How to Get the Perfect Night’s Sleep
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Do you know the four types of insomnia?
So, we have been talking a lot about good sleep and bad sleep, how much sleep you should get and why it’s important – but what we haven’t discussed is different types of insomnia and how you know you which one your are suffering from.
It might sound like the answers are fairly obvious, but in fact there are four major descriptions of insomnia, or lack of sleep, all with different causes and symptoms.
1
Onset and Maintenance insomnia
Finding it hard to go to sleep in the first place or waking frequently from sleep are known as Onset Insomnia and Maintenance Insomnia.
In onset insomnia, you have difficulty falling asleep at the beginning of the night, while maintenance insomnia is the inability to stay asleep.
People with maintenance insomnia wake up frequently during the night, and have difficulty returning to sleep.
Causes can be lifestyle or health related.
2
Acute Insomnia
A temporary episode of sleeplessness is knows as Acute Insomnia, and is usually caused by a stressful life event such as a bereavement, change of job or travel. Episodes of acute insomnia often resolve themselves without any further treatment when the cause of stress is removed.
3
Chronic Insomnia
Chronic insomnia is a long-term pattern of difficult sleeping. Insomnia is usually diagnosed as chronic if the sufferer has difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep for at least three nights per week, for a period of three months or longer.
Chronic insomnia can last for long periods and has a number of possible causes, but can often be addressed by changes in lifestyle and sleeping habits.
4
Comorbid insomnia
Comorbid insomnia is a description of sleeplessness that occurs along with another condition. These can be psychological, such as anxiety or depression which can often disturb sleep patterns, or physiological, ranging from a number of systemic conditions to causes of discomfort such as arthritis or back pain, which can often interrupt sleep.
