Tossing and turning. Trouble falling asleep. Trouble staying asleep. Insomnia isn't only frustrating; it can also affect your health.
Learn why Mayo Clinic sleep expert Timothy I. Morgenthaler, M.D., says it's important to tell your doctor if you have sleepless nights. Plus: He offers "good news" about getting back on track.
We asked a Mayo Clinic expert: Why is it so important to treat a sleep disorder?
Timothy I. Morgenthaler, M.D., Director, Mayo Clinic Center for Sleep Medicine: Insomnia is unsatisfying sleep; difficulty getting to sleep; difficulty, you know, staying asleep; getting up earlier than you wanted to feel fulfilled.
When it starts happening more than three times per week for more than three months, then we would call it chronic insomnia disorder.
If people have those kinds of symptoms, they should really be thinking about seeking help for a possible sleep disorder.
Insomnia is one very common sleep disorder. Another common sleep disorder is obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Loud snoring is often an accompaniment of obstructive sleep apnea.
There's health consequences of not getting enough sleep. When we're getting less than about six to six and a half hours of sleep, the risk of certain bad health things start to crop up. Hypertension, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and actually as you get down to very short amounts of sleep, associated with increased risk of death.
As we treat sleep apnea, the risks tend to come back toward normal. And many people, as they get obstructive sleep apnea treated, they'll find within weeks that they are more mentally alert, they're sleeping better.
There's a lot of reasons — besides the fact nobody likes having chronic insomnia disorder — that it's worthwhile getting treatment.
The good news is that there are treatments that work very well for chronic insomnia disorder. There are nondrug treatments and drug treatments, and sleep medicine specialists or physicians can really help people get on the right track in getting treatments for those.
Dr. Morgenthaler has helped hundreds of people reap the benefits of better health through better sleep.