![]() ![]() These criteria specify that symptoms must cause clinically significant functional distress or impairment, be present for at least 3 nights/week for at least 3 months, and not be linked to other sleep, medical, or mental disorders. Chronic insomnia is diagnosed according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, and the International Classification of Sleep Disorders, which have similar criteria for making the diagnosis. Insomnia is defined as the subjective perception of difficulty with sleep initiation, duration, consolidation, or quality, which occurs despite adequate opportunity for sleep, and results in some form of daytime impairment. Since there is a higher incidence with increasing age and co morbidities such as diabetes, all patients, especially middle-aged and diabetics, should be screened for insomnia by the primary care physician with a self assessed questionnaire and counseled. Insomnia is a common sleep disorder which is many times missed by a primary care physician until/unless asked for. Twenty-seven percent of patients who had insomnia did not perceive the condition, which was statistically significant. ![]() Increasing age and diabetes were significantly associated with insomnia, while other socioeconomic factors and co morbidities were not significantly associated. Results:Ĭhronic insomnia was seen in 33% of the adult population sampled. Data was analyzed for the prevalence of insomnia and its association with co morbidities. Athens Insomnia Scale was used to diagnose insomnia and information regarding medical co morbidities was collected. All adult patients attending the OPD from September 1 to Octowere enrolled in the study after obtaining written consent. Materials and Methods:Ī cross-sectional study was done in the family medicine OPD at St. This study was done to find the prevalence of chronic insomnia in adult patients visiting a family medicine outpatient department (OPD) in a hospital and to assess the risk factors and co morbidities associated with it. Family physicians have the responsibility of diagnosing and adequately treating this. Further explanations of these techniques can be found at is one of the common but neglected conditions seen in family practice with long term and serious effects on health of a patient. Types of behavioral treatments include stimulus control (reassociate bed with sleep), relaxation procedures (think: meditation), sleep restriction (limiting time spent in bed) and other approaches. ![]() A 2017 study out of California found that four weeks of cognitive behavioral treatments improved sleep in older adults who were struggling with insomnia. Behavioral changes have been shown to be the most successful strategy for preventing insomnia. But there are things we can do about this. This could have particular effects on those of us who are older, potentially increasing the risk for insomnia, and therefore Alzheimer’s. And right now, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought even more stress to many people, affecting how many of us fall asleep and stay asleep. What can we do about sleep and our brains?įor some of us, sleep is always a problem. Based on these observations, other groups performed studies in humans and found elevated amyloid levels in the cerebrospinal fluid of people with insomnia, and this predicted their risk of dementia (Alzheimer’s). In the same study, chronic sleep deprivation seemed to have the same effects. Early studies in mice showed that when subjected to acute sleep deprivation, levels of amyloid beta, the protein that makes up Alzheimer’s plaques, increased in the brain. In fact, the connection between insomnia and cognitive impairments recently prompted researchers to test the idea that insomnia could be a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. This could be because sleep - REM sleep in particular - is believed to be involved in learning and memory formation. Studies from New York and Iceland found that chronic insomnia increases the risk for cognitive (brain function) decline with age. Surveys have shown that older adults with multiple chronic diseases are more likely to rate their sleep as poor compared to healthy older adults. In addition to mental health disorders that may be connected to poor sleep, doctors are finding that many older adults have insomnia combined with chronic diseases, such as diabetes, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegenerative diseases. As a result, people with insomnia are more likely to develop depression later in their life. Insomnia also reduces quality of life and can strain family relationships. Poor sleep can cause daytime sleepiness, which increases the risk for falls and injury. Has sleep become more of a problem with each passing year? Insomnia is a sleep disorder characterized by trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, and it typically affects 30-45% of adults over the age of 60. ![]()
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