Insomnia is, simply, persistent problems with falling asleep or staying asleep. People with insomnia typically complain about poor or un-refreshing sleep and often suffer from drowsiness, lack of focus, lower energy, fatigue, impaired mental function and moodiness during the waking hours.

There are three main types of insomnia, and properly identifying the type is a critical element in creating the right individual treatment plan.

Acute insomnia is relatively short term, usually lasting up to one month—which may feel like an eternity to the person suffering from it! Life changes, persistent stress, physical illness or emotional strain are often the sources of acute insomnia. A stressful situation may induce several nights of poor sleep, and a patient may need to seek treatment if stress regularly causes a pattern of poor sleep.

Similarly, an individual experiences several weeks of poor sleep should seek treatment before the pattern becomes longer term or develops into chronic insomnia.

Primary insomnia lasts longer than a month and has no connection to another issue or condition. Causes of primary insomnia are specific to the individual and are often a composite of biological, behavioral and cognitive factors. Symptoms from primary insomnia often become more apparent in middle adulthood, when an individual’s traits, behaviors and mental patterns have been established for some time.

With primary insomnia the key to successful treatment is accurate diagnosis.