Important Insomnia Statistics
If you are having trouble falling asleep at night, or fall asleep OK but have trouble staying asleep, then you could be suffering from insomnia. Actually, insomnia comes in four variations: falling, waking, staying and quality.
Falling insomnia is defined as having a hard time to first falling asleep. You end up staying awake into the middle of the night, even towards the early morning hours. Staying refers to waking several times during the night. This has nothing to do with waking up due to noise or because you have to go to the bathroom.
Waking is defined as falling asleep OK, at a reasonable hour, but you end up waking up too early and cannot fall back to sleep. You are wide awake and end up getting out of bed without a full night’s sleep. Quality refers to sleeping a full night but getting out of bed not feeling fully rested. This type of person goes to sleep at a decent hour, gets up at a reasonable hour, and yet fells like they never got any sleep. This is because the quality insomnia never reaches the deep REM sleep that is necessary for a good sleep pattern.
No matter what your reason for insomnia, there are many ways to treat the different types. While insomnia is very common in men over 65, the fact is that most people will suffer some form of insomnia at some point in their lives.
The best way to diagnose which type of insomnia you have is to talk to your doctor about having a sleep study done. In a sleep study, electrodes attached to your head monitor your sleep pattern. This helps the doctor determine which type of insomnia you have and how best to treat it. Common methods of treatment include pills, herbal and relaxation therapy. If you are having trouble sleeping, do not hesitate to discuss your problem with your doctor. Take a look at insomnia side effects or dealing with teenage insomnia.