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Health care providers diagnose insomnia using your sleep and medical history. If you are experiencing difficulty sleeping you should keep a sleep diary. Write approximately how long it takes to fall asleep, the number of times you wake up, how long it takes to fall back to sleep, how early you wake up in the morning, how refreshed you are and symptoms of tiredness you experience throughout the day. Record caffeine intake, nap times, and events that may impact sleep. Information from your bed partner about your sleep habits, sleep movements and quality and quantity of sleep may also be helpful.
For patients who suffer other sleep disorders in addition to insomnia, specialized tests may be carried out as part of the diagnosis. These tests may be performed in sleep labs or at home with portable testing equipment. One such test is called a polysomnograph. Electrodes are placed on the skin and scalp to record brain waves (EEG), electrical activity of muscles, eye movement, breathing rate, blood pressure, blood oxygen levels and heart rhythm.
There are two states of sleep: non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Normally a person experiences four to five cycles of these two stages per night, with each cycle lasting about 90 minutes. A polysomnogram can show if there are disturbances in either or both of these stages of sleep, as well as the nature and severity of the disturbance.