Insomnia

Insomnia may simply be the complaint that sleep is “unsatisfactory”. Strictly speaking, the criteria for insomnia are: (1) trouble falling asleep, (2) waking up during the night, and (3) waking up too early in the morning and then being unable to fall back asleep. About one-third of the general population reports one or more of these symptoms. More strict definitions of insomnia consider the frequency of symptom occurrence, the timeline of symptoms, and their effect on daily functioning.

 
 

Am I susceptible to Insomnia?

The most common causes of insomnia are stress, anxiety, and depression. In fact, women are reported to be twice as likely as men to suffer from insomnia. Furthermore, insomnia is more common in:

  • (1) Individuals working shifts of varying hours at varying times of day

  • (2) Older adults

  • (3) Individuals who take stimulant medications over a long period of time

  • (4) Those with medical or psychological disorders

There also seems to be a genetic association to insomnia, especially in those where insomnia begins in early life. In some cases known as idiopathic insomnia, the cause is unknown. The impact of insomnia may affect your intellectual capacity as well as both your physical and emotional health and well-being.

 Diagnosis

There are many ways to measure the phenomenon known as insomnia.

  • A simple way is to judge a person’s subjective feeling as to whether or not they typically have a good night’s sleep or if they are often awake for a large portion of the night.

  • A more accurate way is through an actigraph, a wrist-worn device that provides precise information about when and how much a person is moving. These patterns can be analyzed by our trained specialists to shed light on when an individual is asleep versus awake, and what their sleep patterns look like.

 
 

There are many questionnaires that have been carefully developed and verified to assess different aspects of insomnia. If you believe you may have insomnia, please click the button below to be redirected to an assessment questionnaire highlighting the following aspects: insomnia, sleepiness, fatigue, and non-restorative sleep. A Jodha Tishon staff member will be in contact with you following your survey submission.

 

When should insomnia be treated

Almost everybody experiences insomnia to some degree in their lifetime. Does that mean you should seek treatment after a rough night’s sleep? No. The first step in resolving sleep problems is to practice good sleep hygiene. However, if you have been having trouble sleeping on a regular basis and it lasts more than a few nights, you may benefit from treatment. Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia can assist in removing negative thoughts that may result in your inability to sleep and may be equally as effective or more effective than other sleep medication.

Questions to consider

  • Do you have trouble falling asleep at bedtime?

  • Do you wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble going back to sleep?

  • Do you wake up too early in the morning and can’t get back to sleep?

  • Do you get up in the morning feeling tired or as if you never reached a deep sleep?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions

Please click the “Contact Us” button below to be redirected to a contact form. A staff member from Jodha Tishon will be in contact with you with further consultation information.

For any additional information regarding treatment and future steps, please click the “Contact” button to be redirected to our contact page.