According to Wikipedia,
Insomnia is a symptom[1] of a sleeping disorder characterized by persistent difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep despite the opportunity. Insomnia is a symptom, not a stand-alone diagnosis or a disease. By definition, insomnia is "difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, or both".
I have suffered from this symptom since last month, the time when I fell that I was sick enough to die.
Although there are several different degrees of insomnia, three types of insomnia have been clearly identified: transient, acute, and chronic.
- Transient insomnia lasts from days to weeks. It can be caused by another disorder, by changes in the sleep environment, by the timing of sleep, severe depression, or by stress. Its consequences - sleepiness and impaired psychomotor performance - are similar to those of sleep deprivation.[5]
- Acute insomnia is the inability to consistently sleep well for a period of between three weeks to six months.[6]
- Chronic insomnia lasts for years at a time. It can be caused by another disorder, or it can be a primary disorder. Its effects can vary according to its causes. They might include sleepiness, muscular fatigue, hallucinations, and/or mental fatigue; but people with chronic insomnia often show increased alertness. Some people that live with this disorder see things as though they were happening in slow motion, whereas moving objects seem to blend together. Can cause double vision.[5]
I am not the third one, of course. Phew.
I feel very hard to fall asleep, regardless what time it is, but I feel sleepy in the day time. After waking up in the middle of the night, again, I can't easily go back to my sleeping state. I have read that a research showed that the average time needed by most people to fall asleep is 7 minutes. See, I need 1 hour or so! Sigh*
And another thing, I always wake up at around 7 or 8 in the morning, although if I fall asleep at 2AM. Sometimes I can go back to my sleep, sometimes my brain just keeps running, forces me to get up and start my day.
The pattern of insomnia often is related to the etiology.[7]
- Onset insomnia - difficulty falling asleep at the beginning of the night, often associated with anxiety disorders.
- Middle-of-the-Night Insomnia - Insomnia characterized by difficulty returning to sleep after awakening in the middle of the night or waking too early in the morning. Also referred to as nocturnal awakenings. Encompasses middle and terminal insomnia.
- Middle insomnia - waking during the middle of the night, difficulty maintaining sleep. Often associated with pain disorders or medical illness.
- Terminal (or late) insomnia - early morning waking. Characteristic of clinical depression.
I get all the pattern, I think.
Insomnia is something that I fear of now. In the past, I seldom felt hard to go to my dream land. I was the one quite sensitive to the comfort of a pillow and blanket. I used to fall asleep easily, but now, I am just an inso-girl.
And I had a CV 2003 quiz on Thursday. On Tuesday night, I just decided that I was to restless to study more, I went to sleep at 9PM. But, actually, it was just a blank plan, I felt asleep at around 11PM, 2 hours after I decided to close my eyes. Really uncool, huh? Then, guess, after 4 hours of a far-from-peaceful sleep, the stupid fire alarm started to ring. I jumped automatically and went out, but found nothing. I waited for my neighbours to come out, but it looked like they just slept like pig. Lol. Then, after 15 minutes, and no one awoke, I guessed the alarm was just tired and stopped ringing. I tried to get back to my sleep but again, another session of insomnia.
The day after, I went to sleep at 10PM, fell asleep at 11 plus. And guess, another interruption! Power called me at around 12. Omigod! My sensitive ear caught the sound of the vibration of my phone and it suddenly woke me up. And he just asked, "Friendster sama Facebook itu termasuk apa, ya?". Gosh, because of a SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE, I need to pause my sleep and to get back to it, I needed to wait for the almost forever buffering.
My brain keeps running and running, never lets me to rest. There's always something to think of. My brain is too hyperactive. I want a more normal life. I don't want to be a bat. I don't know what has caused my insomnia, and maybe Uncle Wiki can help.
Insomnia can be caused by:
- Psychoactive drugs or stimulants, including certain medications, herbs, caffeine, cocaine, ephedrine, amphetamines, methylphenidate, MDMA, methamphetamine and modafinil
- Fluoroquinolone antibiotic drugs, see Fluoroquinolone toxicity, associated with more severe and chronic types of insomnia [8]
- Hormone shifts such as those that precede menstruation and those during menopause
- Life problems like fear, stress, anxiety, emotional or mental tension, work problems, financial stress, unsatisfactory sex life
- Mental disorders such as bipolar disorder, clinical depression, general anxiety disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, or obsessive compulsive disorder.
- Disturbances of the circadian rhythm, such as shift work and jet lag, can cause an inability to sleep at some times of the day and excessive sleepiness at other times of the day. Jet lag is seen in people who travel through multiple time zones, as the time relative to the rising and setting of the sun no longer coincides with the body's internal concept of it. The insomnia experienced by shift workers is also a circadian rhythm sleep disorder.
- Estrogen is considered to play a significant role in women’s mental health (including insomnia). A conceptual model of how estrogen affects mood was suggested by Douma et al 2005 based on their extensive literature review relating activity of endogenous, bio-identical and synthetic estrogen with mood and well-being. They concluded the sudden estrogen withdrawal, fluctuating estrogen, and periods of sustained estrogen low levels correlated with significant mood lowering. Clinical recovery from depression postpartum, perimenopause, and postmenopause was shown to be effective after levels of estrogen were stabilized and/or restored.[9][10]
- Certain neurological disorders, brain lesions, or a history of traumatic brain injury
- Medical conditions such as hyperthyroidism
- Abuse of over-the counter or prescription sleep aids can produce rebound insomnia
- Poor sleep hygiene, e.g., noise
- Parasomnia, which includes a number of disruptive sleep events including nightmares, sleepwalking, violent behavior while sleeping, and REM behavior disorder, in which a person moves his/her physical body in response to events within his/her dreams
- A rare genetic condition can cause a prion-based, permanent and eventually fatal form of insomnia called fatal familial insomnia
- Parasites can cause intestinal disturbances while sleeping.
I think I'm just stressed out and my hormones have shifted here and there, dancing like mad.
I am restless but I just don't know how to rest as well as I am loveless but I just don't know how to love. Haha, the latter part, please just ignore it, I am just to tired to delete them. Lol.
So, do you Guys face the same problem as I do?
~FeN~
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