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The previous issue talked about the normal sleep process, this issue to talk about what is insomnia?
Many friends experience insomnia as commonly as they have experienced lost love. So, what exactly is insomnia? Is it just not as simple as not being able to sleep? In fact, insomnia has an accurate concept and strict standards.
(Image from the Internet, for reference only)
Insomnia is defined as a sleep disorder characterized by frequent and persistent difficulty falling asleep and/or difficulty maintaining sleep and leading to unsatisfactory sleep sensations. This sentence is a bit awkward to read, let me break it down, it contains several aspects:
One refers to difficulty falling asleep and causing dissatisfaction with sleep;
The second refers to difficulty maintaining sleep and causing dissatisfaction with sleep feelings;
Third, it is difficult to fall asleep and maintain sleep and lead to dissatisfaction with sleep.
The above three aspects are all insomnia, from which it can be seen that the third aspect is the most serious.
There is also a word in the definition of insomnia that is "frequent and continuous", what exactly is "frequent and continuous", and a concept is proposed in the "2017 China Insomnia Diagnosis and Treatment Guidelines", which is "chronic insomnia and short-term insomnia".
Chronic insomnia refers to the duration of the disease ≥ 3 months and the frequency ≥ 3 times / week; short-term insomnia refers to the duration of the disease is less than 3 months and the frequency is less than 3 times / week, and what is the minimum requirements for the course and frequency of short-term insomnia, the guidelines do not mention at all, so I can not answer.
There are standards for the diagnosis of insomnia, and here is the example of "chronic insomnia", which includes three aspects: the first is the symptomatic criterion; the second is the exclusion criterion; and the third is the time criterion.
Symptomatic criteria
The symptomatic criteria of the first article are as follows, and the criteria a-c must be met:
a. The patient reports, or the patient's caregiver observes, the presence of 1 or more of the following:
(1) Difficulty falling asleep;
(2) Difficulty maintaining sleep;
(3) Wake up earlier than expected to wake up;
(4) Refuse to go to bed at an appropriate time;
(5) Difficulty falling asleep without caregiver intervention.
b. Patients report, or patient caregivers observe, the presence of 1 or more of the following associated nighttime sleep difficulties:
(1) fatigue or sluggishness;
(2) Decreased concentration, concentration or memory;
(3) Impairment of social, family, professional or academic functions;
(4) Emotional instability or irritability;
(5) Daytime drowsiness;
(6) Behavioral problems (e.g., hyperactivity, impulsivity or aggression);
(7) Decreased motivation, energy or work initiative;
(8) Prone to mistakes or accidents;
(9) Very concerned or dissatisfied with the quality of their sleep.
c. These sleep/wake complaints cannot be explained solely by inappropriate sleep opportunities (e.g., adequate sleep time) or environment (e.g., dark, quiet, safe, comfortable environment).
Exclusion criteria
The second exclusion criterion states that these sleep difficulties and associated daytime symptoms cannot be better explained by other sleep disorders.
Time standard
The third time criterion is: sleep difficulties and related daytime symptoms persist for at least 3 months and appear at least 3 times a week. The diagnosis of "short-term insomnia" only does not require a third article, and the rest is exactly the same as "chronic insomnia"
Through the content of this issue, everyone should understand what insomnia is, and in the next issue we will continue to talk about the mechanism of insomnia.