

Up to 35%-40% of all insomnia cases are associated with an underlying psychopathology, with affective and anxiety disorders being the commonest comorbid disorders (Ford & Kamerow, 1989 Breslau et al., 1996).

1.3 The role of psychological factors and life events.Chronic insomnia is also associated with reduced quality of life, decreased productivity, increased absenteeism from work, and increased risk for depression. Common sleep-loss related daytime problems include difficulties with attention, concentration, memory, and completion of tasks, and negative mood. Approximately one third of the adult population reports insomnia symptoms, whereas about 10% suffer from an insomnia disorder (Ohayon, 2002).Īlong with subjective complaints of poor sleep, individuals with insomnia are often distressed about their sleep and also report significant fatigue and impairments of their daytime functioning. Insomnia may be transient, episodic, or persistent over time (Morin & Espie, 2003). These complaints may involve problems with falling asleep initially at bedtime (initial insomnia), waking up in the middle of the night and having difficulty going back to sleep (middle insomnia), waking up too early in the morning with an inability to sleep until planned rise time (late insomnia), or a perception of non restorative sleep. Insomnia entails a spectrum of complaints reflecting dissatisfaction with the quality, duration, or continuity of sleep. Geneviève Belleville, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, CANADA

Morin, Laval University, Quebec, CANADAĭr.
