• Transient insomnia lasts for a few days.
• Short-term insomnia lasts no more than three weeks.
• Chronic insomnia occurs when a person has difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or experiences non-refreshing sleep for at least three nights a week for one month or longer. Normal daily functioning is usually impaired.
When insomnia is the sole complaint of a patient it is considered Primary Chronic Insomnia. But there are also secondary disorders such as:
Sleep apnea- A sleep disorder caused by difficulty breathing during sleep. For more information, visit www. sleepapnea. org.
Restless Legs Syndrome- A sleep disorder characterized by unpleasant sensations in the legs or feet. These can be a creeping sensation, a burning, itching, or tugging feeling. Moving the legs around seems to relieve it. For more information, visit www. rls. org.
Sometimes certain drugs and medications can create sleep disturbance. This can happen either when taking the medication or while withdrawing from it.
When a person has some emotional difficulties, he can have trouble sleeping. If you find that when you go to bed and lay there worrying about numerous matters or if you are extremely sad or have a loss of interest, and this goes on for a number of weeks, you should consult your physician. Sometimes insomnia is defined as an inability to sleep at conventional times. There is a condition where people fall asleep very late at night or in early morning hours, but then they sleep normally. Or sometimes, as occurs with older people, they have excessive sleepiness in the morning or awaken very early in the morning.