Sunday, March 1, 2009

Insomnia Symptoms: Your Family Could Be Suffering

By Rose K Taylor

Wouldn't you want to know if someone in your house was suffering from lack of sleep? Has anyone been cranky lately in the morning? Do you notice someone staying up all night long? Insomnia may have already set in.

When determining if someone in your home has insomnia, it is important to know the difference between the types of insomnia.

Relieving insomnia can be as simple as changing some of your daily habits. Transient insomnia is often caused by environmental factors like noises, lights, stress, and other things that we can control.

Chronic insomnia is also known as long-term insomnia. Those who have chronic insomnia have been without a restful sleep for a matter of weeks or months. Disorders like restless leg syndrome and sleep apnea can contribute to long-term insomnia. Medical intervention to treat these disorders usually returns sleep to normal.

Some people are more prone to sleeping difficulties than others, just as some people are more prone to experience headaches or stomach irritability. People of all ages can experience insomnia, but the elderly tend to experience it more often. Teenagers can begin to experience insomnia at the onset of puberty; internal clocks reset themselves to a bedtime of 2-3 hours later. Because of school the following morning, teenagers are not able to catch up on that lost sleep by sleeping in.

What are the symptoms of insomnia? If you are an insomniac, you may experience waking several times at night, waking up earlier than usual in the morning, and lying in bed for hours unable to fall asleep or if you fall asleep, to stay asleep.

People suffering from insomnia develop other conditions in the body. It is hard to lose sleep over a long period of time and be unaffected. Common signs of wear and tear include stress. The body fights back with weight gain or loss, gastrointestinal distress, high blood pressure, cardiac conditions, and immune problems.

Insomnia can severely interfere with daily tasks and responsibilities of work, school, and home life. It's important to be able to recognize the symptoms and understand the treatments available to get the best night's sleep possible.

About the Author:

No comments: