Understanding Initial Insomnia and How to Deal With It

When people hear chronic insomnia, they may think that all cases of chronic insomnia are the same or at last very similar. This is not the case. There are three different types of insomnia: initial insomnia, middle insomnia, and terminal insomnia. Each has its differences.

With "initial insomnia," people go to bed but cannot get to sleep for hours. Sometimes they don't get to sleep at all.

With "middle insomnia," although you will fall asleep fairly fast initially, you wake up in the middle of the night and then find it difficult to get back to sleep. The initial awakening is often caused by the need to go to the bathroom, pain, or a child waking up a parent.

Those with "terminal insomnia" also find themselves getting to sleep fairly quickly. These people, though, wake up early in the morning and never really get enough sleep.

Although all types of chronic insomnia can be tiring and annoying, initial insomnia can be the most annoying, because with this condition, there is no guarantee that you will ever get to sleep. The best way to treat initial insomnia is to realize why you are unable to sleep. What is keeping you awake?

While there can be various reasons why you can't fall asleep, in many cases, the inability to sleep comes because you have "unfinished business" from the day that is now worrying you either consciously or unconsciously.

This unfinished business is something that you ignored throughout your day.

One way to deal with the unfinished business of the day is to schedule "thinking appointments." The idea might sound a little strange, but it is important that you feel like your activities of the day are complete and that you are ready to release your day and get some rest.

Having a "thinking appointment" that is actually written into your schedule can help you to resolve the problems of your day. During this time, you can go over the problems of your day and think about possible solutions. If needed, you can even schedule in a couple of these sessions in a day.

This way, you can feel more like your day is complete when you go to bed.

If part of the reason that you deal with initial insomnia is due to thoughts being on your day, focusing on having those thoughts during other parts of your day can help to reduce your chances of suffering from chronic insomnia during the earlier hours of the night.

Here are other things you also might find helpful when you are dealing with initial insomnia:

Find a way to get rid of your stress before you head to bed. You might attempt relaxation technique or try different stress relief methods.

Exercising and eating properly can also be beneficial ways to help you get to sleep better and to sleep longer.

If you have a caffeine addiction, eliminating these from your diet may also be helpful. If you are not ready to completely eliminate caffeine, at least attempt to reduce it in your diet, and you may find getting to sleep is easier.

Going to sleep and getting up at the same time on a daily basis can also help you to establish a sleep schedule.