You can see your primary care doctor first. If your doctor thinks you need more testing, they'll refer you to a sleep specialist for an evaluation. No single test can diagnose insomnia. But a combination of questions and exams can help your doctor learn what's been keeping you awake.
Seeing a Doctor About Insomnia
Documenting time asleep and awake each night, the number of times you wake up, the amount of caffeine and alcohol you consume, and other details can assist the doctor with their diagnosis. The doctor may ask you to complete a questionnaire regarding your sleep habits and schedule.
Can you self-diagnose insomnia? No, insomnia can only be diagnosed by a qualified medical professional, such as a healthcare or mental health professional.
Due to overlap of symptoms between the two, symptoms of insomnia may be mistaken for depression.
Difficulty falling asleep at night. Waking up during the night. Waking up too early. Not feeling well-rested after a night's sleep.
Insomnia is not a disease, so no specific test can diagnose it. But when you can't sleep well, it often has to do with some other cause. "Normal sleep" differs for each person, so checking your health and sleep history is an important first step to finding a cause for poor-quality sleep.
However, when a lack of sleep results in an accident or other bodily harm, the patient might be admitted to the hospital for treatment of a condition resulting from insomnia. Worsening pain or increased difficulty breathing at night also may indicate a person needs to seek emergency medical care.
See a GP if:
changing your sleeping habits has not worked. you have had trouble sleeping for months.
Acute insomnia lasts from 1 night to a few weeks. Insomnia is chronic when it happens at least 3 nights a week for 3 months or more.
Insomnia is rarely an isolated medical or mental illness but rather a symptom of another illness to be investigated by a person and their medical doctors. In other people, insomnia can be a result of a person's lifestyle or work schedule.
Chronic insomnia is a long-term pattern of difficulty sleeping. Insomnia is considered chronic if a person has trouble falling asleep or staying asleep at least three nights per week for three months or longer. Some people with chronic insomnia have a long history of difficulty sleeping.
Chronic insomnia can adversely affect the health, quality of life, academic performance, increase the risk of motor vehicle accidents, decrease the productivity at work, irritability and increase daytime sleepiness.
Zolpidem (Ambien, Ambien CR, Edluar, Intermezzo, Zolpimist)
A sedative-hypnotic of the imidazopyridine class, zolpidem has a rapid onset and short duration of action. It is a good first choice for treatment of sleep-onset insomnia and produces no significant residual sedation in the morning.
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.
Signs and Symptoms That Mean You May Have Insomnia
You can't fall asleep at night. Lying awake for 30 minutes or longer once you get into bed should raise a red flag. You wake up in the middle of the night and can't fall back to sleep within 30 minutes. You wake up earlier in the morning than you anticipated.
One myth when it comes to insomnia is the misconception that people with insomnia do not sleep at all. “People with insomnia will report that they don't sleep at all, but that's physically impossible, as you can't go night after night without sleeping,” says Gerard J.
Often when people start to have trouble sleeping, the steps they take to cope with their insomnia actually make the problem hang around longer, says Salas. If you have sleepless nights, avoid: Napping during the day. Too much daytime sleep makes you less inclined to fall asleep at bedtime.
The most common antidepressants prescribed for sleep are Trazodone, Doxepine, and Elavil. These medications are usually prescribed at doses that are lower than what is required for the treatment of depression and they do not lead to tolerance or drug dependence.
Some individuals find magnesium supplements to promote sleep, and a few studies have demonstrated a sleep benefit. Consult with your doctor before adding any supplements to your diet.
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 cumulative long-term effects of sleep loss and sleep disorders have been associated with a wide range of deleterious health consequences including an increased risk of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, depression, heart attack, and stroke.
Women are more likely to have insomnia than men. It is also more common among shift workers, who don't have consistent sleep schedules; people with low incomes; people who have a history of depression; and those who don't get much physical activity.
Sleep problems in ADHD appear to differ depending on the type of ADHD. View Source . Individuals with predominantly inattentive symptoms are more likely to have a later bedtime, while those with predominantly hyperactive-impulsive symptoms are more likely to suffer from insomnia.