The writer Fran Leibowitz once quipped that life is what you do when you can't get to sleep. Indeed, for many of us, getting a good night's sleep is an important but elusive goal. Up to 30 percent of the general population suffers from insomnia, and half of this group experiences the problem as serious. Up to 90 percent of older people report some type of sleep problem. And drowsiness at the wheel may account for 30 percent of fatal driving accidents.
Occasional trouble falling or staying asleep is normal and usually due to transient stress.
But when insomnia continues for weeks or months, it's important to consider possible causes. Anxiety and depression account for as much as 50 percent of chronic insomnia cases. Treatment of the underlying problem usually leads to improvement in the patient's sleep. This disorder is usually caused by a combination of stress, poor sleeping habits, and a form of conditioned anxiety in which simply getting into their own beds makes sufferers anxious. Unlike those with chronic insomnia, only a small percentage of people with hypersomnia have an underlying psychiatric problem.