This is what insomnia looks like:
Red eyes. Dark room. Dim lighting from a computer screen (and a DVD player...because the basic trait of any good insomniac is a non-stop mind which equates with multi-tasking and over-stimulation). Extreme sleepiness. Dire frustration with the fact that sleep doesn't seem to be coming quickly. Ultimate stubbornness in a refusal to succumb to the doctor-prescribed sleeping pill. And this sound: "Grrrrrrrrrr."
Here are some not so fun facts I've discovered about insomnia while suffering from it:
1. Insomnia is 1.4 more times common in women than in men.
2. Approximately 30-50% of the general population has or does suffer from insomnia. 10% suffer from chronic insomnia.
3. There are three identified types of insomnia:
a. transient - lasts from days to weeks
b. acute or short-term - lasting weeks to months
c. chronic - lasts for years at a time (lucky, lucky me)
4. The incidence increases with age and is more common in people in lower socioeconomic groups, chronic alcoholics, and mental health patients. (draw your own conclusions)
