Insomnia

Insomnia can cause problems during the day, such as excessive sleepiness, fatigue, trouble thinking clearly or staying focused, or feeling depressed or irritable. It is not defined by the number of hours you sleep every night. Although the amount of sleep a person needs varies, most people need between 7 and 8 hours of sleep a night.

What is Insomnia?

Insomnia is a condition in which it is difficult to get to sleep, or to remain soundly asleep, resulting in too short and too low-quality sleep which affects normal functioning. It causes fatigue and daytime sleepiness. It may be classified as acute, lasting a few days or weeks, or chronic, when it lasts longer than a month.

Insomnia Causes

Insomnia Symptoms

Insomnia Treatment

Insomnia in Pregnancy

Promoting Sounder Sleep in Older Adults

Insomnia in Children

Sleep-Onset Insomnia

Causes of Sleep-Onset Insomnia

Treatment of Sleep-Onset Insomnia

Middle of the Night Insomnia

Middle of the Night Insomnia and Biphasic Sleeping

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Treatment of Middle-of-the-Night Insomnia

Screen Time and Insomnia

Latest Insomnia News and Research

Learning to live again: A Lazarus tale from the Covid front lines

The twinkle in his eyes, the delight in his smile, the joyous way he moved his disease-withered frame. They all proclaimed a single, resounding message: Grateful to be alive!

26 Feb 2021

Psychological variables account for anxiety and depression among pregnant women during COVID-19

Women who gave birth during the COVID-19 pandemic report having felt greater stress in the delivery process, and rate lower the quality of care received.

17 Feb 2021

New study reveals that daytime naps are partly regulated by genes

How often a person takes daytime naps, if at all, is partly regulated by their genes, according to new research led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and published in Nature Communications.

11 Feb 2021

Evidence that Long COVID-19 impacts children

The ongoing coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused over one hundred million reported infections, with over 2.23 million deaths worldwide. While most cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection are asymptomatic or mild, some patients report long-haul symptoms, often severely debilitating in nature. However, it is unclear how many children are affected similarly.

2 Feb 2021

Insomnia patients commonly underestimate their actual sleep behavior

People with sleep disorders commonly have a misperception about their actual sleep behavior. A research group led by Karin Trimmel and Stefan Seidel from MedUni Vienna's Department of Neurology (Outpatient Clinic for Sleep Disorders and Sleep-Related Disorders) analyzed polysomnography results to identify the types of sleep disorder that are associated with a discrepancy between self-reported and objective sleep parameters and whether there are any factors that influence this.

28 Jan 2021

Neurological and psychiatric complications six months after COVID-19 recovery

Researchers in the United Kingdom have aimed to determine the prevalence of patients who experience neurological and psychiatric conditions six months after recovering from COVID-19.

28 Jan 2021

Lack of sleep, stress, mental health problems can lead to PCS-like symptoms

A new study suggests that a lot of people might be going through life with symptoms that resemble concussion - a finding supporting researchers' argument that athletes recovering from a brain injury should be assessed and treated on a highly individualized basis.

22 Jan 2021

COVID-19, influenza and suicide are responsible for deaths of ICE detainees

Thirty-five people have died in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since April 2018, with a seven-fold increase in deaths even as the average daily population decreased by nearly a third between 2019 and 2020, a new USC study shows.

21 Jan 2021

Study: Menopause symptoms are worse for women with premature ovarian insufficiency

Hot flashes, insomnia, and vaginal dryness are commonly reported symptoms that accompany the menopause transition.

20 Jan 2021

Study reveals rising risk of mental health problems among COVID-19 health care professionals

The daily toll of COVID-19, as measured by new cases and the growing number of deaths, overlooks a shadowy set of casualties: the rising risk of mental health problems among health care professionals working on the frontlines of the pandemic.

12 Jan 2021

Simple monitoring system could reduce medication-related illness for people in care homes

New research from Swansea University suggests that a simple nurse- or carer-led medicines' monitoring system can help reduce medication-related illness for people living in residential care homes - and the process takes just a few minutes per patient.

11 Jan 2021

Scientists decipher the structure of protein found in parasites that cause neglected tropical diseases

Brazilian researchers have managed to decipher the structure of a protein found in parasites that cause neglected tropical diseases, paving the way to the development of novel medications.

8 Jan 2021

Researchers use fruit fly model to understand COVID-19-related neurological complications

Researchers claim to have reproduced disease mechanisms due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the fruit fly, Drosophila, while also providing proof of the efficacy of one drug against these disease processes. If validated, these findings represent a new understanding of how the virus causes neurological symptoms that could help develop more effective therapies.

23 Dec 2020

Women suffered more than men from COVID-19 isolation

A study by University of Calgary researchers with the Hotchkiss Brain Institute examining sex and gender differences on sleep, empathy and mood during months of isolation due to COVID-19 has found that women are suffering more than men with poorer sleep and more anxiety, depression and trauma, while also feeling more empathetic than men.

22 Dec 2020

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the wellbeing of healthcare workers?

A new study by US-based researchers – at the Northwest Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center and Columbia University – has found that healthcare workers have experienced significant psychiatric distress during the pandemic.

21 Dec 2020

Healthcare workers can develop severe mental health problems after COVID-19

Researchers at the University of Ottawa have found the mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have particularly impacted healthcare professionals and their sleep, putting these frontline workers at risk of severe future mental health problems.

17 Dec 2020

People with ADHD tendencies are more sensitive to insomnia, severe functional impairments

Individuals with high ADHD-traits that do not meet the criteria for a diagnosis are less able to perform tasks involving attentional regulation or emotional control after a sleepless night than individuals with low ADHD-traits, a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging reports.

17 Dec 2020

COVID-19 pandemic affects sleep habits, leads to further stress and anxiety

The COVID-19 pandemic is seriously affecting the sleep habits of half of those surveyed in a new study from The Royal and the University of Ottawa, leading to further stress and anxiety plus further dependence on sleep medication.

17 Dec 2020

New guideline offers recommendations to use behavioral, psychological therapies for insomnia

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has published a new clinical practice guideline establishing recommendations for the use of behavioral and psychological treatments for chronic insomnia disorder in adults.

16 Dec 2020

Phase 2 clinical trial at UCR to test first-in-class drug for treatment of stuttering

The School of Medicine at the University of California, Riverside, will serve as lead site for a Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating ecopipam, an investigational first-in-class drug being tested for the treatment of stuttering in adults and Tourette syndrome in pediatric patients.

15 Dec 2020