Insomnia

What is insomnia?

If you have insomnia, you may find it hard to fall asleep and/or stay asleep. You may also wake up too early and have trouble falling back to sleep.

How does insomnia affect patients?

Most adults need around seven or eight hours of sleep each night. Patients with insomnia aren’t able to get the sleep they need, which causes them to feel tired during the day. In addition to causing daytime sleepiness, insomnia can cause other complications as well. Some of the possible complications of insomnia include:

• Slower reaction times, which may lead to more accidents
• Poor performance at work or school
• Higher risk of certain conditions, including heart disease and high blood pressure
• Higher risk of depression, anxiety, and substance abuse

What causes insomnia?

Insomnia can have many different causes. If you’re feeling anxious about something, for example, you may find it difficult to sleep. Chronic stress or anxiety can cause chronic insomnia that affects your life dramatically.

Some people also experience insomnia because of mental health disorders, such as depression. Chronic health problems that interfere with sleep, such as asthma, can cause insomnia, too. Some of the other possible causes of insomnia include:

• Consuming too much alcohol, caffeine, or nicotine
• Sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea
• Certain medications
• Poor sleep habits
• Eating too late in the evening
• Disturbances in your schedule because of work or travel

What happens in the sleep lab?

Your doctor may be able to find the cause of your insomnia by scheduling a sleep study in her on-site sleep lab. During this study, the staff at Quality Urgent Care and Sleep Lab records your brain waves, heart rate, oxygen levels, breathing, eye movements, and leg movements while you sleep. Using the information gained from the sleep study, your doctor can help you figure out how to sleep better at night.

What treatments are available?

The treatments available for insomnia depend on the cause. For example, if your doctor finds out that you have insomnia because of sleep apnea, you may need a CPAP machine to help you sleep better at night. However, if your doctor doesn’t find any problems during your sleep study, you may simply need to change your eating or sleeping habits.