Primary Insomnia

Via emedicine:

Primary insomnia is sleeplessness that is not attributable to a medical, psychiatric, or environmental cause.

Case study
A 56-year-old woman reports difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. She reports intermittent episodes of sleep difficulty during periods of stress. However, for the past 3 weeks she has not been able to sleep well and frequently takes 90 minutes to fall asleep and then wakes within 2 hours and is not able to return to sleep. Her excessive daytime sleepiness has interfered with her work as an artist. She denies stress and depression and has no significant medical history.

The pathophysiology of primary insomnia is not well understood and essential features assist with diagnosis. The focus of management is on symptoms.