What constitutes insomnia, what are its long-term effects, and can natural medicine help?
A. If you have chronic insomnia, you aren’t alone. According to the National Sleep Foundation, about 70 million Americans are affected by sleep problems. Insomnia is defined as any of the following: difficulty falling asleep, waking a lot during the night, waking up too early and not being able to fall back asleep, and waking up feeling unrefreshed. According to the NSF, before Thomas Edison developed the light bulb, people slept an average of 10 hours. Today, most Americans sleep an average of seven hours a night, with 30 percent of the population sleeping less than six hours a night. Getting adequate sleep is vital to your well-being. Research has shown that people who chronically experience a lack of sleep have reduced immunity, impaired work performance, and decreased memory; they don’t handle stress well, and are more irritable and less happy than people who get enough sleep. Mood changes are associated with insomnia because the brain chemicals that impact sleep also affect your m
