Serious insomnia, known as chronic insomnia disorder, is persistent difficulty falling or staying asleep at least three nights a week for three months or longer, significantly impacting daytime functioning with fatigue, poor concentration, irritability, and risks for other health issues like depression, heart problems, or accidents. It goes beyond occasional poor sleep, causing significant disruption to daily life and overall well-being, often linked to underlying stress, medical conditions, or poor habits.
To receive a chronic insomnia diagnosis, your symptoms must have these characteristics: Circumstances: There are no circumstances that interfere with your ability to sleep (like changes in work schedule or life events). Frequency: You have it at least three times per week. Duration: It lasts for at least three months.
Top examples are metoprolol succinate (Toprol XL), carvedilol (Coreg), and propranolol. However, they can cause side effects — including sleep disturbances like insomnia and nightmares. If you're taking a beta blocker and are experiencing side effects like these, make sure to talk to your healthcare provider.
If your insomnia is severe or chronic enough that it's affecting your quality of life, it's time to call a doctor. Your primary care provider may be able to treat your problem. However, a sleep-medicine specialist can likely dig deeper into the causes of your insomnia and offer more ways to resolve it.
Insomnia is a common sleep disorder that can make it hard to fall asleep or stay asleep. It also can cause you to wake up too early and not be able to get back to sleep. You may still feel tired when you wake up. Insomnia can drain your energy level and affect your mood.
Call the Doctor if:
Symptoms of insomnia last longer than four weeks or interfere with your daytime activities and ability to function. You are told you snore loudly and/or have periods where you stop breathing for a few seconds.
Fatal familial insomnia (FFI) is a rare genetic degenerative brain disorder. It is characterized by an inability to sleep (insomnia) that may be initially mild, but progressively worsens, leading to significant physical and mental deterioration.
Insomnia: How do I stay asleep?
Low vitamin D levels have been associated with insomnia as well as other sleep interruptions by researchers who found the deficiency may double the risk of sleeping less than four hours a night. In addition to supplements, you can increase your vitamin D intake by eating more fresh fish and vitamin-fortified foods.
Insomnia is the most common type of sleep disorder and it involves problems falling asleep or staying asleep despite adequate opportunity to do so. There is no specific number of hours that defines insomnia since the amount of sleep that is enough for an individual can vary from person to person.
The drugs metoprolol (Lopressor) and propranolol (Inderal XL) can cross the blood-brain barrier into the brain, reducing sleep quality and causing you to wake up more often after you fall asleep. These beta-blockers are linked to nightmares, insomnia and daytime sleepiness.
Common side effects
If you have a sleep disorder, you may not get enough sleep or you may not feel rested when you wake up. You may be very sleepy during the daytime. You may have changes in breathing or move around a lot during sleep. Or you may have problems getting to sleep, staying asleep or waking too early.
Changing sleep habits and taking care of any issues related to insomnia, such as stress, medical conditions or medicines, can result in restful sleep for many people. If these steps do not work, your doctor may recommend cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), medicines or both to improve relaxation and sleep.
Fatal familial insomnia is a rare genetic condition that causes sleeping difficulties (insomnia), memory loss (dementia) and involuntary muscle twitching. This condition gets worse over time and it's life-threatening. There's no cure but treatment temporarily slows the progression of symptoms.
Vitamins B
All B vitamins play a role in converting food into energy and best known for this is vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause exhaustion and feelings of sadness or anxiety. As our metabolism is boosted by B vitamins, this can have a stimulating effect and cause sleep problems if taken late at night.
Early morning awakening and being unable to resume sleeping. Excessive daytime sleepiness. Functional impairment throughout the day. Fear of being unable to sleep.
Vitamin B
Among these, some B vitamins, including B3, B5, B6, B9, & B12, play a significant role in managing the release of tryptophan, which is necessary for producing melatonin. For those who do not know, the melatonin hormone helps promote sleep so you can wake up refreshed in the morning.
When to Seek Medical Care for Insomnia. A person with insomnia needs a doctor's attention if it lasts longer than 3-4 weeks, or sooner if it interferes with a person's daytime activities and ability to function.
The 3-3-3 rule for sleep is a technique to help manage anxiety and improve sleep quality. It involves focusing on three things you can see, three things you can hear, and moving three parts of your body.
Whether you prefer a cold drink or a warm bedtime drink, here's our list of the best drinks before bed to help you drift off.
The highest comorbidity rates have been noted in mood disorders, including depression and bipolar disorder, as well as anxiety disorders. In patients with diagnosed major depressive disorder, as many as 90 percent struggle with insomnia.
Women are twice as likely to experience insomnia as men. Older adults are more likely to experience insomnia.
Study shows that people with sleep apnea have a high risk of death.