Preview
The consequences of insomnia go beyond the irritability we've all experienced after a long, sleepless night. The likelihood of accidents and poor judgment is greatly increased when a person is drowsy and unalert from insufficient sleep, especially if sleep problems go on night after night. The authors outline a practical patient-assessment approach to identify common causative factors in the primary care setting. In addition, they discuss behavioral and pharmacologic therapy and describe when referral to a sleep-disorder clinic is indicated.