[Insomnia. A severe health care problem]

The magnitude which sleep has on personal well-being is similar to the effects of diet and exercise. Sleep deprivation has severe negative effects on an individual's overall health, and this is usually overseen. From 30 to 40 % of the population has presented insomnia at a certain moment of life and from 9 to 15 % have evolved into a chronic and severe insomnia. Recent investigations have related sleep deprivation with obesity, metabolic disorders, heart disease, mental health problems and dementia. Recently, more investigations have focused on the multiple alterations suffered by the immune system in cases of sleep deprivation. In order to make an opportune diagnosis of insomnia, it is vital to obtain a detailed history of the patients' sleep habits. In the physical exam one must search for signs and symptoms which might suggest an organic cause that generates the patient's insomnia. One of the pillars in treatment of these patients consists in acquiring an adequate sleep hygiene based on the optimization of the environment and the behavior that are associated with sleep.