Understanding Persistent Insomnia: Causes, Symptoms, and Management

What is it?

Insomnia is a common sleep disorder in which the person is having a hard time to fall asleep or remain asleep. Persistent insomnia is when it lasts more than one month. Insomnia may be a primary problem or due to other conditions such as illnesses or medications. Persistent insomnia may be the result of stress, travel or work schedule, poor sleep habits, eating late in the evening, mental health disorders, medications, medical conditions such as chronic pain or cancer, and caffeine, nicotine or alcohol misuse.

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Additional names

This group contains additional names:
- Disorders of initiating and maintaining sleep

Signs & symptoms

Symptoms of insomnia may include difficulty falling asleep, waking up during the night, waking up early in the morning, waking up in the morning feeling tired, daytime sleepiness, irritability, anxiety or depression, difficulty focusing, memory problems, increased errors, ongoing worries about sleep.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis of insomnia is based upon findings in physical examination and sleep habits review. If the cause for insomnia isn’t clear, sleep study may be done, in which the patient spends the night at a sleep center, monitored.

Treatment

Insomnia treatment includes lifestyle changes, cognitive- behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), which was found to be as good as medicine. Prescription sleeping pills may help sleep but are not recommended for more than a few weeks since most of them are addictive.

☝️ This is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult with your physician before making any medical decision.

Learn more about our editorial process for content accuracy.

Source of Information - We analyze big data of more than 23 million patients de-identified medical records from the following sources:

National Institution of Health ∙ World Health Organization ∙ University of Illinois hospital