

Insomnia is a condition which involves having difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, waking up a few times each night, waking up early, being unable to fall back asleep, and having a poor quality of sleep.
Insomnia is one of the most common sleep complaints and affects millions of Americans. A national study conducted showed that almost 54% of adults have experienced at least one symptom of insomnia a few times each week.
There are actually two different kinds of insomnia, referred to as primary and secondary. Primary insomnia is having sleep problems that is not caused by health issues and usually lasts for one month or longer. Secondary insomnia (also referred to as Co-morbid insomnia) is when insomnia is caused by another medical condition, such as sleep apnea. Most causes of insomnia is secondary as 8 of 10 individuals who suffer from insomnia, have secondary insomnia.
Insomnia can also be classified into different types based on how long the symptoms last. Transient insomnia last for around 4 weeks or less. Short term insomnia is between a period of 4 weeks to up to 6 months. Chronic insomnia is the most serious and occurs almost every night for more than six months.
It is important to note that insomnia is not the same thing as sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation is not getting the necessary amount of sleep due to a lack of opportunity to sleep. This could be from having to stay up late or wake up very early because of your work schedule or for other reasons. Insomnia involves getting enough time to sleep but not being able to fall asleep and stay asleep.
More Sleep Disorder Information