Inability to Sleep, (Insomnia) A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

Insomnia is described as a medical sleep disorder typically featured by:
1. Difficulty in falling and remaining asleep
2. Too early morning wakening
3. Too many awakenings during the night
4. Lack of restful sleep
5. A combination of these.
Most people have poor sleep at least once in their lifetime
Insomnia is perhaps the most common sleep disorder affecting most people at sometime in their lives.
For such a common sleep disorder insomnia is not well understood by most people.
1. Primary insomnia is insomnia that happens when no illness or other secondary cause is identified.
Primary insomnia is responsible for about one in five cases of long-term insomnia.
2. Secondary (or co-morbid) insomnia happens when insomnia is a symptom of, or is linked with, other disorders.
These can be medical or mental health disorders, or drug or substance misuse.
1. Transient insomnia happens for only a few days of insomnia,
2. Short-term insomnia happens between one and four weeks.
3. Long-term (or chronic) insomnia happens for four weeks or longer.
Man is the only mammal that is willingly to delay his sleep.
The higher the altitude, the greater is the sleep interference
Normally most healthy adults require seven to nine hours of sleep a night
Sleep is just as essential as diet and exercise.
Poor sleep or lifestyle habits that may cause insomnia or make it worse are:
1. Going to bed at different times each night
2. Daytime napping
3. Poor sleeping environment, such as too much noise or light
4. Using the television, computer, or a mobile device in bed
5. The use of some medications and drugs
Diagnosis is by:
1. Typical history of difficulty in sleeping
2. Electroencephalogram (EEG) for brain wave pattern
3. Sleep Laboratory Analysis
Treatment of Insomnia is by:
Behavior Therapy
Medicines to help sleep
Other methods e.g. warm drinks, baths. music, counting sheep,have a massage

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Inability to Sleep (Insomnia)
Chapter 2 Causes
Chapter 3 Symptoms
Chapter 4 Diagnosis
Chapter 5 Treatment
Chapter 6 Prognosis
Chapter 7 Sleep Deprivation
Chapter 8 OSA
Epilogue

Every one is unable to sleep once in a while.
Sometimes it is because of the stress of work, studies for examinations or an illness or death of a close family member or even friends.
Some are unable to sleep the whole night while others sleep poorly.
Whatever the cause, inability to sleep can deprive a person of adequate rest of the brain and may affect his mental condition.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Nov 5, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370423958

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

Inability to Sleep,

(Insomnia)

A

Simple

Guide

To

The Condition,

Diagnosis,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2016 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes the Insomnia, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases which is seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

(What You Need to Treat Insomnia)

This eBook is licensed for the personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Condition) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiolographical account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiolographical account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Conditions into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 700 amazon kindle books and some into Smashwords.com eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical conditions.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring the patient the latest information about a condition or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

Inability to Sleep (Insomnia)

Every one is unable to sleep once in a while.

Sometimes it is because of the stress of work, studies for examinations or an illness or death of a close family member or even friends.

Some are unable to sleep the whole night while others sleep poorly.

Whatever the cause, inability to sleep can deprive a person of adequate rest of the brain and may affect his mental condition.

What is Insomnia?

Insomnia is described as a medical sleep disorder typically featured by:

1. Difficulty in falling and remaining asleep

2. Too early morning wakening

3. Too many awakenings during the night

4. Lack of restful sleep

5. A combination of these.

Most people have poor sleep at least once in their lifetime

Insomnia is perhaps the most common sleep disorder affecting most people at sometime in their lives.

For such a common sleep disorder insomnia is not well understood by most people.

Some classifications of Inability to Sleep

Doctors sometimes classify Inability to Sleep (insomnia) into the following categories:

A. By type

1. Primary insomnia is insomnia that happens when no illness or other secondary cause is identified.

Primary insomnia is responsible for about one in five cases of long-term insomnia.

2. Secondary (or co-morbid) insomnia happens when insomnia is a symptom of, or is linked with, other disorders.

These can be medical or mental health disorders, or drug or substance misuse.

B. By duration

1. Transient insomnia happens for only a few days of insomnia,

2. Short-term insomnia happens between one and four weeks.

3. Long-term (or chronic) insomnia happens for four weeks or longer.

People suffering from chronic insomnia may have episodes several times a year.

Babies and young children deprived of sleep growing up because of medical disorders, poor quality of home life, and other factors tend more to develop chronic insomnia when growing up.

Some quick and interesting facts about insomnia are:

1. Man is the only mammal that is willingly to delay his sleep.

2. The higher the altitude, the greater is the sleep interference.

Normally sleep interference becomes higher at altitudes of 13,200 feet or more.

The sleep interference is believed to be caused by decreased oxygen levels and the alterations in respiration.

Most people can adapt to new altitudes in about two to three weeks.

3. Normally most healthy adults require seven to nine hours of sleep a night.

Some people are able to work without sleepiness or drowsiness following six hours of sleep.

Others cannot function at their best unless they have slept ten hours.

4. Most people normally feel tired at two different times of the day: about 2:00 AM and 2:00 PM.

It is the body’s natural dip in alertness that is primarily accountable for the post-lunch dip.

5. Sleep is just as essential as diet and exercise.

Shift workers are at higher risk for a range of chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases.

Newborns sleep a total of 10.5 to 18 hours a day irregularly with periods of 1–3 hours spent awake.

If infants are placed in bed drowsy but not asleep, they tend to become self- soothers which permit them to fall asleep independently at bedtime and fall asleep during the night.

6. Divorced, widowed and separated people have more insomnia.

7. Up to 80% of totally blind people have insomnia.

Because the brain uses senses from light to tell the body when to sleep, people who are totally blind and cannot see light often fight to control their sleep cycles.

8. Insomnia most often happens in elderly people aged 60 and over.

During this age, lifestyle changes, inadequate exercise, poor health and higher sensitivity to outside noise and temperature all help to induce insomnia.

9. The human body cannot live without sleep.

People who do not sleep for several days have hallucinations, blurred vision, slurred speech and paranoia.

10. Human beings spent about 1/3 of their whole life sleeping.

11. A new baby normally leads to 400-750 hours lost sleep for parents in the first year

One of the best ways to diagnose insomnia later in life is the formation of bad sleep habits from having sleep interfered by young children.

12. The record for the longest duration without sleep is 18 days, 21 hours, 40 minutes during a rocking chair marathon.

The record holder documented hallucinations, paranoia, blurred vision, slurred speech and memory and concentration lapses.

What are the causes of inability to sleep?

Causes:

Inability to sleep may develop for no known reason.

There is not one single cause for insomnia.

Stress, physical and mental illness, living situations, family history, shift work, sleeping conditions, diet and exercise can all affect insomnia.

There are a number of possible causes that are:

Concern about wakefulness

The patient has a memory of being awake in the night.

The patient may feel that being awake in the night is not normal, and become obsessed about getting back to sleep.

The patient may watch the clock anxiously and checks the time each time he or she