Is insomnia a disease? There are many diseases accompanied by insomnia, but that is an insomnia caused by pain or by the effect of fever, and night seems to increase the organic irritation caused by illness. Those suffering from sciatica, or heart disease, for example, have their worst attacks at night. Insomnia of this kind is not a disease, and it disappears when the underlying illness disappears.

But for a great number of those afflicted with insomnia without any morbid factor, insomnia is itself a disease...

What is the cause of "the disease of insomnia"? Most cases of insomnia not caused by a specific illness are the result of too little precaution. Excess of stimulants such as coffee, tea, alcohol, and tobacco is one of the causes of insomnia... and the insomniac tends to use stimulants heavily.

Eating too much rich food before sleep also causes insomnia..

And it is a mistake to believe that not eating before bed helps one to sleep; not eating upsets the regularity of the digestive system, and the loss of regularity increases insomnia.

But the fundamental cause of the disease of insomnia is bodily and mental exhaustion.

Can the sufferer from insomnia be cured? There are no incurable cases, but the cure of confirmed addicts is very difficult, and doctors make every attempt

before arriving at the treatment suited to the case they are treating.

Can one choose a sleeping medicine without a doctor's direction?

No — and especially not the choice of the dose... If someone tells you he was cured of insomnia by taking a certain quantity of a certain sleeping drug, that does not mean this particular quantity suits your own case. The quantity that helps another to sleep may do you no good.

Is sleeping at night better for rest than sleeping by day?

Those who work at night and sleep by day do not feel the same rest as those who sleep at night. The effect of night on the organic system has not yet been determined, nor has the effect of the seasons on the organs been determined either.

Are the first hours of the night better for sleep?

The first hours of the night are the more beneficial, but there is as yet no proof of this.

Is being awakened suddenly harmful to health?

It is doubtless better to wake to the sound of a dreamy violin, but that luxury is not among the necessities of life. Those of nervous temperament, however, may be affected by sudden waking, just as they are affected by any shock that strikes them while awake.

Is it better to sleep in darkness?