10-question quiz reveals if you struggle with insomnia — and why

Health

By Alex Mitchell

This quick quiz won’t keep you up all night.

A UK sleep aid company is sharing a straightforward, 10-question self-evaluation to help you determine if you’re a victim of dreaded insomnia.

The condition affects 10% of the global population, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

The quick assessment from Sleep Reset helps identify the reasons why you struggle with sleeping and the severity of the problem, along with other factors.

Results, which are based on the medically-used Insomnia Severity Index, are emailed to users.

“There is no single, main cause for insomnia,” Dr. Areti Vassilopoulos, the clinical content lead for Sleep Reset and an assistant professor at Yale School of Medicine, told The Mirror on Wednesday.

“Most people have predisposing, precipitating, and perpetuating factors for their disrupted sleep,” Vassilopoulos added.

She said that stressors like anxiety and medical illness, as well as high metabolism, fast heart rates, and faster brain wave activity, may be to blame — in addition to life changes.

Vassilopoulos also noted that “perpetuating factors include unhelpful sleep habits” such as napping and staying in bed longer than needed.

Poor daytime function and fears of lost sleep can exacerbate insomnia.

Vassilopoulos compared the brain’s ability to sleep to that of a dimming light switch in that it needs to be turned down rather than flipped off.

“A helpful tip … is to create a buffer between your day and sleep,” she explained. “Take 30 to 60 minutes to wind down, using a consistent bedtime routine that is calming and avoids phones and screens.”

Those who suffer from insomnia face a higher risk of heart attack, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, obesity and depression.