Relationship Between Insomnia and Premature Death

The article sheds light on newfound relationship between insomnia and premature death. It differentiates two types of insomnia: intermittent or acute insomnia which is short term and may surface before an important event, and persistent or chronic insomnia which is long term, life threatening, and develops due to a number of causes. Thus, chronic insomnia was linked to deaths among individuals, and for the purpose of establishing a strong link, a range of researchers carried out a study from 1972 till 2011 where different factors were studied. The participants were divided into three categories: Intermittent insomnia, Persistent insomnia and Never insomnia.. Hence, according to Paddock (2015), “the researchers found that the participants in the category of persistent insomnia had a 58 per cent higher chance of dying than those in the never insomnia group.” Moreover, it was also found that inflammation levels were higher in the persistent insomnia group; this means that despite of adjusting to mortality factors such as weight, age or exercise, there still existed a higher chance of death among this group than other groups.

Evaluation

The article is very recent as it was published in February 2015, and it was written by Catharine Paddock who is a PhD Scholar and has a long list of articles published by her on medical issues and researches. The article provides an insight into the risks associated with insomnia, and sheds light on the studies that were conducted on insomnia. This helps the readers in gaining new information about the death risks associated with insomnia. However, the article doesn’t provide detailed information and facts regarding prevention and management of insomnia. Also, it simplifies the study that was conducted in 1972 and doesn’t throw light on the errors and contradictory findings that must have occurred in the past. This is a simplistic approach towards the issue and less detailed information