Insomnia : Meaning, Symptoms, Treatment & Medications.

What is insomnia?

Insomnia is a type of sleep disorder that people have when they cannot fall asleep, or they have trouble staying asleep the whole night. Most of the insomnia cases are related to depression, stress, poor sleeping habits, anxiety, lack of exercise, certain medications, or chronic illness.

According to the National Sleep Foundation of the United States, people who have insomnia may feel dissatisfied with their sleep and generally have one or more of the following symptoms along with insomnia: low energy, fatigue, mood disturbances, difficulty concentration, or decreased performance at office or school.

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Symptoms

The common symptoms of insomnia include:

  • Troubles in falling asleep
  • Unable to stay asleep
  • Waking up frequently at night
  • Waking up too early
  • Not able to go back to sleep
  • Feeling tired after a night’s sleep
  • Daytime sleepiness or excessive tiredness
  • Depression, irritability, or anxiety
  • Increased accidents or errors
  • Difficulty focusing or paying attention
  • Ongoing worries about sleep

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Treatment

Treatment of insomnia includes lifestyle changes and medications, sometimes both.

Lifestyle Changes:

Following specific lifestyle changes can help treat insomnia if it is not chronic. A health care provider will recommend you make changes to your lifestyle patterns even when you have chronic insomnia, and you are taking medications.

  • Treatment of underlying disease that is causing insomnia
  • Avoid medicines that can lead to insomnia
  • Reduce your stress levels
  • Adjust your daily activities
  • Avoid taking caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol
  • Create a comfortable sleeping environment
  • Prepare a good sleeping schedule
  • Limit your daytime naps
  • Avoid any bedtime activities
  • Participate in cognitive therapies

Medications

Health care providers prescribe sleeping pills for the treatment of insomnia. They help treat chronic insomnia that lasts for more than three months. Sleep medications are both prescription and over the counter. The most commonly prescribed medications for insomnia include:

  • Zolpidem
  • Flurazepam
  • Triazolam
  • Eszopiclone
  • Estazolam
  • Ramelteon

 

Is it safe to take Ambien for the treatment of insomnia?

Ambien is the safest and most widely used medication for the treatment of insomnia. Ambien consists of zolpidem tartrate, which is a sedative-hypnotic drug primarily useful in the treatment of sleeping problems such as insomnia.

Ambien typically decreases the time of sleep onset by approximately 15 minutes, and if you take the medication at larger doses, it can also help you sleep soundly for about 8-9 hours.

The medicine has very less or no side effects when taken at recommended doses.

 

Which medicine is best for the treatment?

Zolpidem is the most prescribed medicine for the treatment of insomnia. Ambien or zolpidem got approved for use in 1992 in America, and since then, it is popular insomnia medication with more than 10 million prescriptions every year.

 

Notes:

  • Insomnia is a common disorder, with about 50% of the total population of the United States reporting it occasionally.
  • About 10% of the people in America have experienced chronic insomnia.
  • The sleep disorder is more likely to occur in women than in men.
  • Reduce stress to fight insomnia.
  • Lifestyle changes can help treat acute insomnia without medications.
  • Medicines such as Ambien help treat chronic insomnia along with the required lifestyle changes.