If you feel that you are having difficulties trying to fall asleep at night, you might want to consult your local physicians because you might be suffering from insomnia.
However, you are not alone.
In fact, research has shown that insomnia is one of the most common sleeping disorders that is affecting a large portion of Americans.
There are many types of insomnia.
However, the most damaging one would be the fatal familial insomnia or FFI.
As the name of the disease suggests, this type of insomnia is entirely genetic.
Nevertheless, actual documented cases of FFI are very rare, only about 450 cases worldwide.
This sleeping disorder affects mostly older individuals aged 50 and above.
At first, they lose the ability to sleep.
Later on, their hours of sleep gradually decrease up to a point where they are only able to reach a state of drowsiness without actually falling asleep.
This is usually followed by death within a year or two.
What looks like a mild sleeping disorder can get out of control is it is left untreated.
Another form of insomnia is the more common persistent insomnia.
This is a condition where the individual finds it difficult to sleep night after night.
The cause of persistent insomnia is usually the lack of sleep due to work or family commitments.
A person might have to stay up late to work on a certain task for a few consecutive days.
Now, the person might be able to sleep in on the following day once the job is done but this is usually not the case because the person has to stay awake during day time to take care of his or her family or to work.
What happens is that person becomes groggy or tired day after day and this leads to persistent insomnia because his regular sleep pattern is disrupted.
If you feel that you are suffering from insomnia, you should always consult your doctor.
This problem can become very serious if left untreated.