Causes of insomnia may be physical, psychological, or some combination of the two. Symptoms of insomnia also vary and are too subjective to try to list. Nearly always, though, symptoms include drowsiness during the day and unrest during the night. As people reach middle age, they are at greater risk of experiencing insomnia. In cases such as this, and others such as muscle cramps, where the causes of insomnia are clearly physical, treatment would focus, of course, on the physical condition.
Current treatments depend upon cause and duration.
A number of projects involving experimental preventive measures have been reported in the current medical literature. Bibliography Becker, 1993. Bliwise and others, 1995. Prediction of outcome in behaviorally based insomnia treatments. Bes, Hofman, Schuur, and van Boxtel, 1992.