Could Sleep Anxiety Be to Blame for Your Tiredness?

By Dominique Michelle Astorino, February 01, 2021

Insomnia disorder is its own beast, according to Dr, Dimitriu. “Insomnia disorder (or psychophysiological insomnia ) is not a result of depression, anxiety, medical issues, or substances including alcohol, caffeine, or stimulants.” Rather it’s defined as trouble initiating or maintaining sleep or waking too early, three days per week or more over a period of at least three months, he explains. Insomnia disorder, aka chronic insomnia, is a long-term pattern of sleep difficulties that, as Dr. Dimitriu explains, aren’t necessarily a direct byproduct of anxiety. Then there’s acute or short-term insomnia, which is a brief episode (less than three months) of sleep loss brought on by factors such as sleep anxiety, grief, or job loss and typically improves as the patient copes with the stressors that originally brought on the sleep issues, according to SleepFoundation.org. Just as you can feel depressed but not have a clinical depressive disorder, you could experience insomnia symptoms, but not have chronic insomnia disorder.

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