Understanding the different types of insomnia

different types of insomnia identified

Insomnia is thought to affect around one in three people in the UK, but not everyone’s experience of it is the same. While two broad subdivisions of the problem have long been recognised – acute and chronic insomnia – researchers in the Netherlands have now discovered five separate forms of insomnia, which it is hoped will allow doctors to tailor treatment accordingly.

Acute versus chronic insomnia

Most of us will experience acute, or short term, insomnia at some point in our lives – often caused by a stressful event, such as bereavement, this is a temporary sleeplessness that tends to resolve within three months.

Chronic insomnia, on the other hand, is a long-term condition, diagnosed in people who suffer from sleep problems at least three times a week for three months or more.

Other types of insomnia include:

  • Sleep onset insomnia – where sufferers struggle to fall asleep at the beginning of the night.
  • Sleep maintenance insomnia – where sufferers may fall asleep easily but wake at least once during the night and struggle to fall asleep again within half an hour.
  • Terminal insomnia – less alarming than it sounds, this term is used to describe the problem of waking too early, typically long before the intended wake-up time, and being unable to get back to sleep.
  • Mixed insomnia – not a formal descriptor, this term is used to describe insomnia which combines two or more of the issues above.
  • Comorbid insomnia – where sleep problems occur because of an existing medical condition, such as anxiety, depression or sleep apnoea.

Insomnia treatment options available

The right treatment for insomnia will depend on the specific sleep issues from which the patient is suffering. In comorbid insomnia patients, for example, the first course of action would always be to treat the underlying medical condition, to see if that resolves the problem, before treating the insomnia itself.

Where insomnia is considered to be the primary issue, however, there are several treatment options available:

Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBTi)

Also useful for comorbid insomnia associated with depression or anxiety, CBTi is used to help patients take control over negative thoughts that may be keeping them awake at night.

Considered as or even more effective than most insomnia medications, CBTi can teach patients to recognise and change their negative thought patterns and learn new behaviours that will help them to get a sound night’s sleep.

Sleepio

Based on CBTi, Sleepio is a digital sleep improvement programme, tailored to your individual needs and adapted according to your progress.

A virtual sleep expert known as The Prof will teach you the skills you need to get to sleep – based on information provided by you during the initial set-up – and an online community of other users and experts acts as a support network.

It is NICE-recommended and available free in some areas of the UK.

Sleep apps

While in general the advice is always to steer clear of screens in the hour before bedtime if you want to get a decent night’s sleep, there are some great apps out there to help you manage your insomnia.

From guided meditations to sleep trackers, there is something for everyone.

If you are concerned about your sleep patterns and would like to find out more about the reasons behind your insomnia, our specialist team can help.

Get in touch to arrange a consultation with our doctors. We can assess whether there are any underlying causes of your insomnia, provide invaluable lifestyle advice to alleviate the problem, or refer you to our network of health specialists if required.