Insomnia

Resource Center

Interactive Features

Sleep Medicine

02/03/2022

A 32-year-old first-time mother and her 3-month-old daughter come in for a well visit. At the visit, she asks whether it is okay to allow her daughter to sleep in her car seat, and if she can remove the car...

02/03/2022

sleep

Pearls of Wisdom: Sleep Deprived Parents

12/26/2014

For small children who habitually get out of bed after bedtime, what would be an appropriate suggestion?

12/26/2014

Insomnia Snapshot

Reviewed by Jaspal Singh, MD, MHA, MHS

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Insomnia is a common sleep disorder where the individual has trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or getting good quality sleep.

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Acute insomnia: may last a few days/weeks; often caused by a change in one's environment
Chronic insomnia: occurs 3+ nights/week for 3+ months; not caused by circumstances or health issues

For more expert perspective on insomnia, visit Clinical Insights

When you have insomnia is a key indicator of the type of insomnia you have: Sleep onset insomnia: cannot go to sleep; Maintenance insomnia: wakes up in the middle of the night; Late insomnia: wakes up too early and cannot fall back asleep

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Primary care physicians, sleep medicine specialist, clinical psychologist, psychiatrist

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Suboptimal sleep leads to daytime effects including, mood disruptions, poor memory, constantly feeling tired, slow reaction time (eg, driving), poor concentration/performance at work/home, and overall functional impairment.

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Polysomnography (sleep study used for diagnosing sleep disorders), Actigraphy (wearable device that measures your sleep activity), multiple sleep latency test, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index

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(tests continued) Home sleep apnea tests (FDA-approved tests measure obstructive sleep apnea events at home), wearable devices (track movements and other parameters to estimate sleep habits)

For polls and quizzes on insomnia, visit the Interactive Features

More than 25% of adults don't sleep 7 hours a night, the recommended amount of time for a good night's rest.

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According to a CDC report, women were more likely to have trouble falling asleep than men.

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The percentage of adults who had trouble falling asleep decreases as you get older.
Adults aged 18 to 44: 15.5%
Adults aged 65 or older: 12.1%

Research Summaries

Research Summary

Is There an Association Between Dry Eye Disease and Sleep Quality?

09/24/2024

Anthony Calabro, MA

Researchers systematically reviewed 21 studies with more than 400,000 participants to determine any associations between dry eye disease and sleep quality.

09/24/2024

Research Summary

In Small Trial, FDA-Approved Insomnia Treatment Decreases Alzheimer Proteins in Healthy Adults

09/07/2023

Anthony Calabro, MA

Researchers found that patients taking suvorexant had reduced levels of amyloid beta and tau phosphorylation, proteins that play a major role in neurodegeneration in Alzheimer disease.

09/07/2023

Research Summary