Insomnia Sleep Disorder

Having sound and restful sleep every night is extremely important to maintain good physical and mental health. While sleep is taken for granted for many of us, people who suffer from insomnia disorder find sleeping a difficult task. Insomnia sleep disorder refers to the inability to fall asleep or remain asleep for reasonable amount of time. Due to insufficient sleep, people with insomnia often plague with fatigue which affects their daily performance. The insomniacs are not able to sleep despite being tired. The most they can achieve is a light, fitful sleep which do not leave them refresh upon waking up.

There are a few different types of insomnia:

Transient Insomnia
This type of insomnia typically last from one night up to a few weeks. Transient insomnia is commonly due to jet lag or short term anxiety. If this form of insomnia occur from time to time, then it is classified as intermittent insomnia.

Acute Insomnia
This type of insomnia is defined as the inability to sleep for a period of time for up to 3 weeks to 6 months.

Chronic Insomnia
This is the most serious type of insomnia when the sufferer is unable to sleep almost nightly for up to 3 months. The sufferer is constantly in a distressed state of mind, affecting his or her performance due to sleep loss.

It helps to understand the patterns of sleep in order to understand insomnia. Sleep consists of two distinct states that alternate in cycles and reflects differing levels of brain nerve cell activity. During a normal night's sleep, one progresses through these stages about five or six times:

Non-Rapid Eye Movement Sleep (Non-REM) sleep is also termed quiet sleep. Non-REM is further subdivided into three stages of progression:

Stage 1 (light sleep).

Stage 2 (so-called true sleep).

Stage 3 to 4 (deep "slow-wave" or delta sleep).

With each descending stage, awakening becomes more difficult. It is not known what governs Non-REM sleep in the brain. A balance between certain hormones, particularly growth and stress hormones may be important for deep sleep.

Rapid Eye-Movement Sleep (REM) sleep is termed active sleep and most vivid dreams occur during this stage. REM-sleep brain activity is comparable to that in waking, but the muscles are virtually paralyzed, possibly preventing people from acting out their dreams.

In fact, except for vital organs like lungs and heart, the only muscles not paralyzed during REM are the eye muscles. REM sleep may be critical for learning and for day-to-day mood regulation. When people are sleep-deprived, their brains must work harder than when they are well rested.

The cycle between quiet (NREM) and active (REM) sleep generally follows the same pattern. After about 90 minutes of Non-REM sleep, eyes move rapidly behind closed lids, giving rise to REM sleep. As sleep progresses the Non-REM/REM cycle repeats. With each cycle, Non-REM sleep becomes progressively lighter, and REM sleep becomes progressively longer, lasting from a few minutes early in sleep to perhaps an hour at the end of the sleep episode.