Sleep specialists distinguish among three types of insomnia: transient, short term and chronic.

Transient insomnia is the experience of a night or two of poor sleep. Probably everyone suffers from it now and then. Often people who experience transient insomnia complain of difficulty in concentrating, weariness and irritability the following day. Sleeping in a strange bed may even bring on transient insomnia. Most people do not sleep quite as well as usual their first night away from home, whether it is a pleasant visit to a friends house or a vacation or under the stressful conditions of a hospital stay.

Short-term insomnia involves sleep disturbances that last for two to three weeks. Here, ongoing stress

Chronic insomnia is poor sleep that last longer than three weeks. This form of insomnia is a complex disorder with many possible causes and afflicts more than 35 million Americans. While most people blame this on stress, the use of stimulants may also be at fault.

It is relatively easy to pinpoint the reasons for transient and short-term insomnia. That is not the case for chronic insomnia, which may last for years disrupting sleep most or every night. Rapid travel across many time zones upset the inner clocks that regulate the timing of sleeping and waking. As a result, trouble in sleeping at night as well as staying awake throughout the day is commonly called jet lag but is actually a form of insomnia. Stress undoubtedly plays a key role in insomnia, particularly for teenagers and people in their 20's and 30's, but is by no means the only culprit. As mentioned before stimulants are also responsible for cases of insomnia. Even though caffeine near bedtime may not interfere with falling asleep, it may trigger awakenings later. Caffeine related ingredients are found in soft drinks, chocolate, coffee and strong tea. Nicotine is also a stimulant and it has been shown that smokers take longer to fall asleep and sleep more lightly than non-smokers. Nicotine may be found in many commonly used drugs, including non-prescription drugs for weight loss, asthma and colds. Alcohol, which is sometimes used as a nightcap to induce sleep, may also act to make sleep more fragile throughout the night. Noise is also a cause for insomnia, passing traffic outside your window, jets flying by overhead, or your TV le

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