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Insomnia
Persistent difficulty falling or staying asleep, or non-restorative sleep, despite adequate time and conditions. The most common sleep disorder worldwide.
Last revision: 19.07.2026
| 19.07.2026 | OG image redrawn in the series style |
About one adult in three has insomnia symptoms; with daytime consequences, 9 to 15% (Ohayon 2002) - with significant cumulative impact on daytime functioning and driving safety.
Insomnia disrupts the architecture of sleep - particularly deep sleep and REM cycles. The result is not just a worse night: in tests, people with insomnia show small to moderate deficits in memory and some executive functions, while their attention and reaction times do not differ from those of good sleepers (Fortier-Brochu 2012, DOI 10.1016/j.smrv.2011.03.008).
Chronic insomnia is not the same as a sleepless night: the deficits measured are smaller and narrower. A person with insomnia may drive every day without incident; the risk rises when missing sleep turns into daytime sleepiness. If that happens, it is worth talking to a doctor.
Drive Awake addresses the full spectrum of sleep health - not only acute events but the chronic, silent conditions that affect millions of drivers daily.
