Insomnia is a common sleep disorder. If you have insomnia, you may:
- Lie awake for a long time and have trouble falling asleep
- Wake up a lot and have trouble returning to sleep
- Wake up too early in the morning
- Feel like you haven’t slept at all
Lack of or poor quality sleep causes other symptoms that can affect daytime function. You may feel very sleepy and have low energy throughout the day. You may have trouble thinking clearly or staying focused. Or, you might feel depressed or irritable.
Insomnia is defined as short and poor quality sleep that affects your functioning during the day. Although the amount of sleep a person needs varies, most people need between 7 and 8 hours of sleep a night to feel refreshed.
Insomnia can be mild to severe and varies in how often it occurs and how long it lasts. Acute insomnia is a short-term sleep problem that is generally related to a stressful or traumatic life event and lasts from a few days to a few weeks. Acute insomnia might happen from time to time. With chronic insomnia, sleep problems occur at least 3 nights a week for more than a month.
Insomnia tends to increase as women and men age.
Source: Office on Women’s Health in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health.