Chronic insomnia is an extremely common problem today suffered by many millions of people and, while an increasing number of people do look for an insomnia cure, a substantial proportion of sufferers simply choose to live with the condition and merely adjust their lifestyle accordingly. But could this be storing up problems for the future?



For some considerable time now doctors have been concerned that there may be a link between chronic insomnia and both anxiety and depression, but this link has not been clearly defined and there has been a question about whether chronic insomnia leads to anxiety and depression or whether anxiety and depression leads to chronic insomnia. At last however it seems that we might be close to finding, or indeed have found, the answer.

In a recent and extensive study carried out at the Haukeland University Hospital in Bergan, Norway, researchers have been studying the problem of chronic insomnia and both anxiety and depression in a group of more than 25,000 patients for a period of well over ten years and, while the picture is still not entirely clear, the evidence of a link does at last seem to be emerging.

The study would appear to indicate that, in general terms, it is chronic insomnia which appears first and which over time in many cases leads to anxiety disorder. However, the same does not appear to be true in the case of depression, which is often accompanied by insomnia but does not appear to be caused by it.

So just what does this mean?

In its very simplest terms it means than a person who is suffering from chronic insomnia, in other words a person who suffers for any extended period of time from an ongoing problem in falling asleep, remaining asleep or waking too early in the morning, should not simply ignore the problem but should take positive steps to find a suitable insomnia cure.

We all suffer from insomnia from time to time and it is quite normal to find that events in our lives, a change in our environment and a whole host of other factors can lead to insomnia. However, in most cases such insomnia is short lived and as events pass, for example, so does our insomnia. Here therefore it is persistent insomnia going on not simply for a matter of days, or even a week or two, but for several weeks and months that we need to be concerned about when we talk in terms of chronic insomnia.

In addition, since the study shows that chronic insomnia can lead to anxiety disorder, people suffering from chronic insomnia should consider the possibility that they may also be suffering from anxiety disorder for which they should seek professional help from their doctor.

Remember too that all of these conditions can be treated naturally and there is no need to worry about the possibility of having to take sleeping pills and other drugs for either anxiety or depression. In the vast majority of cases, and certainly if caught early enough, changes to your lifestyle and diet are often all that is necessary to have you right as rain again in no time at all.