Insomnia is a widely known sleeping disorder (https://imperfect.co.in/sleep-disorders/) that can be recognized with signs such as having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or not getting a good quality sleep. It occurs even when you have the right time and place to sleep. It can affect your daily activities and your brain’s memory and concentration ability. 

Short-term insomnia can be caused by stress or any other health disorder it lasts for a few nights or weeks, if it exceeds for more than three days a week and for more than three months the chances are that you are dealing with chronic insomnia. Chronic insomnia directly relates to high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

13 Interesting Findings About Insomnia:

1. Chronic insomnia is highly common and affects approximately 30% of the population. At some point in their lifetime, around one-third of adults experience short-term occasional insomnia.
   (American Psychiatric Association, Donskoy & Loghmanee, 2018)
2. At least 1 in 4 women report having symptoms of insomnia compared to 1 in 5 men. It is said that insomnia is more prevalent in women during both the onset of menses and menopause. Hormones usually affect the sleep pattern of women.
   (Johnson et al., 2006, Insomnia)
3. Pregnancy is another situation in women that may result in short-term insomnia. Nearly 4 in 5 pregnant women experience some type of insomnia symptoms during pregnancy.
   (American Pregnancy Association, 2021)
4. Insomnia can be hereditary! It was found that teens whose parents have insomnia were more likely to report insomnia, daytime sleepiness, and pill use.
   (Roth T, Roehrs T, Pies R., 2007)
5. Rats introduced to a stressful environment exhibit characteristics similar to those associated with insomnia in humans. Rats that are given caffeine also model insomnia. However, it is difficult to find a natural animal model of insomnia but it is difficult to tell.
   (Zhang L, Zhao ZX., 2007)
6. People suffering from chronic illnesses are at significant risk of having insomnia and it goes vice versa, it is estimated, approximately 75%–90%  of people with insomnia have an increased risk for multiple medical disorders, such as conditions of hypoxemia and dyspnea, gastroesophageal reflux disease, pain conditions.
   (Katz DA, 1998)
7. It is also noted that up to 73% of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) said that they have sleep issues related to going to and maintaining sleep
   (Hiscock H., et al., 2015)
8. A very recent review reported that in children with neurodevelopmental disorders, there is an increased incidence of bedtime resistance, anxiety, difficulty settling down to sleep, delayed sleep onset, sleep maintenance issues, and overall restless sleep, this includes children suffering from Autism Spectrum Disorders, Cerebral Palsy, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Down Syndrome, and other conditions early in childhood.
   (Rigney G., et al., 2018)
9. According to a 2010 review by the University of Rochester, people who persistently get less sleep are more likely to be in traffic accidents, have higher rates of missed work days, are less satisfied with their jobs, and are more likely to get easily irritated.
10. The data collected from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine shows that insomnia costs: 11.3 days of work for the average worker every year or $2,280 in lost productivity every year.
    
    
11. Obesity and an increased risk of prehypertension and hypertension in children are also associated with insomnia putting them at risk for long-term cardiovascular diseases.
    (Fatima Y., Doi S.A., Mamun A.A., 2015)
    (Kuciene R., Dulskiene V., 2014)
12. Teens who are suffering from insomnia are also more likely to develop depression, and anxiety, and possibly consider suicide.
    (Siomos K.E., et al., 2010)
13. Patients with insomnia have high scores on the measures of both alcohol severity and depression severity than patients without insomnia.
    (Brower et al., 2001)

Given the far-reaching impact of insomnia and other sleep disturbances, it’s best to seek treatment sooner rather than later! 

– Urveez Kakalia and Sakshi Merai.