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Diagnosis and Treatment

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Diagnosis and Treatment
University of Phoenix
Heather Pitts
BEH225

Insomnia Insomnia is a classified as a disorder but not as a disease. Although most people suffer at one point in their life with insomnia, not all cases get discovered and treated. Insomnia is a sleeping disorder that people fight with on daily basses. A person tends to deal with not being able to sleep, feel tired and drained, restless, and in some people, have mood swings because of being tired from not sleeping. People dealing with insomnia often have a hard time initiating sleep or maintaining sleep. Insomnia does not have a specific age group that is targeted but in some areas, most targeted with insomnia are those in unhealthy environments. Eating habits, social environments, work spaces, and family atmosphere all can play in developing insomnia.
Causes of Insomnia As mentioned earlier, insomnia comes mostly from other problems affecting the person. Stress however is one of the most common issues. People who often worry with problems such as work, school, family, and financials often have the problem with restlessness. By being stressed over a certain issue keeps the brain active with needless thoughts and not allowing the brain to come to rest. The issue next to stress would be medications. Often people take medications that are to help with one problem but end up affecting a person’s sleeping habits. If a person goes in reporting problems with pain, a doctor may prescribe a medication that will make a person jittery and not able to sleep. According to Mayo Clinic (1998), “Many over-the-counter (OTC) medications, including some pain medication combinations, decongestants and weight-loss products, contain caffeine and other stimulants” (Causes, para. 5). One more issue for a cause of stress is caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine. These all carry high doses of stimulants which can alter with a person’s sleeping habits. Even though alcohol is considered a sedative, by drinking alcohol can cause a person to not reach a needed deeper pattern of sleep leaving the person feeling not rested or not sleeping a full term of sleep. People often think of alcohol as a way to rest and unwind from other stress related things; however alcohol does not help a person to sleep the deeper sleep that allows the mind to relax and regenerate to full potential.
Diagnosis of Insomnia Diagnosing insomnia is often a long ongoing process for some people. By seeking a medical doctor who specializes in insomnia, many tests can be ran to help discover a person who may feel or believe that they are suffering from insomnia. One of the tests doctors do is by giving a person a journal and telling the person to write their daily activities and food intakes. Another thing a person can keep track of in the journal to help them is by notating what events happen in the person’s life and how they affected the person directly. Another form of diagnosing insomnia is by taking a test called Epworth Sleepiness Scale. According to Health Central (2005) , “The Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) uses a simple questionnaire to measure excessive sleepiness during eight situations” (Measuring Sleepiness, para. 1). This questioner consists of a series of questions relation to how a person may or may not doze off in normal everyday situations such as watching TV, laying down, driving, or sitting in a quite atmosphere.
Treatment for Insomnia After taking steps to identify what type of insomnia or if a person has insomnia, the right treatment can be taken to help fix the problem a person is having with sleeping. One of the simplest forms of fixing insomnia is altering a person living environments. By simply taking out distractions from a bedroom or changing the lighting may help to fix the problem.
Another source is by increasing a person’s exercise habits. By giving the body the right amount of exercise can help to create better circulation in a person’s breathing and blood flow and allow the body to know when sleep is needed rather than feeling restless or anxious.
If exercise and changing a person’s bedroom environment do not seem to help rectify the insomnia, a person may need the assistance of proper medications prescribed by a doctor. Most sleeping medications prescribed by a doctor however are not for use of long periods of time. The dangers of becoming addicted can become harmful if used for long periods of time. According to WebMD (1995), many sleep medicines cause side effects, such as low blood pressure, anxiety, and nausea (Medicines, para. 2). Although this form of treatment may be helpful, to older adults this can become a problem due to the fact that the medicines prescribed can affect the ability to think clearly. Another problem with medications used to treat insomnia is that a person’s body can create a tolerance to the over use of medications and may feel the need to take more than prescribed.
Although the insomnia is not considered a disease, this disorder can create a life long struggle if not handled properly. By seeking proper treatment, insomnia can be handled with many forms of treatment. Proper diagnosis for insomnia is the first step to taking the right steps for managing this disorder. By seeking help with insomnia by a medical professional, a person can be able to fully treat and manage this disorder very commonly known to most people.

Reference
Health Central. (2005). Diagnosis of Insomnia. Retrieved from http://www.healthcentral.com/sleep-disorders/insomnia-introduction-000027_6-145.html Mayo Clinic. (1998). Causes. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/insomnia/ds00187/dsection=causes WebMD. (1995). Sleep Disorders Health Center. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/tc/insomnia-treatment-overview

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