treatment does not always need to involve sleeping tablets. But ignoring the problem does not result in improvement over time. Once insomnia has become chronic, it will generally continue unless specific action is taken.
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