Do you suffer from Insomnia? Some clinical trials might give you a good night’s sleep

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Insomnia

Source: http://www.kevinwolf.com

At some point in their student lives everyone has spent nights staying up preparing for an exam or trying to meet a project deadline. A long period of sleep usually followed the next day. Unfortunately there are many who suffer Insomnia and have difficulty in sleeping without any deadline or any other work that would keep them up.

There symptoms of Insomnia are (Source: ehealthmd.com):

Difficulty in falling asleep
waking up a number of times during the night
not feeling refreshed in the morning, or
waking up too early

This results in a feeling of fatigue and tiredness during the day. The person feels as if they have not had enough sleep.

Insomnia is of two types: Primary and Secondary Insomnia.

A person is said to suffer from primary insomnia when it is not associated with any other health condition. Secondary Insomnia is when it is associated with something else like medication, alcohol, pain, cancer, asthma etc.

Insomnia can also be acute or chronic. Acute Insomnia is a short term insomnia that could last from one night to a few weeks. Chronic Insomnia is long term and is defined as when a person has trouble sleeping for at least 3 nights a week in a month.

Insomnia is primarily caused due to stress, depression, pain or discomfort and any interference in normal sleep schedule. (Source: WebMD.com). There is debate on how many people suffer from insomnia. There are various statistics that range from 1 in 10 people to 1 in 20 people.

Most physicians recommend lifestyle changes to overcome chronic insomnia. These include positive thinking and relaxation, lifestyle changes such as regulating a sleep pattern. Acute insomnia can be overcome by taking sleep medicine but that runs the risk of dependency especially in older adults (Source: WebMD.com).

Insomnia Clinical Trials

There are a number clinical studies (clinical trials) being conducted for new medications or treatments for Insomnia. A number of these aim to cure Insomnia that is associated some other underlying condition. Many of them are trying out medication that will regulate the sleep rhythm without the risk of dependency.

Clinical Trial of Depression and Insomnia in Boston at St. Elizabeths’s Hospital

Treatment of insomnia in patients with Parkinson’s disease

Lunesta (eszopiclone) and sugar absorption in the body

The use of Modafinil (Provigil) to reset the sleep cycle to a normal rhythm

Use of light and melatonin to regulate a sleep cycle

.. and many other Insomnia Clinical Trials

If you know of other clinical trials for Insomnia or have found new results of such studies, please feel free to leave a comment