Acute insomnia

While a myriad of studies have explored the assessment, diagnosis, and management of chronic insomnia, from a variety of perspectives, there have been very few studies on insomnia during its acute phase. One potential reason for this, which still remains largely unresolved, is when is insomnia “acute” and at what point does it become chronic? The aim of this article is to examine what is known, and not known, about acute insomnia. Starting with its definition, the article moves on to discuss the epidemiology and pathophysiology of acute insomnia, including an examination of the factors that predict its transition to chronic insomnia, or natural remission to normal sleep. The article concludes with an overview of a few, albeit preliminary, intervention studies, aimed to circumvent the transition from acute to chronic insomnia and future directions in research and practice.