Insomnia - Signs, Symptoms, and Complications - Signs, Symptoms, and Complications

The main symptom of insomnia is trouble falling or staying asleep, even if you have enough time and the right conditions for good sleep. Over time, untreated insomnia may raise your risk of certain health problems or workplace or road accidents. 

Signs and Symptoms

If you have insomnia, you may:

• Lie awake for a long time before you fall asleep. This is more common in younger adults.
• Sleep for only short periods. You may wake up often during the night or be awake for most of the night. This is the most common symptom and affects mostly older adults.
• Wake up too early in the morning and not be able to get back to sleep.
• Have poor-quality sleep. You may wake up feeling unrested, and you may feel sleepy during the day. You may also have trouble focusing on tasks. Insomnia can cause you to feel anxious, depressed, or irritable. 

Complications

Sleep is important for your body and mind. To understand how sleep is important for good health, read our How Sleep Works and Sleep Deprivation and Deficiency Health Topics.

In the short term, insomnia can make it hard to concentrate or think clearly. You may feel irritable, sad, and unrested or have headaches. Insomnia raises your risk of falling, having a road accident, or missing work. 

In addition, chronic insomnia can affect how well your brain, heart, and other parts of your body work. It can raise your risk of certain health problems or make existing problems worse. These conditions include:

• Breathing problems such as asthma
• Heart problems such as arrhythmia, heart failure, coronary heart disease, and high blood pressure
• Mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, and thoughts of suicide. Insomnia can also make it difficult for you to stick to treatment for a substance use disorder.
• Pain. People who have chronic pain and insomnia may become more aware of and distressed by their pain.
• Pregnancy complications such as having more pain during labor, giving birth preterm, needing a cesarean section (C-section), and having a baby with low birth weight.
• Problems with your immune system, your body’s natural defense against germs and sickness. These problems can lead to inflammation in your body or make it harder to fight infections.
• Problems with your metabolism . Not getting enough sleep can change the levels of hormones that control hunger and how you break down food. This can raise the risk of overweight and obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes.