3.insomnia

student: how do experts define "insomnia"?

professor: insomnia I'd defined as chronic and persistent difficulty in either falling asleep, remaining asleep through the night, or waking up too early.

student: how do people feel the next morning if they suffer from insomnia?

professor: all types of insomnia can lead to daytime drowsiness, poor concentration, and the inability to feel refreshed and rested in the morning.

student: i sometimes can't fall asleep late at night.is it insomnia?

professor: everyone has an occasional sleepless night, but for most people, this is not problemtic.

student: what are the common causes of insomnia?

professor: some arise from psychological interventions, such as grief, depression, worry, stress, exhilaration, etc. interference with sleep by various diseases is also the main cause.

student: any other reasons.

professor: taking a new drug(medication of side-effect), abruptly stopping a medication, withdrawal of medications are also the common causes of insomnia.

student: does it mean people who suffer from insomnia have mental or physical problem?

professor: no, not always.  bed or bedroom not conducive to sleep, excessive sleep during the day can also make people sleepless.

student: how many hours should we sleep in a day?

professor: the best measure of the amount of sleep needed is how you feel.  if you awaken feeling refreshed, you are getting enough sleep.

student: what do people usually do if they have sleep difficulties.

professor: many people would prefer the use of long-acting or high dose sedatives as a cure for insomnia.

student: it sounds to me that it doesn't help solve the problem. 

professor: yes, they can only increase daytime drowsiness and make the problem worse, not better.  remember stronger tranquilizers often induce drug tolerance and do not produce a natural, restful sleep.

student: is that case, people can do nothing about insomnia, can't they?

professor: in fact, insomnia is not, by itself a disease, and a life-threatening disease is rarely caused by problems with sleep.

student: but it distuebs people's daily life, doesn't it?

professor: yeah. counseling may be helpful for psychological disorders; antidepressants can often help both the sleeping problem and the depression.