Different Types of Insomnia

Different types of insomnia

I’d never realised that there were lots of different types of insomnia - but looking into it in a bit more detail I found there to be different types and levels of this common sleep problem. Each has different causes and effects – so understanding this can really help you to start identifying the correct cure for the specific type of insomnia.

Sleep Onset Insomnia
This basically is the type of insomnia where you find it really hard to fall asleep.
The average sleeper takes between 1 and 20 minutes to get to sleep on a night time. Insomniacs are people who take longer than this.
This was always my problem – I’d go to bed and just lie there, wide awake, tossing and turning. No matter what sort of tiring day I’d had at work – I just couldn’t nod off. I’d just lie there with my mind racing, clock watching every half hour. It would sometimes take me 3 or 4 hours to finally drop off.
Sleep Maintenance Insomnia
This is the other type of insomnia, where people have problems staying asleep.
This wasn’t my problem, but during my research I’ve met or heard off hundreds of people experiencing this sort of insomnia where you constantly wake up during the night.
It is normal believe it or not to wake up momentarily several times during sleep without ever being aware of it. But with insomniacs once they are awake it isn’t a minor temporary intrusion – they lie awake for minutes or even hours unable to get back to sleep.
Sleep scientists define someone suffering from Sleep Maintenance insomnia as someone who awakes at night for more than half an hour at a time.
Once you’ve worked out which type of insomnia you are – you can now start to define this further by how often it happens. Hope you are still with me but it’s really important to take a step back and look at where you are now before being able to create the right mix of treatments to act as a cure.
Transient Insomnia
This is where you might only have problems sleeping for a few nights, then you slip back naturally into a normal sleep pattern.
Generally this isn’t too much of a problem as it’s only temporary. It’s usually triggered by an event such as a big night out, a trauma, the stress of a forthcoming presentation or even eating something too late at night.
Short Term Insomnia
This is where you might experience sleep deprivation for as much as a month. It’s more severe than the transient type of insomnia and if not treated or cured can lead onto the more extreme version of the condition.
Chronic Insomnia
This is the inclusive term for people who experience lack of sleep – either sleep onset insomnia or sleep maintenance insomnia for over a month.
I did find out that some sleep scientists do have another category called a Semisomniac. This is the term for what some people including a leading sleep scientist Dr Neil Stanley give to the majority of people who sleep, but poorly most nights. This they believe is down to the stresses and strains of modern life.

Dan Kennedy has written a free ebook on how to Cure Your Insomnia. To download it visit www.cure-your-insomnia.com