When should I see my doctor? It is a good idea to see your doctor if you are having trouble sleeping or you are having problems with your mood, feeling restless in bed, snoring badly or waking up not feeling refreshed.
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.
Benzodiazepines are prescription medicines that can reduce anxiety and promote calmness, relaxation and sleep. Your GP may prescribe them for a short time if you have severe insomnia or it's causing extreme distress. Examples of benzodiazepines include temazepam, loprazolam, lormetazepam, diazepam and nitrazepam.
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.
Here are the most common conditions that contribute to insomnia: Psychiatric conditions, including depression, anxiety, substance misuse, and post traumatic stress disorder. Medical conditions, including lung disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, chronic pain, heart failure, and dementia.
Call the Doctor if:
Symptoms of insomnia last longer than four weeks or interfere with your daytime activities and ability to function. You are told you snore loudly and/or have periods where you stop breathing for a few seconds.
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.
Generally, a person will not be hospitalized for most types of insomnia. 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.
[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.
Insomnia should never be treated in A&E however severe insomnia can wreck mental health as well as physical wellbeing. 'If someone is showing signs of psychiatric breakdown, this may require rapid admission to hospital for evaluation but this should be done through a GP referral,' says A&E nurse Emma Hammett.
The most common antidepressants prescribed for sleep are Trazodone, Doxepine, and Elavil.
Zolpidem (Ambien, Ambien CR, Edluar, Intermezzo, Zolpimist)
It is a good first choice for treatment of sleep-onset insomnia and produces no significant residual sedation in the morning.
The longest time a human being has gone without sleep is 11 days and 25 minutes. The world record was set by … American 17-year-old Randy Gardner in 1963.
Though acute insomnia can be reversed with the adoption of healthier sleep habits or it may go away on its own, most people with chronic insomnia require help from a sleep specialist to help retrain the body to get healthy sleep.
An ongoing lack of sleep has been closely associated with hypertension, heart attacks and strokes, obesity, diabetes, depression and anxiety, decreased brain function, memory loss, weakened immune system, lower fertility rates and psychiatric disorders.
Your GP will ask you about your sleep patterns and how lack of sleep is impacting your life. They may also examine you to look for any signs of a physical condition that could affect your sleep. Your GP may be able to tell what might be causing your problems with sleep just from talking to you.
If a GP thinks you might have sleep apnoea, they may refer you to a specialist sleep clinic for tests. At the clinic, you may be given devices that check things like your breathing and heartbeat while you sleep. You'll be asked to wear these overnight so doctors can check for signs of sleep apnoea.
In addition to anxiety over the stressors of life, there are several other reasons for insomnia. Some medical conditions such as chronic pain, hyperthyroidism, allergies or sinus issues, asthma, gastrointestinal problems such as reflux and neurological conditions such as Parkinson's disease can make it hard to sleep.
Insomnia is linked to conditions like obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease, too.