Women have a higher risk than men of developing insomnia at some time in their lives.
Insomnia is a common sleep disorder characterized by the inability to obtain sufficient sleep— typically seven to eight hours for adults, enough to feel refreshed and alert throughout the day—and leads to associated symptoms such as excessive daytime sleepiness. Patients with insomnia dedicate enough time to sleep, but they either cannot fall asleep easily (known as sleep onset insomnia), or they wake up and can’t fall back to sleep easily (sleep maintenance insomnia). Some have both. There is a tendency for insomnia to run in families, although the genetic component is not yet known.
There are two types of insomnia—primary and secondary.
Primary insomnia occurs spontaneously, meaning that nothing in the environment, including medical issues, is to blame.
Secondary insomnia is far more common than the primary variety. Causes include depression, anxiety, chronic pain from conditions such as arthritis or fibromyalgia, dementia, sleep apneaand restless leg syndrome. Some medicationsand too much alcohol, caffeine or nicotine also can lead to secondary insomnia.
Some causes of secondary insomnia, such as depression and fibromyalgia, are more common in women. Restless leg syndrome is often the result of iron deficiency anemia, which occurs more often in women than men.
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