[Guest]

I DON'T KNOW TYPE OF INSOMNIA I HAVE. I GO RIGHT TO SLEEP WHEN I LAY DOWN, I SEEM TO SLEEP THROUGH NIGHT (SOMETIMES I WAKE UP TOO EARLY) WHEN I WAKE UP I FEEL LIKE I HAVEN'T SLEPT AT ALL. MY QUESTION IS HOW MUCH SLEEP DO NEED CAN NOT GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP MAKE PRONE TO CONTRACTING DEADLY DISEASES I.E. CANCERS ETC. OR IS IT JUST A MATTER OF IMPAIRED PERMANCE?

[Guest]

What our describing is not usually considered insomnia but excessive daytime sleepiness, if you sleep a normal night but feel tired the next day. An average amount of required sleep for an adult is between 7 to 9 hours, but there is a lot of variation. Excessive daytime sleepiness and insomnia for that matter are linked with an increase in automobile accidents. Obstructive sleep apnea, a common cause of excessive daytime sleepiness, has been linked with medical. This complaint of yours is often easily diagnosed and treated and I would recommend seeing a sleep specialists for this.

[Guest]

My father had--and my brother has--my kind of insomnia. I fall asleep easily, but awake after about three hours, and rarely get more than 4 to 5 hours sleep altogether. From conversations with others, I think what I suffer from is fairly common, but that doesn't make me feel any less tired during my waking hours. Nor do I have time to take even a short afternoon nap (and when I try, I often can't fall asleep). I am male, 61 years old (I've suffered from this for 25 years), in general good health, am Type A, run 3 miles a day, and have no weight problem. I've tried 1000 mg of melatonin at bedtime and, later, 20 mg of Paxil for a short time. They did nothing for me. I've not sought out a sleep specialist, and I really don't want to take drugs unless it is necessary. I am tempted to try acupuncture or Chinese medicine, but I'm a skeptic about non-traditional therapies and so I've procrastinated seeing specialists in these area too. I'm open to suggestions, whether traditional or non-traditional.