Disclaimer: Human Health is not recommending any specific medical treatment for any particular symptom, nor providing any other medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor regarding any medical concern.

Nothing ruins your mood like a bad night’s sleep. Turns out, sleep is actually really important for our health, too — sleep problems may be linked to many chronic health conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, stroke, and mental health conditions like depression.

Unfortunately, sleep doesn’t come easily for everyone. Data from a 2022 CDC survey showed that over 36% of U.S. adults don’t get the recommended 7 hours of sleep each night. For some people, their sleep quality or the amount of time they can sleep for is limited by work or personal commitments. For others, they may have a medical condition that affects their ability to sleep properly.

A common condition that primarily affects sleep is insomnia, which is characterized by ongoing difficulties with falling asleep, staying asleep, or getting good quality sleep. Insomnia affects sleep at least 3 nights per week. People with insomnia experience difficulty sleeping often, even when they have given themselves good opportunities to sleep well or enough, such as by going to bed early, and sleeping in a quiet and dark room.

Types of insomnia

Insomnia can be classified by how long it lasts for:

Episodic insomnia: Sleep problems that last for between one and three months. May also be called short-term insomnia.

Recurrent insomnia: Experiencing periods of episodic insomnia twice or more within one year.

Long-term insomnia: Sleep problems that last for three months or longer.

Symptoms of insomnia

Commonly, people with insomnia experience difficulties falling asleep (initial insomnia) or staying asleep (middle insomnia). Some people may experience waking up too early in the morning, and not being able to go back to sleep (late insomnia).

Not experiencing good quality sleep is another characteristic symptom of insomnia. People with the condition will often wake feeling unrested, and may report that it feels like they haven’t slept at all.

Importantly, although the main problems caused by insomnia occur during the night, a lack of sleep can have flow-on effects into our daily lives. People who don’t get enough sleep, or poor quality sleep, may experience other symptoms such as:

• Feeling sleepy during the day
• Difficulties with attention, concentration, and memory
• Difficulty performing manual tasks
• Mood changes such as irritability, depressed mood, anxiety, or mood swings

People who have insomnia often get stuck in a cycle of thinking about how bad their sleep is, which can cause frustration, and when it comes to bedtime, can manifest as distress that further impacts their ability to sleep.

What causes insomnia?

Unfortunately, it’s not always clear what causes insomnia, but the onset of insomnia can often be associated with certain triggers. In particular, stress in daily life such as from work or relationship difficulties, as well as stressful life events like experiencing the death of a loved one or falling ill, seem to be common triggers for insomnia.

Some people may be more at risk of developing insomnia based on specific factors:

• Genetics: some people have a history of insomnia or other sleep disorders in their family
• Age: the risk of developing insomnia may increase with age
• Sex: females are slightly more likely to develop insomnia than men
• Personality: people who are more anxious or prone to worry
• Environmental factors and sleep hygiene: Sleeping in a light, noisy room that’s too hot or too cold can impact on sleep length and quality. Read this blog post to learn more about sleep hygiene.

Do you think you might have insomnia?

If you’re experiencing persistent sleep difficulties, it’s important to reach out to your healthcare practitioner for help.

Keeping track of your symptoms using a health tracker may help you understand what makes your sleep problems better or worse, and might be useful for identifying any triggers or patterns that could be affecting your sleep.

Human Health is a free mobile app that you can use to track the impact of your symptoms, such as difficulty falling asleep and difficulty concentrating, and shows you how they are changing over time. You can also keep on-top of any treatments you might be using to manage your symptoms, with reminder notifications sent when you’re due for your next treatment.

Click here to download Human Health.

We hope you found this article useful. If you think someone you know could benefit from learning about insomnia, please share this article with them. We’d love for our resources to reach those who need them.

Resources

1. National Institutes of Health (NIH). National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. What Are Sleep Deprivation and Deficiency? Available at: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sleep-deprivation
2. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). FastStats: Sleep in Adults.
3. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition). Insomnia Disorder.
4. National Institutes of Health (NIH). National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. What Is Insomnia? Available at: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/insomnia

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