Choose Location

We provide care in three easily-accessible locations across the Rio Grande Valley.

Weslaco

1604 East 8th St., Suite A
Weslaco, TX
Phone: (956) 447-5557

McAllen

5300 North McColl Rd., Suite 100
McAllen, TX
Phone: (956) 630-1000

Mission

1022 E. Griffin Pkwy.
Mission, TX 78572
Phone: (956) 833-6000

Sleep

Insomnia

Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep is called insomnia. Most people have experienced insomnia at some time in their lives; not infrequently, the difficulty is short-term, resolving spontaneously or when the offending causes are dealt with.

However, when insomnia fails to resolve quickly, it can have serious effects on your quality of life. For example, chronic insomnia can result in long-term impairment in family, social, occupational, academic, and/or other important areas of life.

There are literally hundreds of potential causes of insomnia, a very short list of which includes the following:

• A large number of medical, psychological, and behavioral disorders
• An individual’s fear of sleeplessness and the associated feeling of loss of control
• Conditioned anxiety or arousal to one’s usual bedroom/bedtime
• Hundreds of medications and drugs, including caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol
• Attempts to decrease the use of/discontinue any of the aforementioned societally-sanctioned drugs
• Significant life changes such as divorce, the loss of a job or a loved one
• Inadequate “sleep hygiene”
• Chronic depressive episodes
• Boredom, and/or anxiety
• Sleep disorders, including narcolepsy, Restless Legs Syndrome, disorders associated with the timing of sleep, shift work, chronic nightmares, etc.

How Do You Know If You Have Insomnia?

If you have symptoms of insomnia (e.g. Difficulty falling asleep at night, waking up at night, daytime sleepiness), you may need an evaluation by the sleep professionals at the Pulmonary & Sleep Center of the Valley.

This evaluation typically begins with a look at your sleep habits and a physical exam that looks for medical problems that could be driving insomnia. You may also undergo a sleep study at one of our two accredited centers in order to determine the underlying cause of your insomnia.

The good news is that our Center has highly trained, experienced sleep specialists at each of its two Rio Grande Valley sites to help diagnose the cause(s) of your insomnia. Armed with an accurate diagnosis and provided with a variety of proven, effective treatments, you’ll be well on your way to enjoying better, more restful sleep.

Insomnia Treatment

Sometimes, making lifestyle changes that address the underlying causes of insomnia is enough to get you resting again. However, at other times, more intensive treatment may be required.

In these instances, you may undergo cognitive behavioral therapy in order to help you recognize and change thoughts and feelings (and habits) that could be interfering with your sleep. CBT strategies may include stimulus control therapy, relaxation techniques, sleep restriction, and light therapy.

Other treatments include taking prescription or over-the-counter sleep aids to support healthy rest at night.

Resources

You may find additional helpful health information at one of these websites: