It’s normal to have trouble falling asleep from time to time. When something in the normal routine changes, such as with travel, a big deadline at work, illness, or having a new puppy or baby in the house, we can all struggle.
For about one-third of U.S. adults, however, sleep disorders make sleep a nightly struggle. And it’s not just you who suffers. Your tossing and turning and other nocturnal habits can disrupt your partner’s sleep, too.
At Ultimate Psychiatry, with offices in Plano, Frisco, Prosper, and Pearland, Texas, our triple-board-certified psychiatrist, Shakil Tukdi, MD, and team of mental health providers specialize in diagnosing and treating multiple types of sleep disorders, including insomnia.
Keep reading to learn more about insomnia and how we can help you — and your partner — catch high-quality sleep again!
If you’re struggling to fall asleep at night, you could be one of the 25% of Americans affected by insomnia each year. Insomnia can cause a number of symptoms, including the following:
Insomnia also increases your risk of substance use, since people may turn to drugs or alcohol to help them fall asleep. This is problematic, since these substances affect the quality of your rapid eye movement (REM) sleep as well as your daytime mood, performance, and alertness.
Keep in mind that insomnia isn’t the same as not getting eight hours of sleep every night. People have different sleep needs based on many factors, including age. For example, growing babies, children and teens need about 9-11 hours each day, while most adults feel rested and can function well with 6-9 hours of sleep.
For this reason, it’s helpful to talk with a sleep expert if you’re concerned about your sleep or if your wakefulness is interfering with your partner’s sleep. A specialist can review your sleep symptoms and help you arrive at an accurate diagnosis.
Insomnia also comes in both short-term and chronic form. Short-term insomnia usually starts in response to something in your circumstances, such as a major life change, eating too late at night, or anxiety over a big project. It can last from one night to a few weeks, and it usually resolves when the issue gets resolved.
This differs from chronic insomnia, which is defined as insomnia that occurs at least three nights a week for a period of a month or longer. People develop chronic insomnia for different reasons, including:
If you’re struggling with chronic insomnia, be sure to schedule an appointment with a sleep specialist. If left untreated, chronic insomnia increases your risk of developing serious health conditions, including heart disease.
The key to managing insomnia involves identifying the underlying causes of your restlessness. For example, certain medications can interrupt sleep, and a simple prescription change may be all you need to leave insomnia behind. As part of our evaluation, we may ask you to keep a sleep diary to track your thoughts, foods, and behaviors to see if any patterns develop.
Once we have a direction to go, we can design your personalized insomnia treatment plan. Your treatment plan may include:
To learn more about how our providers can help you get a good night’s rest again, schedule an appointment online or over the phone with Ultimate Psychiatry today.
