#6 - The Trauma of Insomnia

Sleep Unplugged with Dr. Chris Winter

In episode 2, I talked about what insomnia was not--namely sleep deprivation. In this episode, we begin to explore what insomnia is and who is most at risk. I also explore the unique role of trauma both as a precipitant, but also a perpetuator of insomnia. In this episode we will:

• revisit how insomnia differs from sleep deprivation and why confusion between the two creates therapeutic problems
• examine risk factors for developing insomnia
• review studies that demonstrate insomnia patients are generally sleeping relatively normal amounts
• uncover studies that reveal that insomnia patients generally do not share identifiable sleep study deficiencies
• understand why insomnia patients often develop negative views of their sleep and how this factor alone, irrespective of sleep quality and amount, predicts disbility
• explore how trauma can create or precipitate insomnia, but more importantly how insomnia itself, over time, can become its own form of trauma, helping to perpetuate the condition.
• appreciate that when a sleep specialist tells a patient that he does not have sleep deprivation when he has insomnia, she is not saying the patient does not have a problem.

While insomnia is often not the problem the patient thinks they have, it can be a tremendous burden in and of itself, and trauma is often playing a central role.

Produced by: Maeve Winter
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• The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!