Insomnia is a common condition that’s unfortunately undertreated.
If you often have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep throughout
the night, insomnia could be the reason.
Those who don’t sleep enough or reach deep quality sleep report fatigue
in the daytime, difficulty concentrating, emotional changes, and even
depression. If untreated, insomnia is also linked to chronic problems
such as heart disease. If lack of sleep is affecting your quality of life,
talk to your Ogden Clinic physician about a sleep study.
What is chronic insomnia?
Chronic insomnia is a treatable medical condition characterized by poor
sleep quality for more than three days per week, lasting a month or longer.
Sometimes insomnia is linked to another medical or psychiatric condition,
but not always.
How is insomnia treated?
Because insomnia can have several different causes, there are different
approaches to treating it. Acute (short-term or occasional) insomnia often
does not require treatment and patients find that symptoms are cured by
practicing better sleep habits.
If your insomnia is persistent, a comprehensive evaluation will help us
determine the best treatment plan. Your diagnosis may include a
sleep study overnight in our office to monitor your brain activity, breathing, and factors that
can affect quality sleep.
Chronic insomnia can be treated with behavioral/cognitive strategies such as:
Relaxation or meditation techniques
Establishing a regular bedtime and wake schedule
Associating the bedroom with sleep only
We will also discuss sleep aid medication for patients with severe cases
of insomnia. Typical medications for insomnia include benzodiazepine hypnotics,
non-benzodiazepine hypnotics, and melatonin receptor agonists.
Select providers are now using Telemedicine.
Visit
Telemedicine to see if your next visit can take place over video chat.
