Types of Insomnia

Insomnia is one of the most common sleep disorders, affecting around a third of the adult population. It is defined as difficulty falling and staying asleep, with sleepless nights and zombie days a common occurrence.

While most insomnia lasts a few days (transient/acute insomnia), it can last weeks (short-term insomnia) or months (chronic insomnia). You are in chronic insomnia territory when you have insomnia three days a week for more than three months.

This article runs through the different types of insomnia to help you identify what insomnia you have.

What is insomnia?

Firstly, let us define insomnia.

Trouble and difficulty sleeping one night is not insomnia – it is only considered insomnia when it happens frequently. If you have frequent problems falling and staying asleep, you have acute insomnia.

The trouble is that many people go undiagnosed, letting insomnia affect their lives without doing much about it, and this can develop into chronic insomnia.

Transient/acute insomnia

Transient/acute insomnia lasts up to two weeks and is usually triggered by stress and life changes. A new baby, mental and physical trauma, money problems, and job stresses can give you insomnia episodes that last days.

Another trigger for acute insomnia is generalised anxiety - anxiety activates the brain’s limbic system and releases the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol stunts the release of the sleep hormone melatonin and is accompanied by adrenaline, which increases your heart rate and temperature, making you alert and restless.

Acute insomnia usually goes away on its own when you feel less stressed. When it extends past two weeks, this is called short-term insomnia.  

Short-term insomnia

Short-term insomnia is no more severe than acute insomnia, but it lasts up to three months, so that it can have a much more significant impact on your life.

The main trigger for short-term insomnia is stressful life events that are challenging to deal with, such as bereavement or a troubling medical diagnosis.

Interestingly, short-term insomnia is more common in women, and it is common during pregnancy. Hormonal changes are behind this trend, with low estrogen levels linked to short-term insomnia and other sleep problems.

If you have short-term insomnia, it is not going away on its own, so you should speak to your GP about sleeping aids.

Chronic insomnia

Chronic insomnia lasts more than three months, and it usually happens when people do not get treatment for short-term insomnia. Early intervention is critical to preventing chronic insomnia in adults and children!

With chronic insomnia, your struggles with sleeping have lasted more than three months, and sleepless nights are typical.

You might struggle to sleep three or more nights per week. By this time, you have learned to live with insomnia, although it makes you feel drained.

Chronic insomnia is the most challenging to treat because it is not usually related to stress. Treatment usually begins with discounting depression, anxiety, bipolar, and other mental health problems linked to insomnia.

Most people with chronic insomnia have an underlying mental health problem, and treating this can dramatically improve sleep quality.

Behavioral insomnia in childhood

Sleepless children might have behavioral insomnia in childhood, which presents as bedtime resistance and prolonged sleep onset.

Putting children to bed can be challenging, so it’s important to note that this is not the same as behavioral insomnia. With behavioral insomnia, sleep is a battleground, and children struggle to fall asleep even with routine.

If your child lies awake at night and takes hours to drop off, they have a sleeping problem, and it is worth speaking to your family GP.

When insomnia isn’t insomnia

While lying awake at night unable to sleep is frustrating, you shouldn’t label yourself as having insomnia unless your problems are persistent.

Everyone has trouble sleeping now and again, and most do not need medical intervention or special behavioral therapies.

We recommend speaking with your GP when sleeping difficulties are persistent – this is a tell-tale sign of insomnia.

Related pages

• Why Do We Get Insomnia? 7 Causes Explained
• Exercising To Beat Primary Insomnia – Does It Work?