Insomnia In A Nutshell Essay

“Insomnia in A Nutshell” Insomnia is a sleep disorder that affects many individuals year in and year out. A sleep disorder is a disorder that impairs ones ability to sleep effectively throughout a period of time, such as, at night. This disorder tends to be directly linked with other medical conditions instead of being directly diagnosed solely with insomnia. There is specific criteria that must be met in order for a physician to diagnose a patient. Insomnia is a complex and serious condition that is detrimental to a person’s well being; however, there are a multitude of different treatment options including: pharmacologically with various medications, cognitive behavioral therapy, as well as phototherapy with relaxation training techniques.
This disorder is a highly prevalent condition. Approximately one third of the population among the nation reports a sleep disturbance at some point in their lives and an estimated ten percent suffer from persistent insomnia. There is considerable morbidity associated with chronic insomnia and even a degree of mortality. The International Classification of Sleep Disorders, second edition, or abbreviated as ICSD-2, is what is used for diagnostic criteria. There are guidelines that physicians use in order to diagnose a patient. The criteria from the ICSD-2 are: (i) a predominant complaint of difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, or non-restorative sleep, for at least 1 month in duration, (ii) the sleep disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social or occupational setting, (iii) does not occur with any other sleeping disorder such as narcolepsy or sleep apnea, (iv) disturbance is not due to direct effects of a substance such as a drug or abuse of a medication. Many times doctors will diagnose a person with insomnia; secondary to a primary diagnoses such depression, bipolar disorder, and or severe mental illness. Insomnia is the most common sleeping disorder (Piegeon 321, 323; Haaramo et al