The 12 types of insomnia (by duration, severity and symptoms)

At night, problems falling asleep or falling asleep do not always come in the same way.

Sleep problems always produce discomfort and lack of mood and energy, but that does not mean that the causes of these symptoms are the same. In fact, there are different types of insomnia that affect us in a certain way depending on the nature of what generates this alteration.

In this article we will see what are the different types of insomnia that existhow are their effects and the way in which they evolve.

The types of insomnia

A single criterion does not exist to classify which are the types of insomnia, but that different parameters are used to classify them. This means that these disturbances have different dimensions and that each of them does not describe the totality of the characteristics of insomnia suffered by a person. For example, intrinsic-type insomnia may be long-term at times, but at others it is short-term.

That's why in order to understand exactly what the sleep problems someone is experiencing are like, all of these classification criteria can be used at once.

That said, let's move on to see how to classify these sleep disorders depending on the criteria used.

According to the causes of insomnia

If we focus on the nature of what causes insomnia, it can be of two types.insomnia can be of two types.

1. Intrinsic

Those cases in which the cause of the problem to sleep properly can be explained by a specific alteration in the functioning of the brain belong to this category. For example, if a brain injury has occurredIf a brain injury has occurred, there may be problems in falling or staying asleep. The same applies to certain disorders, such as restless legs syndrome.

2. Extrinsic

The extrinsic type of insomnia occurs when the problem can be explained by the dynamics of interaction with the environment.. For example, occupational burnout and unstructured work schedules can generate insomnia, and the same happens in general with the lack of sleep hygiene or with the consumption of stimulants.

According to their intensity

Sleeping problems can also be differentiated according to their severity. These are their types:

3. Mild type of insomnia

When insomnia only superficially and affects in a very superficial and transitory way the daily routine and the degree of health, it can be considered mild.it can be considered mild. For example, taking half an hour longer than usual to fall asleep for about three days.

4. Moderate

In moderate insomnia there are routines and habits that are already affected by this problem, and similarly health is compromised by fatigue, discomfort and concentration problems..

5. Severe

In this type of insomnia health is greatly affected, and so is the ability to adapt to a proper schedule. To the symptoms of the previous type must be added problems of memory, vision (sometimes it is difficult to "focus" the look well for a while), moodiness and a manifest lack of energy, which prevents the that prevents to carry out important tasks.

According to its duration

The types of insomnia can also be classified according to their duration. In this sense we find these categories:

6. Chronic insomnia

When the problems in falling or staying asleep last more than 5 or 6 months, it is considered chronic insomnia. This type of problem is complicated to correct, since it has been "entrenched" in a person's routine for a long time. has been "entrenched" in a person's routine for a long time, and the circadian and the circadian rhythm has changed a lot until it remains in a state difficult to alter**.**.

7. Acute, or transient, insomnia

Some events or stressful crises may cause a person to experience insomnia for a few days. The problem is considered to be transitory if the symptoms are not maintained for more than 4 weeks..

8. Short-term insomnia

This category includes cases in which the duration of the problem exceeds one month but disappears before it can be considered chronic. before it can be considered chronic.

By the nature of its symptoms

Based on the qualitative differences between the symptoms of the different types of insomnia, we can classify this problem into 3 categories:

9. Of conciliation

In this type of insomnia the problems appear at the time of falling asleep, so it takes a long time between the person goes to bed and starts to sleep. However, once the person has started to really rest, there are no frequent awakenings, there are no frequent awakenings.

10. Maintenance insomnia

In this type of insomnia the problem is in maintaining sleep, so the person will wake up many times throughout the night and therefore will not rest well, since he/she will not go through all the phases of sleep or will do so only a few times during the days.

11. Early awakening

People suffering from this insomnia wake up much earlier than they should (for example, 3 hours after going to bed) and can no longer go back to sleep, since from the beginning of the night they are not able to get back to sleep. feel too active to go back to bed..

12. Mixed

This category is a "catch-all" for cases in which characteristics of two or more types of insomnia are consistently present at the same time.