Insomnia:Types and Treatments

Insomnia is difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep. The main problems of this disorder of sleep are daytime drowsiness, poor concentration and inability to feel active during the day.

The Insomnia has gone from being considered a symptom of some psychopathology to be regarded as a disease in itself. This pathology affects at least 1 5% of the Spanish population, is the cause of 30 % absenteeism and the head of 10 % of accidents traffic, industrial and domestic.

In recent years, child and adolescent insomnia has become more important. Furthermore, it is known that behind every child with insomnia there a minimum of one parent with the same problem.

Treatment

It is very important to make a multidisciplinary approach and soon turn to specialists, instead of covering the symptoms with drugs, since, in addition to a decrease in quality of life, insomnia favors the appearance of other disorders, such as anxiety or depression.

A very effective treatment is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TCC ) and, sometimes, medical treatment support. CBT aims to inform, educate and redirect the patient to favorable habits for good sleep hygiene.

Type

There are different classifications, according to the duration of the disorder, its severity or the way it presents.

By duration can be:

1. transient or acute:insomnia lasting less than 4 weeks

2. short term or subacute:problems of sleep last between 4 and 3-6 months

3. A long-term or chronic:The problem extends beyond 3-6 months

By severity are:

1. Mild or light:occurs several weeks nights and that leads to a slight deterioration in the quality of life

2. Moderate:is every night of the week and begin to emerge some signs of deterioration in the quality of life, the person is irritable, anxiety, or fatigue

3. Severo:Problems occur every night and the symptoms are felt with more intensity, so that quality of life is greatly affected

It depends on the way it presents, insomnia can be:

1. Initial or conciliation:The problem occurs when falling asleep

2. Middle or maintenance of sleep:is when you can not sleep through the night and the patient wakes up several times throughout the night and it is difficult to fall asleep again

3. Terminal, end of sleep or early awakening:patients who suffer wake up too early and fail back to sleep

It is vital for help to remedy insomnia because it is the first step to overcome. Our mind and body need to recover and take the forces necessary for the day to day.