Should Insomnia Symptoms Bother You?
Articles - Lifestyle
Just when do you regard an insomnia symptom as needing attention?
by MikeJones


Just when do you regard an insomnia symptom as needing attention?

After family and friends give a lot of urging and encouragement, many people finally and reluctantly seek the help of a medical professional.

Isn't is a strange quirk of human behaviour that often the individual who is in the front line encouraging someone else to seek medical attention fails to do so themselves when they are faced with the same problem.

How can you tell whether you just need to give it a little time to see if it sorts itself out or whether you need to get serious and make a appointment to see a doctor.

According to Webster's dictionary, insomnia is defined as: "prolonged and usually abnormal inability to obtain adequate sleep."

The U.S. National Institute Of Health gives a helpful categorization of insomnia:

What is termed transient insomnia is temporary, and may last from a few days to one or two weeks.

Intermittent insomnia is a little different in that, although it is temporary, lasting again just a few days or a couple of weeks, it comes back and re-occurs.

When a person finds they cannot sleep night after night and this goes on for a month or more, this is categorized as chronic insomnia.

With that criteria you can now evaluate the insomnia symptom that is causing you concern.

If you have a category 1 or category 2 level of insomnia, it's probably not that serious.

These conditions can problem be helped or even solved by the use of certain medications or natural remedies that induce sleep.

For example, natural sleeping remedies can include giving attention to bedtime routine, exercise routines, chromotherapy, breathing exercises, music, warm baths, stress relievers, herbs, vitamins, diet, chamomile, valerian, and lavender.

These options may be sufficient for the minor insomnia symptom or symptoms you are concerned about.

It is widely known of course that any medication can have side effects so a user does well to check with a doctor first, especially if they are already using other forms of medication.

Chronic Insomnia

Chronic insomnia is another matter altogether. Going without proper sleep for weeks on end can have a huge impact on a person's quality of life. It can affect social relationships and one's level of performance in the workplace.

Medical attention is strongly advised for chronic insomnia. A doctor may be able to identify an underlying medical or psychological cause for the insomnia symptom and set out a course of treatment that will deal with it.

This may include medicine, or a variety of therapies such as relaxation, sleep restriction, and reconditioning.

In conclusion, use the 3 category strategy above to decide whether the insomnia symptom you or a loved one is dealing with is merely temporary. If it falls into category 1 or category 2, it can probably be overcome after a short time, either with the help of medication or some natural remedies.

If your insomnia symptom is category 3 however, chronic insomnia, see a professional and deal with it immediately!

DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice.