Insomnia is a difficult condition to handle and may eventually interfere with a person’s normal functions in society when left unaddressed. To be able to properly treat it however, it should also be properly identified and classified. Insomnia is more than just having a hard time sleeping. There are a host of different symptoms and causes that define various kinds of insomnia. It is crucial to look into these kinds before even thinking of looking for a solution.
Insomnia may first and foremost be classified according to its duration and intensity. Insomnia therefore, may be transient, intermittent or chronic.
Transient Insomnia
This one lasts for only a few nights upon onset and may have been primarily triggered by the immediate occurrence of something stressful or disconcerting.
Intermittent Insomnia
This kind occurs continuously and may last for a few weeks. Just like transient insomnia, stressful situations may contribute to the onset of this kind of insomnia.
This is the most intense and possibly the most debilitating kind. It occurs almost nightly and lasts for a long duration of time, effectively interfering with the social and even the biological functions of the body. This kind of insomnia may also mean that there may be a deeper undiagnosed problem like an illness for which insomnia is only a symptom.
Aside from these basic kinds of insomnia, it can also be classified according to its symptoms and causes. In this sense, there can be an entire battalion of different kinds of insomnia, the most common of which are briefly referred to below.
Sleep Onset Insomnia
Some people may have more or less established a pattern and habit of sleep in which there is an average time for both sleeping and waking. A person therefore who has sleep onset insomnia may be unable to sleep at the usual time and therefore end up having difficulty waking up at the usual time.
Psychophysiological Insomnia
This kind develops when the feeling of anxiety is translated or converted into physical symptoms. A person therefore, who may be overly anxious over something may eventually experience the physical symptom of insomnia.
Sleep Onset Association Disorder
This is usually associated with children although adults may suffer from this kind of insomnia too as a result of a childhood association of sleep with an object. This is apparent with children who cannot sleep without their teddy bears or security blankets.
Idiopathic Insomnia
This kind of insomnia begins at an early age and is characterized by the marked inability to get enough sleep despite the effort to do so. This condition may last for a lifetime.
Environmental Insomnia
People with this condition usually develop insomnia because of some external factor which may disrupt sleep. Hearing sounds outside your house in the morning for example may effectively disturb your sleep.
Altitude Insomnia
This is a more specific kind of insomnia and may follow after going up to a high altitude. This presumably occurs in people who are not used to high altitudes. It is quite impossible to imagine that a person who has made a career out of mountain climbing can still be afflicted with this condition.
No matter what kind of insomnia any person may have, it is always a wise decision not to just sit in bed at night and wait for dawn or the bed bugs to bite. Insomnia is something which should be immediately addressed.
