How do you know you have insomnia? Symptoms of Insomnia

Insomnia is difficulty falling asleep or remaining asleep and is considered chronic if it occurs at least three nights per week for three months or more.

Most of us have experienced brief periods of sleeplessness (also called acute insomnia). Everyone knows what it feels like to be awake staring at the ceiling and needing sleep--this can occur when you experience and travel jet lag, or when you're stressed and overwhelmed by life circumstances.

How do you differentiate a more serious form and a normal sleep problem?
Symptoms of Insomnia

Based on guidelines from a physician group, individuals with insomnia have one or more of the following symptoms:

• Difficulty falling asleep
• Difficulty staying asleep (waking up during the night and having trouble returning to sleep)
• Waking up early in the morning
• Unrefreshing sleep (also called"non-restorative sleep")
• Fatigue or low energy
• Cognitive impairment, such as difficulty concentrating
• Mood disturbance, such as irritability
• Like feeling impulsive or aggression, problems
• Difficulty at work or college
• Difficulty in personal relationships, including caregivers, friends and family

The duration of insomnia is important. Doctors consider insomnia chronic if it occurs at least three nights per week for three months or more. At this time, your sleeplessness may be a behavioral pattern (for example, your nighttime routines don't cue your body for sleep, or your sleep schedule is out of sync with your biological clock), or it might be comorbid, meaning it is linked to another medical or psychiatric issue that needs to be addressed. Recently, scientists have begun to think about insomnia as a issue of your brain being not able to stop being awake. Your brain has a sleep cycle and a wake cycle--is turned off, when one is turned on the other. Insomnia can be a problem with either part of the cycle: too little sleep or too much aftermath drive drive. No matter its origin, if insomnia has become a regular occurrence, speaking to your doctor about treatment could be a good idea.

You might want to consider whether and to what your life is impacting. If you feel tired or have low energy during the day and it gets in the way of your productivity and enjoyment of hobbies, family, or friends, that likely means you might benefit from talking to your physician. It has not worked and if you have tried to make adjustments, you may want to enlist the help of a sleep specialist.