In short, insomnia is by far the world’s most common sleep disorder characterized by the inability to fall asleep, stay asleep, fall back to sleep, or a combination of these, even all three. As a result, insomnia sufferers experience fatigue, extreme daytime sleepiness, poor memory, reduced productivity, impaired decision-making, depression, anxiety, low motivation, etc. That said, it is clear that insomnia can have significant health effects.
Now, if you want to learn more about the types of insomnia, continue reading below.
- 1. Adjustment Insomnia
As the name itself suggests, this insomnia type describes a period of experiencing insomnia symptoms triggered by a major life event, such as stress, anxiety, a new job, loss of a family member, etc. The symptoms resolve on their own once the sufferer adjusts to the new event.
- 2. Drug or Substance-Induced Insomnia
Drug or substance-induced insomnia refers to the sleeping issues caused by medication or recreational drug use. The most common trigger is caffeine, but alcohol, cold medications, opioids, ADHD treatments, and cannabis, can also lead to insomnia.
- 3. Comorbid Insomnia
This insomnia type goes together with another illness or disorder. In general, psychiatric issues such as anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder are common insomnia triggers. But, it can also occur along with arthritis, shingles, cancer, migraine headaches, fibromyalgia, etc.
- 4. Onset Insomnia
Onset insomnia is experiencing difficulty falling asleep at the beginning of the night, the point of ‘sleep onset’. It is characterized by delayed sleep that lasts more than half an hour. It can be acute or chronic and may occur alone or together with middle and/or late insomnia.
- 5. Middle Insomnia
Also called maintenance insomnia, middle insomnia refers to having difficulty staying asleep. People with middle insomnia wake up in the middle of the night and are unable to get back to sleep. This type is closely linked with alcohol use, chronic pain, and menopause.
- 6. Late Insomnia
Waking up too early in the morning, between 3 and 5 am, and being unable to fall back asleep means that you are experiencing late insomnia, also named sleep offset insomnia or terminal insomnia. Common causes include depression, low blood sugar, allergies, emotional stress, etc.
- 7. Conditioned or Psychophysiological Insomnia
This type of insomnia happens when insomnia becomes a conditioned reaction to sleep and going to bed – the underlying mechanism behind chronic insomnia. People experience insomnia symptoms after a certain event, but the insomnia remains even after the trigger is removed.
- 8. Behavioral Insomnia of Childhood
When a child, under five years old, isn’t given a specific bedtime, behavioral insomnia begins. These children struggle to fall or stay asleep without regular sleep habits or routines. Another common trigger is the need to sleep with their parents.
- 9. Idiopathic Insomnia
Idiopathic insomnia refers to the type of insomnia which doesn’t have any specific or apparent cause. In other words, there isn’t any medical or psychological trigger. Yet, according to recent research, idiopathic insomnia might be caused by hyperarousal of the central nervous system.
- 10. Paradoxical Insomnia
Also known as pseudo-insomnia, paradoxical insomnia is a form of the disorder in which one is actually sleeping but feels as if they aren’t. People with this type of insomnia usually overestimate their awake time and underestimate their sleep time.
- 11. Sleep Hygiene Insomnia
Finally, as you can guess by the name, the major cause of this type of insomnia is poor sleep hygiene, including unproductive sleep habits, poor bedtime routines, unhealthy sleep environments, inconsistent sleep schedules, etc. Indeed, it is one of the most common types of insomnia, as well as one of the most treatable.