Insomnia
Details
Overview
Insomnia is a sleep disorder characterized by difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or obtaining restorative sleep despite adequate opportunity and circumstances for sleep. It is associated with daytime impairment and distress.
Diagnostic Criteria (ICSD-3)
- Difficulty initiating sleep (sleep onset insomnia)
- Difficulty maintaining sleep (sleep maintenance insomnia)
- Early morning awakening with inability to return to sleep
- Daytime impairment despite adequate sleep opportunity
- Frequency: At least 3 nights per week
- Duration: At least 3 months (chronic) or less (short-term/acute)
Subtypes
- Sleep Onset Insomnia: Difficulty falling asleep (>30 minutes)
- Sleep Maintenance Insomnia: Frequent awakenings or early waking
- Terminal Insomnia: Early morning awakening
- Mixed Insomnia: Combination of onset and maintenance problems
Why This Entity Matters
Insomnia affects 10-30% of adults globally and is associated with: - Increased risk of cardiovascular disease - Impaired cognitive function and memory - Reduced work performance and increased accidents - Higher rates of depression and anxiety - Metabolic dysregulation and obesity risk - Inflammation and immune dysfunction
Prevalence of magnesium deficiency in insomnia patients: Studies suggest 40-60% of individuals with chronic insomnia have suboptimal magnesium status.
Related Mechanisms
- circadian-rhythm — Dysregulation of biological clock
- gaba-system — Reduced inhibitory neurotransmission
- hpa-axis — Hyperarousal, elevated cortisol
- nmda-receptor-modulation — Excessive glutamatergic excitation
Related Claims
Magnesium Interventions
- magnesium-improves-sleep-quality-in-deficient-adults — Strong evidence for deficient populations
- Magnesium reduces sleep onset latency — Moderate evidence (claim page pending)
- magnesium-no-effect-on-sleep-in-replete-population — Important null result
Risk Factors
- Low magnesium associated with poor sleep — Observational evidence (claim page pending)
- Stress-induced insomnia and magnesium depletion — Mechanistic link (claim page pending)
Assessment Metrics
| Metric | Normal Range | Clinical Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Sleep Onset Latency | <30 min | >30 min indicates insomnia |
| Wake After Sleep Onset (WASO) | <20 min | >30 min problematic |
| Sleep Efficiency | >85% | <85% reduced efficiency |
| Total Sleep Time | 7-9 hrs | <6 hrs severe restriction |
| ISI Score | 0-7 | >14 moderate-severe |
| PSQI Score | <5 | >5 poor sleep quality |
Related Entities
- magnesium — Primary supplement of interest
- sleep-quality — Broader construct
- anxiety — Common comorbidity
- circadian-rhythm — Regulatory system
- gaba-system — Neurotransmitter target
Sources
- pmid-23853635 — RCT: Magnesium supplementation on primary insomnia in elderly (Abbasi 2012)
- pmid-33865376 — Meta-analysis: Magnesium for insomnia in older adults (Mah 2021)
- pmid-35184264 — Systematic Review: Magnesium in sleep health (Arab 2023)
Open Questions
- What is the prevalence of magnesium deficiency in different insomnia subtypes?
- Does magnesium work better for sleep onset or sleep maintenance insomnia?
- What is the optimal duration of supplementation before effects manifest?
- How does magnesium compare to CBT-I for chronic insomnia?