Name: Soma Niyaz Mujaheed
4th Grade
Faculty of Pharmacy – TIU – Erbil
Insomnia is defined as difficulty in sleeping, mantaining sleep, final awakening than desired or sleep that is non-restorative and of poor quality.
Insomnia results in impairment in daytime function, people with insomnia may have trouble falling asleep, many awakenings during the night, with difficulty going back to sleep, fitful sleep and daytime drowsiness. During the day, people with insomia may be anxious, irritable, may forget things and have difficulty in concentrating.
There are three types of insomnia; Transient (less than one month), Short Term Insomnia (between One month and Six months), and Chronic insomnia (more than Six month). Insomnia is a common sleeping disorder, more than half of adults in the United States said they experienced sleepless nights at least a few nights a week during the past years, and nearly one-third said they had insomnia nearly every night.
Insomnia increases with age and its twice as common in women as in men. There are some conditions that could cause insomnia like; Hypothyroidism, Arthritis, Chronic lung or Kidney disease, Cardiovascular disease (heart failure CAD), Heartburn (GERD), Neurological disorders (Epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, Headaches, Stroke, Parkinson’s disease), Diabetes,Menopause…etc.
We have some common drugs adminstrated which cause insomnia. The drugs include; Alcohol, Nicotine, Caffeine, Beta-blockers, Corticosteroids, Antidepressants, Decongestants and other medically prescribed drugs.
Some common symptoms of insomnia include; daytime fatigue, daytime sleepiness, mood change, poor attention and concerntration, lack of energy, anxiety, headaches, poor social function. Treatment of insomnia includes both Behavioral technique/ Non-medical treatment (sleep as much as possible to feel rested, maintain a regular sleep schedule, don’t force yourself to sleep) and Pharmacological treatments i.e. Antihistamine (diphenhydramine and promethazine), benzodiazepam (nitrazepam, diazepam), non-benzodiazepam (zolpidem and zaleplon), complementary medication include melatonin.