Transient insomnia: A behavioral sleep medicine perspective

Everyone has suffered through a night of bad sleep. Whether it is lying in bed worrying about a big presentation the next day, coping with the reality of a lifechanging diagnosis, or wondering how long it will take you to adjust to that 8-hour time change so that you can enjoy your vacation, we can all recall a less than pleasant memory about a sleepless and restless night. Occasional sleep loss is common, with a lifetime prevalence of near 100%.1 These occasional bouts of sleep disturbance have been labeled many things, including situational insomnia, acute insomnia, adjustment insomnia, short-term insomnia, occasional insomnia, and transient insomnia; the list could go on. Each term has slightly different connotations, but the overarching themes are the unambiguous origins and limited duration. This chapter explores this fleeting (or not so fleeting) disruption of normal routine and seeks to highlight gaps in knowledge about the causes, risks, and consequences of this disturbance, as well as treatments and potential prevention opportunities.