Synonyms
Inability to sleep; Sleeplessness; Unsatisfactory sleep
Definition
Primary insomnia is a complaint of difficulty in initializing or maintaining sleep or nonrestorative sleep that lasts for at least 1 month and causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. The disturbance in sleep does not occur exclusively during the course of another sleep disorder or mental disorder and is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance or a general medical condition (DSM-5).
Role of Pharmacotherapy
One third of our time is spent asleep. For years, sleep remained an enigma, but modern scientific techniques such as the polysomnograph (polysomnography) and functional imaging have given us useful insights (Lader et al. 2006). Recently, the discovery of several chemical agents involved in the regulation of sleep has emphasized the complexity of this state.
Polysomnographic recordings analyzed by visual...
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References
American Psychiatric Association (2013) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 5th edn. American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC
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Lader M, Cardinali DP, Pandi-Perumal SR (eds) (2006) Sleep and sleep disorders: a neurophysiological approach. Springer Science, New York
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National Institutes of Health (2005) State-of-the-science statement on manifestations and management of chronic insomnia in adults. Office of the Director, vol 22(2). National Institutes of Health, Washington, DC
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Lader, M. (2015). Insomnias. In: Stolerman, I.P., Price, L.H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychopharmacology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36172-2_320
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36172-2_320
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Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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