32 CLINICAL
How to assess and manage insomnia
Key learning points
How insomnia affects people The causes and types of insomnia How to manage and treat insomnia
I nsomnia – also sometimes called sleeplessness – is a disorder of sleep , where people have difficulty in falling asleep or staying asleep as long as desired . There is no standard definition of a normal sleep requirement , although most adults typically sleep for between six and eight hours in a 24-hour period , and sleep requirement usually slowly decreases with increasing age .
Insomnia is probably best described as a condition of unsatisfactory sleep , either in terms of sleep onset , sleep maintenance or early waking . During the Covid-19 pandemic there has been a rise in reported cases of insomnia across all age groups , which is likely to be linked to the impact of anxiety and stress on normal sleep patterns . A King ’ s College London online survey in May last year ( with 2,254 UK residents aged 16 to 75 ) found more than half of the UK ’ s population struggled with sleep during the lockdown . Sleep problems were most common in people facing financial hardship , the report discovered . In May last year , the Royal College of Nursing said many nurses were reporting they were having trouble sleeping . The college pointed to a study from Frontiers in Psychiatry that found one in three of 1,563 medical staff surveyed in China during the Covid-19 outbreak , including frontline health workers in Wuhan , said they had experienced insomnia symptoms .
Insomnia is now viewed as a ‘ 24-hour ’ disorder as it not only impairs sleep but also daytime wellbeing , along with physical and mental functioning and subjective abilities .
It is believed to affect around one person in three of the general UK population , and its incidence is one to two times more common in women . Although it can be a very short-term problem in some people , many sufferers experience it for more than two years and its incidence increases with age . Half of all cases of diagnosed insomnia are linked to a psychiatric disorder but people in the following groups also have a greater risk of developing insomnia : Those aged over 60 . People with high stress levels .
1.5 CPD HOURS
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