Insomnia: An ignored health problem

Insomnia is common in all age groups and impairs quality of life. Untreated insomnia can lead to, or cause worsening of, other health problems. Effective treatment is available. Behavioral approaches should be tried first with chronic insomnia, because they are effective with few adverse effects. A number of medicines are effective for insomnia, but providers need to be cautious with their use because they are expensive, have a number of adverse side effects, and their long-term use has not been studied.