People dealing with depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress syndrome, or panic attacks may develop severe sleep disturbances. Insomnia has many causes, including physical and mental conditions, stress at home or work, alcohol consumption, too many stimulants during the day, and poor dietary practices. Insomnia is more than dozing off unintentionally during the day despite getting sufficient sleep.
The main issues are:
• Trouble falling asleep
• Sleeping but feeling un-refreshed at daybreak
• Waking up at night with difficulty returning to sleep
• Waking up too early in the morning
Insomnia may result in the inability to function fully during the day, a weakened immune system, increased risk of accidents and illness, and increased risk of depression, anxiety and substance abuse.
Treatment
Because insomnia can become a chronic problem, it is important to seek a diagnosis and treatment if it persists for more than a month. In addition to pharmacologic treatment of symptom relief, a person may benefit by changing behaviors such as avoiding: too many fluids before bedtime including alcohol and coffee, stimulating medications, smoking, daytime naps especially longer than 30 mniutes, and over eating.
A constructive approach to sleep includes sticking to a schedule of sleep and waking, creating a suitable sleep environment where sleep takes place, and maintaining a quiet, cool, and dark place to sleep.
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