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Insomnia and Its Causes

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Insomnia and Its Causes
Insomnia is a symptom, not a stand-alone diagnosis or a disease. By definition, insomnia is” difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, or both”or the perception of poor quality sleep. It is also a common sleep problem that can affect your quality of life.Poeple with insomnia have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. They wake up during the night or wake up too early next morning. Insomnia may therefore be due to inadequate quality sleep. Insomnia is not defined by a specific number of hours of sleep that one gets, since individuals vary widely in their sleep needs and practices.
Although most of us know what insomnia is and how we feel and perform after one or more sleepless nights, few seek medical advice. Many people remain unaware of the behavioral and medical options available to treat insomnia.
Insomnia is generally classified based on the duration of the problem. These are the transcient, short-term and chronic insomnia. Insomnia affects all age groups. Among adults, insomnia affects women more often than men. The incidence tends to increase with age. It is typically more common in people in lower socioeconomic (income) groups, chronic alcoholics, and mental health patients. Stress most commonly triggers short-term or acute insomnia. If you do not address your insomnia, however, it may develop into chronic insomnia. Some surveys have shown that 30% to 35% of Americans reported difficulty falling asleep during the previous year and about 10% reported problems with long standing insomnia. There also seems to be an association between depression, anxiety and insomnia. Although the nature of this association is unknown, people with depression or anxiety were significantly more likely to develop insomnia. Insomnia may be caused by a host of different reasons. These causes may be divided into situational factors, medical or psychiatric conditions or primary sleep problems. Insomnia could also be classified by the

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