insomnia annotated biblography samples

insomnia annotated biblography samples

Insomnia: Causes, Effects, and Treatment

1. Introduction

Insomnia is defined as a subjective complaint of inadequate or poor quality of sleep because of one or more of the following: difficulty falling asleep, waking up frequently during the night with difficulty returning to sleep, waking up too early in the morning, or unrefreshing sleep. It is a symptom of a sleeping disorder characterized by persistent difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep despite the opportunity. Insomnia is typically followed by functional impairment while awake. Insomnia can be separated into two types based on the duration and when they occur. Types of insomnia include acute insomnia and chronic insomnia. This classification is based on the duration rather than the type of symptoms experienced. Duration is classified as the length of time the sleep problem has been occurring while type is the experience of the individual symptom. Acute insomnia is brief and often happens because of life circumstances (for example, when you can’t sleep the night before an exam, or after receiving stressful or bad news). Acute insomnia resolves without any treatment. Chronic insomnia is disrupted sleep that occurs at least three nights per week and lasts at least three months. This is the most serious sleeping disorder.

This paper is being written to provide information about insomnia. Insomnia is a condition that affects many people around the world on a day to day basis. Here in this paper you will learn what insomnia is defined as and the various types of insomnia (acute and chronic). You will also read about the causes and effects of insomnia. It will help you understand what may be causing your insomnia and the various effects that it can have on your body, mind, and overall health. Finally, you will read about how the much researched and extremely common condition can be treated in the endeavor to rid of your sleepless nights.

2. Causes of Insomnia

此情形为一种条件反射,即潜在学习,或无意识的学习。 Learned or conditioned, in problematic in that it is difficult to change. The learned arousal to the sleep environment is also a cause of maintenance insomnia.

The final cause of onset insomnia is a conditioned or learned arousal to the sleep environment. This occurs when an individual who normally has little difficulty falling asleep, undergoes a sleep disruptive event, such as pain. The pain would cause increased cognitive and somatic arousal, making it difficult to initiate or return to sleep. The associative pairing of the environment and the sleep disruptive factor results in some expectation or automatic thoughts regarding the event and difficulty sleeping.

In the case of the sleep onset insomniac, the one who cannot fall asleep, somatic arousal levels remain high, alert or oriented to receive certain types of information, there appears to be heightened state of cognitive of certain information, but because it remains difficult to inhibit the processing of such information, there is some difficulty in disengaging with cognitive activity. This results in the processing on a problem or worrisome issue.

Another cognitive cause of insomnia is the development of an incorrect expectation or belief regarding sleep. This happens when an individual who is experiencing or not experiencing sleep problems begins to worry about maintaining the occurrence of good sleep or preventing the occurrence of bad sleep. This type of worry activates the brain’s problem-solving mechanism, which can cause a general elevation in brain activity, making it more difficult to shut the brain down when it is time to sleep. This also induces a state of increased anxiety about getting to sleep, usurping the worst thing about sleepless night. The combination of these factors can promote or prolong a state of hyperarousal, making it difficult to initiate the sleep process.

The causes of insomnia can be separated into cognitive and somatic. A well-documented cause of acute and chronic insomnia is unwanted arousal. This involves the activation of the HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal) axis, the system that controls our body’s reaction to stress, resulting in increased secretion of corticosteroids. These corticosteroids arouse the brain’s arousal system. By not allowing the body to relax, this same system can result in increased avoidance of sleep. This is due to the brain’s association of the bed with an uncomfortable state of increased arousal and frustration.

3. Effects of Insomnia

Insomnia may have serious effects on a person’s health, how they function, and their quality of life. Sleep-deprived people are at risk for accidents due to slowed reaction times. In fact, studies have shown that sleep deprivation impairs driving ability to a level that is comparable to people who are intoxicated. Fatigue and anger resulting from the inability to sleep can make the simplest daily activities more difficult. The long-term effects of this disease can be devastating. A study which looked at the relative impact of 10 different chronic diseases on quality of life found that on a per-person basis, the quality of life for those with insomnia was lower than most other chronic diseases. Chronic diseases included in this study were congestive heart failure, osteoarthritis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Another study found that severe insomnia is significantly associated with a near five-fold increased risk of early death. Insomniacs who have not developed a pattern of poor sleep will often bring their sleeping problems to a physician in hopes of receiving a concrete solution. Unfortunately, chronic sleeping problems are often side issues connected to emotional or stress-related problems. A pattern of bad sleep can, in turn, evoke a further negative response of increased nervousness and anxiety that serve to perpetuate the sleep problem. The insomnia then becomes more than just a symptom of the initial problem and develops into a critical issue in its own right. Given the many possible causes and effects of insomnia, it is best to treat it as a secondary issue. The most effective treatment may be a combination of medical care and addressing the other problems that may be contributing to the loss of sleep.

4. Treatment Options for Insomnia

Specific advice may include instruction on habits which encourage good sleep, the removal of daytime naps, getting up at the same time every day no matter how much sleep you have had, doing some form of exercise each day, and looking for ways to increase exposure to natural light. Sleep education involves teaching the patients about basic sleep hygiene. This should then lead on to the specific therapeutic approach to changing habits and will require regular monitoring and review.

Sleeping well is essential for your physical health and emotional wellbeing. Fortunately, there are effective treatments available. But first, you need to work out whether the problem is temporary (has lasted for less than one month) or chronic (occurring on most nights and lasting a month or more). Maybe it is chronic insomnia that is probably linked to an underlying cause, such as a medical or psychological condition. In this case, medical treatment may be helpful. Provided enough help should be gained from the physician about exactly what the causes are and that the benefits of the treatment will outweigh the burden of side effects and the costs of the treatment on sleep or health. Once these decisions have been made, the doctor will provide particular advice to help improve sleep. This usually comes in the form of general guidance on sleep or information on education, though some patients may be given a formal type of behavior therapy.

5. Conclusion

In conclusion, insomnia is a very common sleep disorder that affects millions of people in today’s society. The key to treating insomnia is to first diagnose the disorder, identifying the causes and symptoms. It is important to understand and identify the relative nature of sleep. Different people need different amounts of sleep, and that amount can vary at different times, with sleep need generally decreasing as a person ages. It is also important to determine whether or not the individual is satisfying his/her sleep needs. Once the problem has been diagnosed it can often be treated effectively. In some cases, identifying and treating an underlying cause may suffice to cure the insomnia. More often, though, multiple efforts are necessary. Optimizing sleep environment, behavioral therapy, and medication are all potential tools to use. Always keep in mind that lifestyle, attitude, and habits can make a tremendous difference in sleep quality. It is important to have realistic expectations regarding sleep. Perfectionists or those who become anxious about their sleep are more likely to worsen insomnia. It’s best to keep a positive outlook and implement effective strategies, from which patients often see significant improvement in their sleep. With determination, an understanding of the problem, and implementation of the right strategies, insomnia can often be effectively treated.