Insomnia is a classification of sleep disorders in which a person has trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or waking up too early. It is the most commonly reported sleep disorder, affecting a large proportion of the population. Statistics suggest that Some 70 million Americans suffer from chronic or occasional insomnia. Accordingly, the market for insomnia drugs in the U.S. is growing at a phenomenal rate of 29 percent per year, reaching $4.6 billion in 2006 and attracting the attention of a wide range of drug manufacturers.

The immediate side effects of insomnia include fatigue, irritability, difficulty concentrating, daytime tiredness, impaired mood and social functioning, all occurring on the day following a night with insufficient sleep. In various surveys performed among insomnia patients, it was found that many insomniacs complain of being easily upset, irritated or annoyed, being too tired to do things, and having problems remembering. A recent study has also found that Chronic Insomnia Can Lead To Anxiety and Depression.

Until recently, the most common method for treating insomnia has pharmacological, using sedatives, tranquilizers, and hypnotics. Recently, newer short-acting non-benzodiazepines have been found to induce sleep with fewer side effects than benzodiazepines. Non-benzodiazepine hypnotics currently approved in the United States include: zolpidem (Ambien, Ambien CR), zaleplon (Sonata), eszopiclone (Lunesta), and ramelteon (Rozerem). All of these drugs have fewer morning side effects than the benzodiazepines.

But efficient therapy of insomnia has been found to not to be limited only to drugs. New, non-pharmacological ways to cure insomnia have been developed over time, showing great promise, and gaining popularity. Such ways include mainly various behavioral methods, for example relaxation techniques such as progressive relaxation, hypnosis, autogenic training, and biofeedback as well as sets of particular behavioral instructions, such as using the sleep hygiene rules, and the stimulus control method. Recently, sleep restriction therapy shows great promise in effectively treating patients with insomnia.

Do you wake up in the morning already feeling worn out? Do you also feel that you didn’t sleep well the night before? Does your bed partner tell you that you snore or stop breathing at night? When you sit down and watch TV or read, do you fall asleep within minutes? You may have sleep apnea. Sleep apnea affects 12 million Americans. It affects both children and adults. However men are affected twice as often as women. Symptoms of sleep apnea include:

• Daytime sleepiness or fatigue
• Difficulty concentrating or memory problems. Children may have poor school performance.
• Loud snoring, gasping or choking
• Periods of apneas where you literally stop breathing
• Waking up frequently at night
• Urinating often during the night, for children wetting the bed
• Depressed mood
• Hyperactivity in children
• Erectile dysfunction

Risk factors for sleep apnea:

• Male gender
• Over 40 years old
• Overweight
• Large short neck (greater than 17 inches in men, 16 inches in women)
• Large tongue
• Small upper airway (can be due to enlarged tonsils)
• Receded jaw line
• Family history of sleep apnea
• Women after menopause
• High blood pressure that has been difficult to control
• Diabetes
• Stroke
• Right sided heart failure/pulmonary hypertension/Cor pulmonale
• Lower leg swelling
• Alcohol use
• Current smokers
• Nasal congestion

Sleep apnea occurs when either the muscles/tissues in the upper airway collapse causing the throat to narrow or close. This is referred to as obstructive sleep apnea. The brain also contributes to this problem by not accurately sensing the amount of oxygen/carbon dioxide in the blood and sending the message to breath. Apnea literally means without breath. Usually the person experiencing the apnea is not aware they are having this. It is usually a family member or bed partner that reports the sleep disturbances. In fact it is possible to have hundreds or episodes a night. This results in fragmented sleep which leaves the affected person feeling tired most of the day.

Sleep apnea is diagnosed by a sleep study or polysomnogram. This test monitors sleep stages, respirations and the amount of oxygen in the blood. This information is recorded and interpreted by a sleep specialist.

Treatment includes weight loss and alcohol reduction or avoidance. Oral appliances can be used to realign the jaw and tongue. However the CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine is one of the most effective treatments. It is usually a mask attached to a machine that delivers positive airway pressure to keep the airway open. Surgical intervention may also be necessary for enlarged tonsils, adenoids or tongue. If you experience sleep disturbances with excessive daytime fatigue you should see your doctor. A specialist that can evaluate these symptoms is an ears, nose and throat doctor or otolaryngologist. They can evaluate your symptoms, order the appropriate diagnostic tests and treatment.

If you have middle insomnia, also called maintenance insomnia, you are probably either wishing you got more sleep or grateful for the sleep that you do get.

Unlike initial insomnia, where you would have trouble getting to sleep in the first place, those who suffer from maintenance insomnia are able to get to sleep fairly quickly after going to bed. The problem is that someone with maintenance insomnia wakes up in the middle of the night and has trouble getting back to sleep. In fact, getting back to sleep can take hours.

Often the initial reason you wake up is to do something like turn down the heat in the house, go to the bathroom, or close a window. What keeps you awake, though, are your thoughts about sleep. The more you focus on sleep, the harder it is for you to get back to sleep.

The good news for those with middle insomnia is that they have an advantage over those suffering from initial insomnia. At least they get that first sleep in. Those with initial insomnia (not being able to fall asleep until hours after going to? bed, if at all) may end up not getting any sleep at all during the night.

If you have middle insomnia, one of the keys to not suffering from it anymore is to eliminate any distractions that might wake you up in the middle of the night. This may include outside noises, temperature changes, and even lights going on in the house or outside. Unfortunately, though, you are not going to be able to eliminate all distractions. It is normal to sometimes wake up in the middle of the night. The real problem is getting back to sleep after waking up.

One good suggestion for anyone suffering from middle insomnia is to keep a sleep diary. Keep track of the time you go to bed as well as the time you wake up. If you know the reason that you woke up, write that down as well. Also keep track of your thoughts while you were awake. You should also include the time that you finally got back to sleep and the time you again woke up in your sleep diary. This will help you to see the reasons that you are waking up as well as how you can again get back to sleep.

A sleep diary can also help you to see if there is a pattern to the times that you wake up. Perhaps you are waking up on a regular basis after REM sleep. If this is the case, your dreams might be the reason you wake up, and they might be contributing to your middle insomnia. It is important that you keep a sleep diary for at least a couple of weeks to discover patterns.

Another way your sleep diary can be helpful in discovering the reason behind your middle insomnia or maintenance insomnia is by writing about your thoughts while you were awake. If you find that you are worrying during this time when you are unable to sleep, you may want to attempt to move this worry time to another part of your day. Schedule in a daily worry time, and you may find yourself falling back to sleep easier at night.?

There is also a chance that subconscious causes of insomnia are the culprit — these are thoughts and emotions you’re not even aware of at a conscious level. Dealing with these are a little trickier, but it can certainly be done with the right techniques.