20 Symptoms of Insomnia

Insomnia shares symptoms with other sleep disorders and medical conditions. Primarily because insomnia is often a symptom of other medical conditions. It is the most common sleep disorder that can have more than 500 different causes. Insomniacs, sufferers of this sleep disorder may experience varied symptoms of insomnia.  Here are 20 symptoms of that symptom.

1. Sleep problems.

Insomnia may be any noticeable or acknowledged sleep problem. It is also often a symptom of other sleep disorders.

2. Difficulty falling asleep.

Lying awake unable to fall asleep is one of the most common symptoms of insomnia.

3. Frequent night awakening.

Waking up often at night is usually from pain disorders or medical illness.

4. Difficulty returning to sleep.

Some insomniacs have a difficulty returning to sleep after awakening in the middle of the night.

5. Waking too early.

Waking too early is often characteristic of clinical depression.

6. Unrefreshed sleep.

Insomniacs may feel as if they haven’t slept at all the next day.

7. Racing mind.

Racing mind is characteristic of bipolar disorder which causes people to keep shifting from being depressed to being over-excited and hyperactive. That person’s thoughts and speech is so fast that it tumbles over itself and becomes fragmented. Occurring at bedtime, it makes it difficult for that person to fall asleep.

8. Daytime tiredness.

Insomniacs, from poor quality sleep, feel tired even during the day.

9. Fatigue.

Physical fatigue is the inability to function at the level of one’s normal activities. Mental fatigue manifests in somnolence or sleepiness.

10. Drowsiness.

Drowsiness is a condition in which a person feels a sensation of sleepiness, tiredness, fatigue, weariness, lethargy or exhaustion. This may be normal at the end of the day. However, insomniacs may feel this way throughout the day.

11. Difficulty concentrating.

Difficulty in concentrating may or may not be associated with forgetfulness.

12. Irritability.

Irritability is an emotional behavior. It is the result of having feelings of frustration and annoyance.

13. Sleep history, medical history, psychiatric history and medication review.

Symptoms of insomnia may show itself in medical histories of the patient. Even if these patients do not acknowledge having problems sleeping.

14. Frequent or early morning awakening.

Frequent or early morning awakening is a common complaint of older people. This is due to the fact that we lose 10minutes of deep sleep every decade in our lives. As people age, that gets “shallower” or easily interrupted.

15. Problems in sleep onset.

This is the difficulty falling asleep at the beginning of the night. It is often associated with anxiety disorders.

16. Sleeplessness.

Sleeplessness is the feeling of tiredness and the need to doze off.

17. Tiredness.

Tiredness may be caused by an over-busy life. It is important to determine if it is muscular tiredness or drowsiness from lack of a good night’s rest. It may be one of the symptoms of insomnia or other medical conditions.

18. Sleep disturbance.

Parasomnia includes various disruptive sleeping events including nightmares, sleepwalking, violent behavior while sleeping and REM behavior disorder.

19. Mood alterations.

Feelings due to depression, anxiety and stress may affect a person’s ability to fall asleep.

20. Headaches.

Insomnia or lack of sleep can trigger both headaches and migraines. Insomniacs may continue to suffer from headaches while their insomnia is untreated.

 


Here are some sleep related sites that will be of interest to you. Thanks for visiting our Insomnia website.

Treatment for Insomnia
Yoga and Exercise Ease Bipolar Symptoms - latimes.com
Insomnia - Counseling and Mental Health Center - The University of ...
Hypersomnia - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
Reasons for Insomnia
Insomnia (novel) encyclopedia topics | Reference.com