Insomnia is a pathological condition where the process of falling and staying asleep is disrupted. It can manifest as difficulty falling asleep (presomnic form), disturbances during sleep (intrasomnic), and problems after waking up (postsomnic form), along with reduced sleep efficiency and night awakenings. Diagnosis is based on physical examination, medical history, and polysomnography. Treatment involves sleep hygiene practices, medication, physiotherapy, and psychotherapy.
General Information
Insomnia is a disorder characterized by the disruption of the “sleep-wake” cycle. This pathology is defined by a deficiency in the quality and quantity of sleep necessary for normal human functioning. The disease affects 30-45% of the world’s population. For some individuals (10-15%), insomnia represents a serious problem that requires medication. It should be noted that with age, problems with falling asleep and maintaining physiologically adequate sleep occur more frequently, which is why elderly people encounter insomnia more often than younger individuals.
Insomnia is a more popular term for the pathology, used by patients and even doctors, but it is not entirely correct, as the disease is not accompanied by a complete loss of sleep.
Causes of Insomnia
Insomnia can be rooted in physiological predisposition, psychogenic disorders, diseases of the nervous system, and internal organs. Insomnia often occurs in individuals suffering from neuroses and neurosis-like conditions such as psychoses, depression, panic disorders, and others. Patients with somatic diseases causing nighttime pain, shortness of breath, chest pain, and breathing difficulties (such as arterial hypertension, atherosclerosis, pleurisy, pneumonia, chronic pain, etc.) typically report difficulties falling asleep and poor sleep quality. Sleep disturbances can accompany organic lesions of the central nervous system (such as stroke, schizophrenia, brain tumors, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, hyperkinetic syndromes), and peripheral nervous system pathologies.
Predisposing factors influencing the development of sleep disorders also include: living in a metropolis; frequent time zone changes; prolonged use of psychotropic drugs; alcohol consumption; constant intake of caffeine-containing beverages; shift work, and other occupational hazards (noise, vibration, toxic compounds); and poor sleep hygiene.
The pathogenesis of insomnia is considered not fully understood; however, scientific research and experiments in the field of neurology have shown that patients exhibit the same increased brain activity during sleep as when awake (indicated by high levels of beta waves); increased levels of hormones during nighttime hours (cortisol, adrenocorticotropic hormone), and a high level of metabolism.
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