What Is Insomnia?
Insomnia is defined as the inability to fall asleep, or maintain sleep. It is an intermittent problem for most people, but when it becomes chronic, it should be evaluated. It can result from physiologic, physical, psychological, psychiatric or pharmacological reasons.
According to the National Institutes of Health, insomnia affects more than 70 million Americans. Direct costs of insomnia, which include dollars spent on insomnia treatment, healthcare services, hospital and nursing home care, are estimated at nearly $14 billion annually. Indirect costs such as work loss, property damage from accidents and transportation to and from healthcare providers, are estimated to be $28 billion.
What is this condition that affects so many of us and costs so much? The word "insomnia" comes from the Latin in ("no") and somnus ("sleep"), so it literally means "no sleep" or the inability to sleep.
Insomnia is an experience of inadequate or poor quality sleep as characterized by one or more of the following sleep complaints:
