As you age your body produces lower levels of growth hormone, so you'll likely experience a decrease in slow wave or deep sleep (an especially refreshing part of the sleep cycle). When this happens you produce less melatonin, meaning you'll often experience more fragmented sleep and wake up more often during the night.
Which age group struggles the most with sleeping? It's young adults, survey says. More than 1 in 4 adults ages 18 to 24 experience insomnia every night; it's the highest rate of insomnia out of any age group in the U.S., according to a recent survey from Norwegian health and wellness publication Helsestart.
stress and anxiety. a poor sleeping environment – such as an uncomfortable bed, or a bedroom that's too light, noisy, hot or cold. lifestyle factors – such as jet lag, shift work, or drinking alcohol or caffeine before going to bed. mental health conditions – such as depression and schizophrenia.
Insomnia is the most common sleep problem in adults age 60 and older. People with this condition have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. Insomnia can last for days, months, and even years.
“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. Meskill, MD, a neurologist and sleep disorders specialist with the Tricoastal Narcolepsy and Sleep Disorders Center in Sugar Land, Texas.
The short answer is: Yes, in many cases, insomnia can resolve without any help from a doctor — but it often depends on recognizing and addressing the multiple problems that can add up to a major disruption in sleep.
Anxiety, stress, and depression are some of the most common causes of chronic insomnia. Having difficulty sleeping can also make anxiety, stress, and depression symptoms worse. Other common emotional and psychological causes include anger, worry, grief, bipolar disorder, and trauma.
Chronic (long-term) insomnia occurs 3 or more nights a week, lasts more than 3 months, and cannot be fully explained by another health problem. To diagnose insomnia, your healthcare provider may ask about your sleep habits and ask you to keep a sleep diary.
It turns out that many people are terrible judges of how much shut-eye they get. That is especially true for those who have insomnia. Many people with insomnia think they sleep much less than they actually do. They tend to misjudge how long it takes for them to fall asleep and how often they wake up during the night.
Is insomnia a mental health condition? According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, it is rare for insomnia to be an isolated medical or mental health condition. Insomnia is usually a symptom of another condition or a result of lifestyle or environmental factors, such as a work schedule or stress.
Acute insomnia lasts only a few days to weeks and often results from specific circumstances, such as a bereavement. But, some people have chronic insomnia, which disrupts sleep for three or more nights a week and lasts 3 months or longer. Trouble sleeping is a common problem.
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.
Call the Doctor Insomnia if:
Symptoms of insomnia last longer than four weeks or interfere with your daytime activities and ability to function. You are concerned about waking up many times during the night gasping for breath and are concerned about possible sleep apnea or other medical problems that can disrupt sleep.
Your doctor may recommend prescription or nonprescription sleep medicines. Or you may take other medicines that can help you relax and fall asleep, such as benzodiazepines or antidepressants. Many sleep medicines cause side effects, such as low blood pressure, anxiety, and nausea.
[1] The presenting complaints are often that of[2] difficulties falling asleep in spite of being in bed, waking up often during the night and having trouble going back to sleep, waking up too early in the morning or having an unrefreshing sleep.
If you are not getting enough sleep, your body will eventually make you sleep. How long it takes you to fall asleep (sleep latency) is affected by how much your body needs to sleep.
There are a few ways that experts identify insomnia. The most common way is to classify insomnia by duration. Insomnia lasting less than a month is referred to as transient insomnia; between one and six months is called short-term insomnia, and more than six months is chronic insomnia.
Insomnia raises your risk of falling, having a road accident, or missing work. In addition, chronic insomnia can affect how well your brain, heart, and other parts of your body work. It can raise your risk of certain health problems or make existing problems worse.
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.
Sleeping beyond the 90-minute cycle may mean you fall deeper into your sleep cycle and will find it much harder to wake up. The best answer to this question is that some sleep is always better than none. Trying to get in a power nap or achieving that full 90-minute cycle is better for you than no sleep at all.