What Is Transient Insomnia? What Are Its Causes, Symptoms, And Treatments?

What Is Transient Insomnia? What Are Its Causes, Symptoms, And Treatments?

Although, insomnia doctors can diagnose an insomnia type directly by looking at the symptoms alone, but many people can’t differentiate between different insomnia types. One type of insomnia is transient insomnia. We will talk about it more below.

Transient Insomnia

You might already be aware of what normal insomnia or onset insomnia is, but to briefly explain it, insomnia is a type of sleep disorder in which the person who is suffering cannot fall asleep under any circumstances. No matter if they have not slept all day, they are unable to sleep at night. Insomnia is of many types and one of them is transient insomnia.

In transient insomnia, the condition of not able to fall asleep is based on circumstances. It is usually due to a change of event or routine, which has disrupted your sleeping schedule. If you are going through a stressful period of time, have changed your sleeping habits because of a new job, have some sort of illness which is causing you to wake up at night, etc. then it is quite probable that you might be suffering from transient insomnia. The word “transient” means change or flowing with time, so transient insomnia recovers itself after some time, and if you change up your sleeping habits then you can get back to normal.

Causes Of Transient Insomnia

Now that you know what transient insomnia is, let’s talk about its potential causes.

  • Lack of sleep due to stress. Stress can play a huge role in disrupting your sleep. Stress keeps your brain awake and keeps you thinking about the situation which is causing you to stress out and, ultimately, you lose sleep for a couple of days.
  • Temporary illness. You might be suffering from a mild cold and flu, which could not let you sleep at night. Illnesses can cause your respiratory system to malfunction, so you are not able to sleep like you normally would when you are not sick.
  • Lifestyle changes. Maybe you have picked up a new job which is causing you to work overtime. Maybe, you have picked up a night shift at your workplace which is messing with your sleeping routine. This will cause you to lose sleep, since your schedule is messed up.

Symptoms Of Transient Insomnia

The symptoms of transient insomnia are as follows:

  • Inability to sleep at night.
  • Headaches due to lack of sleep, this is not mostly associated with normal insomnia, it is due to a disrupted change in your routine which can cause you headaches.
  • This is also a key symptom of transient insomnia only, since lifestyle changes which are affecting your sleep, can cause your body to be extremely tired and fatigued.
  • Mood swings. These are also very common with people who are experiencing lack of sleep due to either stress, job, lifestyle or illness.

Treatment Of Transient Insomnia

As mentioned above, transient insomnia can be best healed through time. It is not exactly a sleep disorder, it is just your body reacting to different changes in your routine, which causes lack of sleep, fatigue, erratic mood and loss of focus and concentration. Some changes that you can make to your routine which will help to fight off transient insomnia are as follows:

Change Up Your Sleeping Habits

Set a routine for yourself, in which you are sleeping and waking up at certain times each day. Once a routine is established, you will not experience lack of sleep since your body is biologically adapting to the new routine.

Avoid Caffeine And Alcohol Right Before Sleep

This can stimulate the brain to stay awake, hence preventing you from falling asleep.

Melatonin

If you have to fall asleep on time, then a temporary solution would be the consumption of melatonin. This will help you naturally to fall asleep faster.

If your insomnia is getting worse and not going away with time, then it is quite possible that you might be suffering from acute insomnia, for which you need to see a doctor immediately.

There you have it! Now you know what transient insomnia is, what are its symptoms, its causes, treatment and how it is different from normal insomnia (onset insomnia). For the right treatment, go to an insomnia clinic and explain your symptoms.

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