Insomnia is a very common and debilitating disease with major morbidity and social consequences. Despite the negative impact on the ability to function well during the day, insomnia is underdiagnosed and undertreated. Insomnia is therefore, important to treat. However, treatment has been difficult due to concerns over current treatment options, both from a patient and physician perspective.
Very few of the people suffering from insomnia actually go to see a physician. In a consumer survey conducted in France, Germany, Italy and the UK, it was found that 37% of respondents with insomnia took no action to resolve it at all, while 10% used over- the-counter remedies and 13% adopted non-pharmacological measures.1
Newer treatment regimes focus both on sleep hygiene, cognitive-behavioural therapy and sleep drugs with a new mechanism of action, which have a benign safety profile and are non-addictive.
This Insomnia Knowledge Centre has been developed to provide health-care professionals with educational information, to ensure the disease is not left undiagnosed and is treated effectively. It aims to highlight the importance of improving not only the quantity of sleep but also the quality of sleep so that the patient has better day time function.
Reference:
1) Estivill E. Behaviour of insomniacs and implication for their management. Sleep Med Rev 2002;6(Suppl 1): S3-6.