Facts about Insomnia
Insomnia is an experience of inadequate or poor quality sleep, and may include:
- difficulty falling asleep,
- waking up frequently during the night with difficulty returning to sleep,
- waking up too early in the morning; and
- un-refreshing sleep.
This section provides an overview on Insomnia and its treatment, as well
as some handy tips to deal with insomnia.
What is Insomnia
Insomnia may cause daytime sleepiness and impaired concentration, lethargy and irritability.
Over one third of people experience insomnia from time to time, and approximately 5% require treatment for the condition.
Insomnia is classified into 2 categories:
- Short term – due to a temporary situation such as stress, jet lag etc, which lasts for a few days at a time for up
to one month.
- Long term- can be secondary to medical conditions and medications, which occurs most nights and lasts for longer
than a month.
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What causes Insomnia?
Although both men and women of all age groups experience insomnia, certain conditions seem to make individuals more likely to
experience Insomnia:
- Advanced age (Insomnia occurs more frequently in those over age 60)
- Female gender
- History of depression
- Stress
- Medication side effects
- Sleep/wake schedule problems eg: jet lag/shift work
- Certain medical and psychological conditions
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What makes Insomnia worse?
The following behaviours have been shown to perpetuate insomnia in some people:
- Worrying about sleeping and expecting to have difficulty
- Irregular or continually disrupted sleep/wake schedules
- Excessive napping in the afternoon or evening
- Excessive amounts of caffeine
- Drinking alcohol before bedtime
- Smoking cigarettes before bedtime
How is Insomnia Diagnosed?
Patients with Insomnia are evaluated with the help of medical history and sleep history.
Sleep studies may be recommended if there is suspicion that the patient may have a primary sleep disorder such as
sleep apnoea or narcolepsy.
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How is Insomnia Treated?
Treatment for short term insomnia may not require treatment, since episodes only last a short time. A physician may
sometimes recommend the use of short-acting sleeping pills, which may improve sleep and next day alertness short term.
Treatment for long term insomnia involved:
- Initially diagnosing and treating any underlying medical or psychological problems
- Identifying behaviours that may worsen insomnia and eliminating or reducing them.
- Low dose and short duration prescription of sleeping pills- under close supervision of a physician.
- Relaxation therapy: Specific and effective techniques that can reduce
or eliminate sleep anxiety and body tension, leading to a restful Sleep.
- Sleep Restriction: Some people with insomnia will spend too much time in bed unsuccessfully trying to sleep.
Sleep restriction allows only a few hours of sleep during the night initially, gradually increasing
hours of sleep until a more normal night’s sleep is achieved.
- Reconditioning: This treatment reconditions insomnia sufferers to associate their bed and bedtime with sleep.
They are advised to go to bed only when sleepy. If they are unable to fall asleep the person is told to get up and
stay up until sleepy again. Naps should be avoided. They are also advised to eventually aim to go to sleep and
wake up at the same time each day. This will condition the sufferer to associate their bed and bedtime with sleep.
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Good Sleep practices to manage insomnia
- Avoid cigarettes, tea, coffee and other caffeinated drinks before bed.
- Avoid strenuous exercise before bed.
- Create a sleep-promoting environment. Your bedroom should be dark, quiet, cool and comfortable.
- Before bed do something to relax, such as a warm bath or meditation.
- Only go to bed if you feel sleepy and don’t nap during the day
- Try not to read or watch TV in bed.
- Get up at the same time each morning, regardless of how much sleep you have had.
- If you can’t sleep get up, go to another room and do something else until you feel sleepy again.
- For more Sleep Hygiene tips, Click Here.
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For Specific Questions or Referrals:
- Make an appointment with your doctor if lack of sleep or too much sleep is interfering with your daily living.
Your Doctor may refer you to Sleep Services Australia's Sleep Physicians for assessment and
management, which may include a home-based sleep study;
- Click Here to download a comprehensive
brochure on Insomnia, supplied by the US National Heart Lung and Blood Institute
- Complete our Online Query Form (Click Here) or e-mail your contact details to
query@sleepservicesaustralia.com.au ; or
- Telephone us on 1300 867 533 (for the cost of a local call) if you are unsure of what to do.
- You may also want to complete our Interactive Epworth Sleepiness Scale, a handy self-evaluation tool to
determine if you have Excessive Daytime Sleepiness, which is often a symptom of a serious sleep disorder.
Click here to go to the Epworth Sleepiness Scale section.
- Once you have a Referral from you doctor, you can call our cental Bookings Line on 1300 867 533 for an
appointment at a location close to you. Please have your Referral form, Medicare Card, any concession cards,
and personal details ready.
- For medical enquiries about your sleep behaviour, or to discuss you Sleep Study results, please contact your
referring Doctor.
You will need to have the Adobe Acrobat reader installed on your computer to view PDF files, which is available free from
Adobe's website.
Please Note: This information is intended to be used as a guide only and is not an authoritative
statement. Please consult your family doctor or sleep physician if you have further questions relating to the
information provided here.
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