INSOMNIA

INSOMNIA

  Insomnia is a major public health problem since we consider that 37% of French often or very often suffer from sleep disorders ( Sofres survey 1996) and 19% see their doctor for this reason. Insomnia affects personal life insomniacs feel more tired and more irritable , their family and social lives are disrupted at any age. It generates intellectual disorders , especially impaired memory and concentration . Its entanglement with depression is common: it is often the first symptom . It can also be the cause of an accident at work or the highway because of attention problems it causes in the day, sometimes aggravated by some sleeping pills.

  It results in a disruption of daily activities and quality of life . We know that insomnia has important economic consequences because insomniacs lose an average of six days of work per month. They are the largest consumers of care, specialist consultations , complementary tests and hospitalization . Insomniacs also consume more drugs and have an increased tendency to alcohol abuse.
The causes of insomnia are varied , the most common are depression , anxiety, stress, psychophysiological insomnia , the restless legs syndrome, periodic movements , more rarely , insomnia can be result of organic disorders such as hyperthyroidism, gastroesophageal reflux , night pain ( rheumatism, neuropathy ) , and respiratory disorders associated with sleep as sleep apnea.

  "External" factors can cause insomnia , starting with poor bedding, nuisance , noise, heat ...

depression

  It is most often translated by the end of the night awakenings , sometimes unable to sleep . Besides sleep disorders , mood is gloomy , we must force to do things , including activities that are usually like .

anxiety

  It causes as well as difficulty falling asleep at night awakenings . It is often accompanied by physical signs : excessive sweating, sensation of a lump in the throat , dizziness , dry mouth ...

stress

  Some work or family situations generate a painful tension, which disappears when the person can change the frame ( eg sleep that improves on vacation for professional stress).

The psychophysiological insomnia

  This is insomnia which affects at least 15% of insomniacs . The person is very concerned about his sleep. She thinks in the day, evening , and bedtime fears . Putting to bed is often accompanied by negative thoughts such as " I will not sleep " , which actually leads to a failure of sleep. Everything happens as if the person negatively affects relative to sleep.

The restless legs

  These impatience hinder the installation of sleep by requiring the applicant to sleep to get up and walk.

The periodic movements syndrome

  A very rough night and fractional perhaps suggestive of some pathologies related to sleep , such as periodic leg movements syndrome * , which is accompanied by repeated flexing of the foot on the leg, extremely irritating to the bedfellow which surprised and irritated these shots incessant feet.