First of all, you must decide on the term “insomnia”. A number of domestic authors prefer the term “insomnia” for this condition [ 6]. However, we will use the term “insomnia” officially used in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD 10), which, among other things, is also more understandable for patients.
There is no generally accepted domestic definition of insomnia. We consider it appropriate to use the definition given in the International Classification of Sleep Disorders (2 revision) [8]:
The diagnosis of insomnia requires one or more criteria:
A. Complaints of difficulty falling asleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, waking up too early or of chronically unresponsive or poor sleep.
B. Sleep disorders are noted , despite the possibility and conditions for a normal sleep.
C. You must have at least one day symptom associated with a sleep disorder:
• Fatigue / weakness
• Impaired attention, concentration or memory impairment
• Decreased performance or poor academic performance
• Irritability, low mood
• Daytime sleepiness
• Reduced motivation / energy / initiative
• Inclination to mistakes / incidents at work or while driving
• Tension and / or gastrointestinal headache after “bad” nights
Worry about bad sleep .
Insomnia is classified according to its duration:
- Transient (transient) insomnia lasts no more than a week and, as a rule, is associated with any emotional experiences or changes in the life of the patient. Due to its short duration, transient insomnia does not represent a serious danger to the patient’s health. This form of insomnia, as a rule, does not require special treatment , and sleep disorders completely disappear after the cessation of the psychological factors that caused the insomnia.
- Short-term insomnia lasts from 1 to 4 weeks. In this form of insomnia, sleep disorders are more pronounced, and the effects of insomnia on the whole body are more significant.In this form of insomnia, it is recommended to consult a doctor and consult on the possible causes of insomnia, as well as on the methods of its treatment.
- Chronic insomnia lasts more than 4 weeks. In this case, the symptoms of insomnia should be noted 3 or more times a week. Typically, this form of the disease is characterized by a pronounced pathological change in the subjective attitude of the patient to sleep, as well as the presence of different physical / psychological factors predisposing to the development of this disorder. Treatment of this form of insomnia requires the mandatory intervention of specialists and does not allow self-treatment.