The 5 Types of Insomnia – Which Type are You?A Review

Are you dealing with sleep struggles night after night? Until recently, insomnia was classified in one of three ways: 1 – Difficulty falling asleep, 2 – Difficulty staying asleep, or 3 - Waking too early. Instead, I’d like to share a recent blog article that outlines a whole new way of imagining insomnia and the insomniac.

In Dr. Michael Breus’ blog, The 5 Types of Insomnia - Which Type are You?¹,  he reports the findings of a new seven-year online Dutch study conducted by the Lancet Psychiatry. These results reveal 5 insomniac sub-types. Identifying which type you or your loved one may be, can aide in resolving your nightly sleep challenges.

What follows is the Dutch study’s description of the 5 insomnia types, along with the percentage of participants per type:

 •Sub-Type 1 (19%) - Highly Distressed Insomnia – Subjects were very tense or down.

 •Sub-Type 2 (31%) & Sub-Type 3 (15%) - Moderately Distressed Insomnia – These people had less stress in their lives but one group (type 2) are ‘reward sensitive’ or experience pleasurable emotions tied with reward, and the other group (type 3) are ‘reward insensitive’ or do not experience pleasurable emotions derived from rewards.

 In other words, type 3 subjects were able to experience relief from their stress when something  positive occurred in their lives, while type 2 participants remained stuck in their distressed state.

 •Sub-Type 4 (20%) & Sub-Type 5 (15%) – Generally speaking, these people were less stressed than type 1 individuals. For type 4 though, stressful events highly influenced insomnia. Instead for type 5, the group is essentially unaffected by stressful events.

Which type do you relate to most?

It’s a fact that insomnia takes multiple forms, so treatments will vary.Depending upon your insomnia sub-type, possible solutions may include talk therapy, Cognitive Behavior Therapy Insomnia, (CBTi), herbs/minerals in pill, spray, tincture, beverage or essence.

Important things to consider when you are trying to assess your insomnia type include:

1 The level of distress/anxiety in your daily life - High, medium or low?

2 Do you get pleasure from rewards?

3 Do life events affect your sleep?

What else you can do?

It’s always important to keep up the basics for a good night sleep. This includes though is not limited to:

1 Maintain a consistent wake up time to keep circadian rhythm in sync (also helps to lower anxiety).

2 Exercise regularly to reduce stress and create fatigue which helps improve sleep quality.

3 Avoid/Reduce caffeine especially if you’re anxious.

4 Plan for difficult nights when you know you have a stressful event coming up.

- Have a good sleep environment

- Go to bed slightly later than normal since some sleep deprivation may help you to feel sleepier and go/stay asleep more successfully.

5 Consider taking magnesium - Pill - Magnesium glycinate; Foot bath with Epsom salts; Spray - Ease by Activation - Drink - Banana Leaf Tea.

You can try as many of the above basics for a better night sleep as you’d like. The most important thing is whichever you follow, they actions should feel agreeable and not add extra stress.

If sipping a cup of fun and relaxing banana peel tea appeals to you, follow this recipe as provided by Dr. Breus.

BPT Recipe²  

•Wash off an organic banana and cut off the stem/tip

•Cut the banana in half leaving the peel on

•Drop the banana in 3 cups of boiling water for approx. 3 minutes (Until the banana turns brownish for a while) or you may steep the banana for 10-minutes in just boiled water

• Pour the banana water into a cup and drink

The peel of the banana is loaded with magnesium - almost 3 times the amount in the fruit - and also aids in digestion and absorption. It’s actually great for constipation!

If you have any questions or need assistance in re-gaining your own consistent sleep, please feel free to contact me at susan@back-to-sleep.com . I’d be happy to talk, as well as offer you a complimentary 30-minute consultation, Breakthrough to a Great Night’s Sleep!

¹Dr. Michale Breus – The 5 Types of Insomnia – Which Type are You?, www.thesleepdoctor.com, Jan 20, 2019

²Dr. Michael Breus - Three Healthy Non-Alcoholic Drinks That Will Help You Sleep Better During the Holidays - www.thesleepdoctor.com - Nov 17, 2018