![]() Additionally, rates of insomnia have been steadily rising among military personnel and veterans, with as many as 1 in 4 being affected, Soehner notes. Insomnia also becomes more prevalent with age, affecting as many as one in five older adults. Sex differences in insomnia become more extreme during the transition to menopause, particularly among women who experience hot flashes and night sweats. The incidence of insomnia is 1.4 times higher in women than in men, according to Adriane Soehner, Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. That’s because sleep loss affects daytime mood and cognition. “Being awake at night is a risk factor,” Perlis says. In recent years, insomnia has been shown to increase the risk of suicide. “This can include difficulty with attention, memory, problem-solving and just functioning at a high level.” “Most often, persons are aware of the more immediate effects of insomnia and a poor night’s sleep,” says Andrew Stiehm, M.D., pulmonologist and sleep medicine physician at Allina Health in St. In 2016, the American College of Physicians recommended specifically targeting insomnia for treatment.Īllowing insomnia to spiral out of control can have negative consequences on patients’ overall well-being. They noted that insomnia can present on its own or in conjunction with a variety of other medical conditions or mental health disorders if left untreated, it’s a risk factor for the development and exacerbation of the accompanying conditions. Insomnia is very common in clinical practice, afflicting as many as half of primary care patients, according to Perlis and the co-authors of a review paper on insomnia, which was published in the Lancet in September 2022. The Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine says that sleep disorders and lack of sleep are an “undertreated threat to the public health.” Sleep health professionals have recognized the behavioral components of sleep disorders for decades, according to the society, yet most people with disorders never get a proper diagnosis and treatment. About 6% to 10% of the population experiences long-term sleep woes and meets the diagnostic criteria for chronic insomnia, as defined by the American College of Physicians.Ī clinical guideline from the college points out that individuals with chronic insomnia are often plagued by “fatigue, poor cognitive function, mood disturbance and distress or interference with personal functioning.” The guideline also notes that “an estimated $30 billion to $107 billion is spent on insomnia in the United States each year,” and that insomnia also takes a toll on the economy in terms of loss of workplace productivity. However, when these problems persist for longer than three months, the diagnosis changes to chronic insomnia. ![]() More than likely, sleeplessness is part of the stress response (i.e., the fight-or-flight response).” ![]() “It makes total sense that this would be so. ![]() “We are all vulnerable and likely to experience acute insomnia,” Perlis says. When this happens more than three nights per week and lasts for at least two weeks, it’s considered acute insomnia.Ībout 30% of the population is affected, according to Michael Perlis, Ph.D., director of Behavioral Sleep Medicine and associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and the School of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. At some point, everyone has had trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or falling back sleep. ![]()
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