What Is Insomnia?
You can always point out a person who has had bad sleep- they are irritable, feel lethargic early in the morning and have difficulty in concentration. Insomnia or sleeplessness is a common sleep disorder. An insomniac may either find it difficult to fall asleep or may have difficulty in remaining asleep for a long time. They tend to wake up early and are not able to get back to sleep again. We all have heard such complaints from many people, either at home or our workplace.
Sleeplessness or insomnia can be considered both as a disorder and a symptom of a health problem. Insomnia for a long time may lead to various health issues like depression, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other psychiatric disorders. Therefore, any individual with insomnia should consult the doctor to find out if he/she has any health issues which is causing this symptom. Inability to sleep for more than 3.5 hours in females and 4.5 hours in males, indicative of severe insomnia.
Between 10% and 30% of adults have insomnia at any given point in time and up to half of them have insomnia in a given year. Insomnia is 40% more common in women than in men.
