Nearly everyone experiences a little insomnia every once in a while. Studies show that less than one in four adults regularly gets a good night’s sleep. For most people having difficulty sleeping is the norm. Stress, long work hours, shift work, excessive worry and just too much to do can cause trouble both falling and staying asleep. For some people it can last a day or two. For others their difficulty sleeping lasts for a month. For the really unfortunate insomnia can last for months on end and turn into a sleeping disorder. No matter how you experienced insomnia, it can diminish your quality of life.

Most people usually don’t take any notice when they first begin to experience having difficulty sleeping. After all, we all have problems sleeping every once in a while. But as the lack of sleep increases its effects begin to take a greater and greater affect on your everyday life.

Insomnia can cause overreactions to small incidents and the stresses of everyday life. Your difficulty sleeping can make you think fuzzy and cause memory loss. If you are having problems falling or staying asleep it can trigger problems at work or school. It can also slow down your reaction time. As you reaction time slows down it increases the probability of you having an automobile, home, or workplace accident. Severe or chronic insomnia can affect a person’s life as much as chronic conditions such as heart failure.

According to the experts there are three types of insomnia. They are classified according to the duration of your insomnia incidents. The first is known as transient insomnia. This is when you have difficulty sleeping for a period of less than four weeks. For most people, this type of insomnia is a result of excitement or stress. An important business meeting, an argument, a new relationship or a new school year can result in transient insomnia. Some people experience this type of insomnia when passing from one time zone to another. This is a result of disrupting the circadian rhythms and is known as jet lag. Also over stimulation from exercise or illness can cause a person to lose sleep for short periods of time.

The second type of insomnia is known as short-term insomnia. This is when you aren’t able to sleep well for a period of more than four weeks and up to six months. This type of difficulty sleeping can be a result of having excessive stress at work, getting laid off, changing jobs, the death of a close friend or relative, physical and mental illnesses as well as other ongoing factors. In most cases the cause of your short term insomnia either resolves itself or you adjust to the problem and begins to sleep soundly again.

The final type of insomnia is known as long term or chronic insomnia. This is when a person isn’t able to sleep well for a period of more than six months. Studies have shown that over 20 million Americans complain of this type of chronic sleeplessness. Chronic insomnia may be caused by excessive worrying, physical and mental illness, sleep disorders, or, according to a nationwide study by the Association of Sleep Disorders Centers, physical ailments such as disorders of breathing such as Sleep Apnea which is caused by a blockage to the airway. Sleeping or abnormal muscle activity such as Restless leg Syndrome is another cause of chronic insomnia (RLS). It is experienced by uncomfortable sensations in the legs that cause a person an uncontrollable urge to move their legs. If you are experiencing the symptoms of either sleep apnea or RLS it’s importunate to seek help because these can be devastating to your health.

There you have it, the three types of insomnia. The good news is there are lots of cures for insomnia out there. If you are having trouble falling or staying asleep it’s important to figure out what’s causing your difficulty sleeping because, no matter what causes it, chronic insomnia will negatively effect your life. Left untreated it could even kill you.

Wil Dieck is the founder of Total Mind Therapy and author of an e-Course “Overcoming Insomnia” that you can have at absolutely no charge. Drop by http://howtosleepinfo.com/ for your copy today.