Insomnia

Question 1

What are the 3 types of insomnia called?

Answer 1

Initial
Middle
Terminal

Question 2

What is initial insomnia?

Answer 2

Struggling to get to sleep at the beginning of the night

Question 3

What is middle insomnia?

Answer 3

Waking up in the night for periods of time

Question 4

What is terminal insomnia?

Answer 4

Waking up too early.

Question 5

What are the 2 categories of insomnia?

Answer 5

Primary

Secondary

Question 6

What is primary insomnia?

Answer 6

When there is no obvious cause of insomnia so it is an illness in it’s own right. To be diagnosed you need;
to have had problems sleeping for over a month
to experience social/occupational impairment
it not be the result of any other sleep disorder

Question 7

What is secondary insomnia?

Answer 7

Symptom of another disorder e.g. apnoea

Question 8

Who is more likely to experience insomnia?

Answer 8

OWLS-night people as their body wishes to function more readily at night.
Older people sleep less and hence their bodies produce less melatonin and hence experience less deep sleep. But this could be due to physical problems e.g. arthritis.
Women are more likely to suffer because of hormonal changes, research has found that women in sleep clinics, 60% were there because of insomnia.

Question 9

What are the 3 explanations for insomnia?

Answer 9

Predisposing
Precipitating
Perpetuating

Question 10

Predisposing explanation

Answer 10

We have a genetic predisposition for insomnia.

Idiopathic insomnia begins at a young age and is a result of the body’s SWC. Brain mechanisms are at fault.

Question 11

Predisposing-research supporting it’s genetic

Answer 11

Researchers put insomniacs through a series of tests and found 73% had a family history of insomnia. The assumption is that it is genetic, however, it could simply be a learned response and hence to say it’s purely genetics is reductionist. It is more feasible to assume its genetic and environmental.

Question 12

Predisposing-what is the positive of this explanation?

Answer 12

It allows the disorder to be studied methodologically and therefore proposes a treatment accordingly.

Question 13

Precipitating explanation

Answer 13

Stress is a factor in insomnia as it results in increased activity in the sympathetic branch of the ANS making us more alert.

Question 14

Precipitating-is there a link between stress and insomnia?

Answer 14

In a study involving insomniacs and a control group, both completed a series of questionnaires assessing their daily stressors and their sleep levels. Insomniacs were expressing higher levels of anxiety even though they were experiencing the same daily stressors.

Question 15

Precipitating-how has personality come into the explanation?

Answer 15

Insomniacs were more likely to internalise psychological disturbances.
People with neurotic personalities showed higher levels of sleep disturbance. HOWEVER, is insomnia a cause or effect of these personality’s.
Studies have found that insomnia preceded mood disorder.

Question 16

Precipitating-how do drugs play a part?

Answer 16

Drugs interfere with ultradian rhythms.

Caffeine and nicotine cause increased activity in the nervous system.

Question 17

Perpetuating explanation

Answer 17

The insomnia results from a learned behavioural condition. A cycle of anxiety resulting in the inability to sleep that become self-reinforcing. Regular actions that pre-empt sleep become associated with an inability to sleep e.g. brushing teeth. This is classical conditioning and can be helped by breaking some of the habits e.g. sleeping elsewhere.

Question 18

Perpetuating-perceived insomnia

Answer 18

Many ‘insomniacs’ underestimate the amount of sleep they get and are actually sleeping normally. Making self-report unreliable. Those who have taken part in studies have been asked to push a button responding to a low sounds, in the morning they complain of having no sleep when their EEG scans say otherwise.

Question 19

Perpetuating-treatments

Answer 19

Poor sleep hygiene e.g. naps are discouraged to help break the cycle of being unable to sleep at night.
Sleep restriction therapies state that habits can be ‘unlearnt’ e.g. reducing the amount of time spend in the bedroom.
If insomniacs can be convinced the source of their difficulty sleeping comes from factors other than insomnia, this will end their maladaptive thinking. In a study involving expectations, participants were told the pill would either act as a sedative or arouse them. Those told to expect arousal went to sleep faster because the arousal was connected to the pill, not the insomnia.