A patient is diagnosed to have insomnia. The term insomnia means

Appeared in: NHM UP Staff Nurse-2021 Shift-1st

Explanation

Insomnia is a sleep disorder characterized by difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, or waking up early with an inability to return to sleep.
The diagnosis requires the sleep difficulty to persist despite adequate opportunity for sleep.
It must cause significant daytime impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
Chronic insomnia is defined as symptoms occurring at least three times per week for a duration of at least three months.

Why Other Options Were Wrong

Option A: Inability to think relates to cognitive impairment, not a sleep disorder. While insomnia can cause difficulty with concentration, it is a consequence, not the definition.
Option B: Inability to move describes paralysis or motor deficits, which are neurological issues, not sleep disorders.
Option C: Inability to eat is associated with eating disorders (like anorexia nervosa) or physical conditions affecting swallowing (dysphagia).

Related Visual

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: Use the key finding related to Definition of Insomnia to guide bedside assessment, documentation, and the next nursing action.
Nurses play a crucial role in managing insomnia by assessing sleep patterns, identifying contributing factors, and educating patients on sleep hygiene.
Key nursing interventions include teaching relaxation techniques, advising on environmental control (dark, quiet room), and promoting a consistent sleep-wake schedule.
What if? If a patient with insomnia also reports daytime sleepiness, snoring, and witnessed apneas, the nurse should suspect a different primary sleep disorder like Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), which requires a different diagnostic workup (polysomnography) and treatment.

How to Approach the Question

This is a factual recall question that tests the definition of a medical term.
First, identify the key term in the question stem, which is 'insomnia'.
Recall the definition of insomnia from your medical-surgical or psychiatric nursing knowledge.
Evaluate each option to see which one accurately defines the term.
Option D, 'Inability to sleep,' is the most direct and accurate definition.
Eliminate the other options by identifying the correct medical terms for them (e.g., cognitive impairment, paralysis, anorexia).

Concept Tested & Keywords

Concept Tested: Definition of Insomnia
Stem keywords: insomnia, diagnosed
Lead-in keywords: means
Negative lead-in flag: false

Question ID

QmR5yXanpC1VMXuEHbykCa

Reference Book

E6 Robert Boland, Marcia L. Verduin - Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive Text of Psychiatry-Wolters Kluwer Health (2024) (pp 1-16525 of 16525) pp. 6961-6963, 13675-13677

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