Insomnia : Symptoms

People who have insomnia do not start the day refreshed from a good night's sleep. They are tired. They may have difficulty falling asleep, and commonly lie in bed tossing and turning for hours. Or the individual may go to sleep without a problem ...

The symptoms of insomnia can vary greatly from person to person. Some people find that they have trouble falling asleep at night and can lie in bed for hours without being able to drift off. Others find that they fall asleep easily but wake many t...

People who have insomnia do not start the day refreshed from a good night's sleep. They are tired. They may have difficulty falling asleep, and commonly lie in bed tossing and turning for hours. Or the individual may go to sleep without a problem ...

Fatigue is a feeling of weariness, tiredness, or lack of energy.

Fatigue is physical and/or mental exhaustion that can be triggered by stress , medication, overwork, or mental and physical illness or disease.

Boosting Your Energy provides information on the causes and treatments of persistent fatigue. Includes information on aging and energy, eating for energy, and boosting your energy.

Fatigue may be defined as a subjective state in which one feels tired or exhausted, and in which the capacity for normal work or activity is reduced. There is, however, no commonly accepted definition of fatigue when it is considered in the context of health and illness. This lack of definition results from the fact that a person's experience of fatigue depends on a variety of factors. These factors include culture, personality, the physical environment (light, noise, vibration), availability of social support through networks of family members and friends, the nature of a particular fatiguing disease or disorder, and the type and duration of work or exercise . The experience of fatigue associated with disease will be different for someone who is clinically depressed, is socially isolated, and is out of shape, as compared to another person who is not depressed, has many friends, and is aerobically fit.

Fatigue: TreatmentIf the fatigue is related to a decrease in hemoglobin, or oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, then replacing the red blood cells by transfusion or taking erythropoietin can help reduce fatigue. If the fatigue is not related to...

If you regularly feel weary after waking from a good night’s sleep or for no apparent reason, it’s time to find out why.

Fatigue may be defined as a subjective state in which one feels tired or exhausted, and in which the capacity for normal work or activity is reduced. There is, however, no commonly accepted definition of fatigue when it is considered in the context of health and illness. This lack of definition results from the fact that a person's experience of fatigue depends on a variety of factors. These factors include culture; personality; the physical environment (light, noise, vibration); availability of social support through networks of family members and friends; the nature of a particular fatiguing disease or disorder; and the type and duration of work or exercise. For example, the experience of fatigue associated with disease will be different for someone who is clinically depressed, is socially isolated, and is out of shape, as compared to another person who is not depressed, has many friends, and is aerobically fit. Fatigue is sometimes characterized as normal or abnormal. For example, the feeling of tiredness or even exhaustion after exercising is a normal response and is relieved by resting; many people report that the experience of ordinary tiredness after exercise is pleasant. Moreover, this type of fatigue is called acute since the onset is sudden and the desired activity level returns after resting. On the other hand, there is a kind of fatigue that is not perceived as ordinary; that may develop insidiously over time; is unpleasant or seriously distressing; and is not resolved by rest. This kind of fatigue is abnormal and is called chronic . Some researchers regard fatigue as a defense mechanism that promotes the effective regulation of energy expenditures. According to this theory, when people feel tired they take steps to avoid further stress (physical or emotional) by resting or by avoiding the stressor. They are then conserving energy. Since chronic fatigue is not normal, however, it is an important symptom of some mental disorders; of a variety of physical diseases with known etiologies (causes); and of medical conditions that have no biological markers although they have recognizable syndromes (patterns of symptoms and signs). Fatigue is sometimes described as being primary or secondary. Primary fatigue is a symptom of a disease or mental disorder, and may be part of a cluster of such symptoms as pain, fever, or nausea. As the disease or disorder progresses, however, the fatigue may be intensified by the patient's worsening condition, by the other disease symptoms, or by the surgical or medical treatment given to the patient. This subsequent fatigue is called secondary.

Fatigue is physical and/or mental exhaustion that can be triggered by stress , medication, overwork, or mental and physical illness or disease.

Fatigue is a feeling of exhaustion or loss of strength. The duration of fatigue for a patient with cancer has been found to last from one to two times the length of time between diagnosis and completion of treatment, so it is common for fatigue to persist beyond a patient's treatment regimen.

Fatigue: ManagementIf the person on chemotherapy has decreased hemoglobin, or oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, and it seems like the low hemoglobin level will last for a while, then a medicine called PROCRIT® (Epoetin alfa) may be prescribed...

Fatigue: CausesWe currently understand some of the causes of fatigue but not all of them. Fatigue may be related to physical changes caused by cancer or its treatment (chemotherapy, biotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery).

Fatigue: DefinitionFatigue is a vague feeling of being tired, weak, or exhausted. It is often a symptom of cancer, when cancer is first diagnosed, or when cancer progresses (Ferrell et al, 1996).

Oncology: Managing FatigueFatigue is a common side effect of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. It can be caused by worry, lack of sleep, and poor appetite.

Many people experience late-in-the-day energy lags, but you can take steps to prevent them.

Being tired is the familiar aftermath of physical exertion, prolonged labor or lack of sleep. When does being tired become a symptom of a condition? Fatigue, malaise, lassitude, exhaustion are all subtle variations of the same subjective feelings of not having enough energy to meet the demands of one's life.

Irritability is an excessive response to stimuli.

Children can become cranky, fussy or irritable for many reasons. Often it's because they're hungry or just tired. But sometimes irritability can be a sign of illness in children.

Don't Catch a Bad MoodLike the common cold, human emotions are highly contagious."It's easy to get swept up in somebody else's emotions," says James Page, M.D., a psychiatrist in Greenville, SC.

Drowsiness refers to feeling abnormally sleepy during the day - often with a strong tendency to actually fall asleep in inappropriate situations or at inappropriate times.

Each year, at least 100,000 vehicular crashes and 1,550 deaths are caused by drivers who are impaired by sleepiness.

When drowsiness occurs most of the time or causes a person to fall asleep at inappropriate times, quality of life and performance can be affected.

Hypersomnia refers to a set of related disorders that involve excessive daytime sleepiness.

Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder that causes excessive sleepiness and frequent daytime sleep attacks.

Narcolepsy is a disorder marked by excessive daytime sleepiness, uncontrollable sleep attacks, and cataplexy (a sudden loss of muscle tone, usually lasting up to half an hour).

Narcolepsy is a disorder marked by excessive daytime sleepiness, uncontrollable sleep attacks, and cataplexy (a sudden loss of muscle tone, usually lasting up to half an hour).

Narcolepsy is a disorder marked by excessive daytime sleepiness, uncontrollable sleep attacks, and cataplexy (a sudden loss of muscle tone, usually lasting up to half an hour).

Narcolepsy is a disorder marked by excessive daytime sleepiness, uncontrollable sleep attacks, and cataplexy (a sudden loss of muscle tone, usually lasting up to half an hour).

Narcolepsy is a disorder marked by excessive daytime sleepiness, uncontrollable sleep attacks, and cataplexy (a sudden loss of muscle tone, usually lasting up to half an hour).

Narcolepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by uncontrollable episodes of sleepiness during the day. Episodes can last from a few seconds to more than an hour and can significantly interfere with daily activities.

Narcolepsy is a disorder of the nervous system marked by excessive daytime sleepiness, uncontrollable sleep attacks, and cataplexy (a sudden loss of muscle tone, usually lasting up to half an hour). The American Psychiatric Association (APA) classifies narcolepsy as a sleep disorder in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , or DSM-IV . The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) defines narcolepsy as a "disorder caused by the brain's inability to regulate sleep-wake cycles normally." The disorder is sometimes called Gélineau's syndrome because it was first identified in 1880 by the French neurologist Jean-Baptiste Gélineau. The word narcolepsy itself comes from two Greek words that together mean "seized by sleepiness."

Sleeping difficulty, called insomnia, can involve difficulty falling asleep when you first go to bed at night, waking up too early in the morning, and waking up often during the night.

Paybacks for Lost SleepAre you getting enough sleep? Do you have sleep debt?

Some nights, sleep comes easily, and you sail through the night in a satisfying slumber. Waking up after a night of good sleep feels wonderful — you're refreshed, energized, and ready to take on the world. Other nights, sleep comes slowly or not until the wee hours. Or you may fall asleep, only to awaken throughout the night.

Yawning involves opening the mouth involuntarily while taking a long, deep breath of air. This is usually done as a result of drowsiness or weariness. Excessive yawning is yawning that happens more often than would be expected, even if drowsiness or weariness is present.

The ability to concentrate is a function of mental status and cognition. Impairment of the ability to concentrate can be a problem of neurologic or psychiatric origin or a combination of behavior and mentation.

With today's world filled with flashing images of MTV, quick news reports, and fast-food restaurants on every corner, are we capable of concentrating as well as we used to?

Weakness is a reduction in the strength of one or more muscles.

If you keep thinking about the problem and don't take action, you worry. If you take appropriate action, that's concern.

Worrying becomes a problem when you get fixated on the worry, dwell on the imagined danger and allow this fearfulness to escalate into paralyzing anxiety.

Excessive worrying can have negative effects on both physical and mental health. Sometimes medications can help, but in some cases behavioral therapy is more effective.

At 86, I'm still competitively racing frostbite dinghies. I've noticed that my heartbeat becomes irregular during the races and for hours afterward. It feels like a weak beat after every two normal heartbeats. Is this a normal exercise reaction?

A Harvard Medical School physician answers your question about pulsing at the temples.

Disorientation, the lack of being able to correctly identify oneself, one's location, or the date and time, is a sign of an altered mental status. An alteration in mental status is often an indication of a serious medical problem, requiring prompt medical attention.

Sleep disorders involve any difficulties related to sleeping, including difficulty falling or staying asleep, falling asleep at inappropriate times, excessive total sleep time, or abnormal behaviors associated with sleep.

Sleep disorders are a group of syndromes characterized by disturbance in the patient's amount of sleep, quality or timing of sleep, or in behaviors or physiological conditions associated with sleep. There are about 70 different sleep disorders. To qualify for the diagnosis of sleep disorder, the condition must be a persistent problem, cause the patient significant emotional distress, and interfere with his or her social or occupational functioning. Although sleep is a basic behavior in animals as well as humans, researchers still do not completely understand all of its functions in maintaining health. In the past 30 years, however, laboratory studies on human volunteers have yielded new information about the different types of sleep. Researchers have learned about the cyclical patterns of different types of sleep and their relationships to breathing, heart rate, brain waves, and other physical functions. These measurements are obtained by a technique called polysomnography . There are five stages of human sleep. Four stages have non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, with unique brain wave patterns and physical changes occurring. Dreaming occurs in the fifth stage, during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Stage 1 NREM sleep. This stage occurs while a person is falling asleep. It represents about 5% of a normal adult's sleep time. Stage 2 NREM sleep. In this stage, (the beginning of "true" sleep), the person's electroencephalogram (EEG) will show distinctive wave forms called sleep spindles and K complexes. About 50% of sleep time is stage 2 REM sleep. Stages 3 and 4 NREM sleep. Also called delta or slow wave sleep, these are the deepest levels of human sleep and represent 10–20% of sleep time. They usually occur during the first 30–50% of the sleeping period. REM sleep. REM sleep accounts for 20–25% of total sleep time. It usually begins about 90 minutes after the person falls asleep, an important measure called REM latency. It alternates with NREM sleep about every hour and a half throughout the night. REM periods increase in length over the course of the night. Sleep cycles vary with a person's age. Children and adolescents have longer periods of stage 3 and stage 4 NREM sleep than do middle aged or elderly adults. Because of this difference, the doctor will need to take a patient's age into account when evaluating a sleep disorder. Total REM sleep also declines with age. The average length of nighttime sleep varies among people. Most people sleep between seven and nine hours a night. This population average appears to be constant throughout the world. In temperate climates, however, people often notice that sleep time varies with the seasons. It is not unusual for people in North America and Europe to sleep about 40 minutes longer per night during the winter.

Sleep disorders are a group of syndromes characterized by disturbances in the amount, quality, or timing of sleep, or in behaviors or physiological conditions associated with sleep.

Sleep disorders are a group of syndromes characterized by disturbance in a person's amount of sleep, quality or timing of sleep, or in behaviors or physiological conditions associated with sleep. There are about 70 different sleep disorders. To qualify for the diagnosis of sleep disorder, the condition must be a persistent problem, cause an individual significant emotional distress, and interfere with social or occupational functioning. The text revision of the fourth edition (2000) of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) specifically excludes temporary disruptions of sleeping patterns caused by travel or other short-term stresses. Although sleep is a basic behavior in animals as well as humans, researchers still do not completely understand all of its functions in maintaining health. In the past 30 years, however, laboratory studies on human volunteers have yielded new information about the different types of sleep. Researchers have learned about the cyclical patterns of different types of sleep and their relationships to breathing, heart rate, brain waves, and other physical functions. These measurements are obtained by a technique called polysomnography . There are five stages of human sleep. Four stages have non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, with unique brain wave patterns and physical changes occurring. Dreaming occurs in the fifth stage, during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Stage 1 NREM sleep. This stage occurs while a person is falling asleep. It represents about 5% of a normal adult's sleep time. Stage 2 NREM sleep. In this stage, (the beginning of "true" sleep), the person's electroencephalogram (EEG) will show distinctive wave forms called sleep spindles and K complexes. About 50% of sleep time is stage 2 NREM sleep. Stages 3 and 4 NREM sleep. Also called delta or slow wave sleep, these are the deepest levels of human sleep and represent 10-20% of sleep time. They usually occur during the first 30-50% of the sleeping period. REM sleep. REM sleep accounts for 20-25% of total sleep time. It usually begins about 90 minutes after a person falls asleep, an important measure called REM latency. It alternates with NREM sleep about every hour and a half throughout the night. REM periods increase in length over the course of the night. Sleep cycles vary with a person's age. Children and adolescents have longer periods of stage 3 and stage 4 NREM sleep than do middle aged or elderly adults. Because of this difference, a doctor will need to take a person's age into account when evaluating a sleep disorder. Total REM sleep also declines with age. The average length of nighttime sleep varies among people. Most individuals sleep between seven and nine hours a night. This population average appears to be constant throughout the world. In temperate climates, however, people often notice that sleep time varies with the seasons. It is not unusual for people in North America and Europe to sleep about 40 minutes longer per night during the winter.