Insomnia is a condition whereby people suffer from sleep disorders. The disorders can be sleeplessness, wakefulness, or restlessness. People suffer from this disorder over a period of short time or for a longer period if it is a chronic disorder.

People often misinterpret insomnia as just lack of sleep at night. However, insomnia is much broader than that. Lack of sleep is just one aspect of insomnia. Along with lack of sleep, too much of sleep and poor quality of sleep are also the symptoms of insomnia.

Myths About Insomnia

Sometimes people fall asleep too early at night and wake up early in the morning. This does not mean that it is insomnia. An adult requires approximately seven to nine hours of sleep and this tends to decrease with age, which is natural and should not be misinterpreted as insomnia.

Some people fail to enjoy sound sleep at night and wake up several times during the night. They might wake up due to some light or sound. These disturbances are genuine and should not be considered as symptoms of insomnia.

On the other hand, some people manage to sleep for six hours at night and tend to sleep for couple of hours during the day. Depending on the physical exertion, this is normal and should not be treated as a symptom of insomnia.

In fact, only your doctor can decide if you have insomnia. By monitoring your sleep, the doctor comes to know what kind of sleep problems you are facing and why. Sometimes, your body is stressed either due to physical or mental exertion and tends to react differently. In either case, you need to undergo the treatment essential if insomnia is diagnosed.

As discussed above, there are many misinterpretations about insomnia among people. Therefore, it is essential to understand what insomnia is. Let’s take a look at few of the insomnia definitions:

Insomnia Definition by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Insomnia is referred to as “Extended sleep and/or inability to get adequate sleep.”

This Insomnia Definition focuses on two extreme conditions experienced by people suffering from insomnia and does not include poor quality of sleep as a condition of insomnia.

Insomnia Definition by the Free Online Dictionary

Insomnia is referred to as “Severe inability to sleep or fall asleep for long period irrespective of interruptions.”

In this Insomnia Definition also, only two extreme conditions experienced by people are included. However, this Insomnia Definition includes severity of the problem as well.

Insomnia Definition by the Medical Dictionary

Insomnia is referred to as “Failure to obtain sufficient amount and quality of sleep. People either experience difficulty falling asleep, sleep for unusually long period of time, or both.”

As per the above insomnia definition, people suffer from either lack of sleep or too much of sleep and the quality of sleep is not sufficient. This might result in people not feeling refreshed after sleeping, which in turn, leads to diseases and other physical imbalances.

Insomnia Definition by Dictionary.Com

Insomnia is referred to as “Failure to get adequate sleep.”

This insomnia definition is very restrictive and only focuses on the inability to sleep adequately as a condition of insomnia.