FREE ESSAY ON INSOMNIA IN WORDSWORTH'S TO SLEEP

INSOMNIA IN WORDSWORTH'S TO SLEEP

In his poem, To Sleep, Wordsworth talks about how he can't seem to fall asleep. He never
tells us why, but maybe it's because he doesn't know. There probably was a significant
event that he experienced that has either affected him psychologically that he doesn't
know would affect him, or he has opted to not tell us about it. Either way, his insomnia
isn't an uncommon thing. Insomnia is a condition in which a person has difficulty getting
sufficient sleep. About 30 million people in the U.S. suffer from insomnia. It can be
caused by a variety of things: overactive thyroid gland; diabetes; violent muscle
twitching; drinking caffeine-containing beverages before going to bed; and painful
arthritis. It can also be caused by endocrine disturbances; by the use of certain
chemical substances or by the withdrawal from others (including alcohol); by
psychological problems such as anxiety and depression; and by disturbances in biorhythm,
such as jet lag. However, experts estimate that in three-fourths of all cases the cause
is a psychological one. After anxiety-producing events such as the death of a loved one
or loss of a job, a person may experience sleep difficulties, for awhile. Many persons
recover their normal sleep rhythm spontaneously, but others become frustrated and
depressed and develop chronic insomnia. Napping during the day may throw off the sleep
pattern further. Insomnia is not an illness that can be cured by a sleeping pill.
Sleeping disorders are usually divided into three kinds. The first kind are the
Insomnias, which are a group of problems producing difficulty in falling asleep or
difficulty in staying asleep. The second is hypersomnolence, characterized by too much
sleep, or sleepiness when a person does not want to sleep. The third is episodic
nocturnal events, disorders such as night terrors, nightmares, and sleepwalking.