Rest for the Weary: Words from an Insomnia Expert
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What's Keeping You Up?



Erica Heilman
If you have suffered sleepless nights then you're familiar with a particular kind of torture. Minutes become hours, hours become eons, and problems you manage with ease during the day become nightmarish, circular conundrums when considered at 3 am.

It's called insomnia, and not only does it cause frustration at night, it can also significantly impair you in the day. Consequences can include depression, extreme fatigue, poor concentration, lousy driving and even illness.

As many as 25% of Americans suffer from an occasional bad night of sleep, and approximately 10% have a chronic problem with insomnia. Each year 70 million Americans spend approximately $148 million on a variety of remedies to either put them to sleep at night or keep them awake in the day.


There are more effective ways, however, to win in this bedtime battle. Below, sleep expert Dr. Gary Zammit, Director of the Sleep Disorders Institute at Saint Luke's Roosevelt Hospital, introduces a range of therapies that can help people get the sleep they need.

What is insomnia?
Insomnia is difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep and is often characterized by impairments in daytime functioning. People with insomnia often complain of impairments in attention, memory or concentration, impairments in their mood, feeling depressed or irritable or anxious, and impairments in their ability to function in the workplace, at home or even at school.

What determines "adequate sleep?"
Adequate sleep is characterized by two things. One is enough sleep time-that's getting into bed, falling asleep quickly and staying asleep throughout the sleep period. The other thing is good quality sleep. That's a little more difficult to measure, but people know they've had good quality sleep when they wake up feeling rested and refreshed and ready to start the day.

How prevalent are sleep problems in the US?
Sleep problems are quite common. Perhaps more than half of all Americans experience a sleep problem at some time in their lives. Somewhere between 9 and 17% of the adult population will experience chronic or more ongoing difficulties with their sleep.

Are certain types of people more prone to sleep problems than others?
Insomnia affects older people more than it does younger people. It's more often reported in women, and it may be associated with certain medical or psychiatric conditions.

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