Insomnia affects millions of people worldwide. In fact one study showed that over 50% of Americans suffer from some sort of insomnia.

The psychological and physical effects of insomnia are widespread and often severe. They can affect a person’s life and health so much that normal functioning is nearly impossible. Indeed, many people take considerable time off work simply because their mental and physical state is not up to getting through the day due to their insomnia.

What is Insomnia?

Insomnia is a type of sleep disorder characterized by the person having problems either getting to sleep or staying asleep for long periods. Insomniacs may wake too early in the morning, may not be able to fall asleep at night or may not feel refreshed when waking in the morning. Some people suffer from all of these symptoms while others suffer from just one. One thing that all insomniacs have in common is that they are almost always tired.

What Are The Types Of Insomnia?

There are three main known types of insomnia. They are Transient Insomnia, Short Term Insomnia and Chronic Insomnia.

Transient insomnia is a mild form that includes sleep difficulties of a short term nature. There is no major impact on daily functioning for transient insomniacs.

Moderate or short term insomnia includes having sleep difficulties that last for up to one month and these can have an effect on daily functioning. It will also cause irritability and fatigue.

Chronic insomnia is the most severe case and lasts for many months or years. It has a severe impact on daily life and causes strong fatigue, anxiety, irritability and general ill health that comes with lack of sleep.

What Are The Psychological Effects Of Insomnia?

Insomnia is not just a physical condition, in fact it is more of a mental condition and as such there are many negative psychological effects of insomnia such as:

• Lower self esteem
• Low confidence
• Increased stress levels
• Difficulty concentrating
• Decreased cognitive ability and development
• IQ impairment
• Memory loss

What Are The Physical Effects Of Insomnia?

Because of our bodies reliance and absolute need for rest each night, there are a myriad of physical side effects when we don’t get this rest and sleep. There are so many physical insomnia effects that affect our every day life including:

• Irritability
• Depression
• Hypertension
• Slurred speech
• Tremors

There are also long term effects such as:

• Weight Changes
• Aging
• Ill health
• Heart disease

What Are The Treatments of Insomnia?

There are many treatment options for insomnia. Some doctors prescribe prescription medications however these can have drastic side effects both in the short and long term. Many people are now turning to psychological treatments as well as natural remedies for improving their sleep and reducing insomnia.

Relaxation and stress management are highly regarded insomnia treatment techniques as it is believed that if you are relaxed before sleeping at night you will have a great chance of falling asleep and staying asleep. Insomniacs are often known to be stressed persons so therefore reducing stress is a major goal.

Progressive muscle relaxation is a technique that includes completely relaxing every muscle in your body by lying down, deep breathing then tensing all the muscles in your body. After that, slowly relax each muscle. Visual imagery, guided relaxation, meditation and abdominal breathing are other relaxation methods recommended for insomniacs.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is another treatment that people are opening up to. It involves changing your beliefs and thought patterns as well as your assumptions about sleep. It is easy for insomniacs to get into a pattern of believing they will never be able to sleep and they literally train their brain to believe they can not sleep. This has a negative effect, and CBT works to reverse these thought patterns into positive ones that encourage sleep and relaxation and remove all negative, doubting thoughts.

How Do I Cope With Insomnia?

The first step to coping with insomnia is to admit you have it. It is easy to just think that you have trouble sleeping, but many people do not consider themselves to have insomnia. Once you realize that you do indeed have this common condition you can start researching the possible treatment options. The aforementioned natural, relaxation and mental treatments are an excellent place to start and will cure insomniac is a large majority of people, even in severe cases.

Insomnia is a common condition but with some knowledge of how to control it and how to train your mind to believe that you can indeed sleep well, anyone can overcome it.