There is evidence that chronic insomnia is associated with older age, female gender, present or past psychiatric illness and psychological problems, medical conditions and poor general health, increased healthcare utilization, lower quality of life and social relationships, socioeconomic status (marital separation, unemployment, poorer working conditions and lower social status), and decrements in memory, mood and cognitive function.
There is evidence that benzodiazepines and non-benzodiazepines are effective in the management of chronic insomnia. There is some evidence that antidepressants are effective in the management of chronic insomnia: more research is required in this area. There is evidence that benzodiazepines, non-benzodiazepines and antidepressants pose a risk of harm.
There is some evidence that melatonin is effective in the management of chronic insomnia in subsets of the chronic insomnia population, and there is no evidence that melatonin poses a risk of harm. However, more research is required in this area, given that the results are based on a small number of studies.
There is evidence that relaxation therapy and cognitive/behavioral therapy are effective in the management of chronic insomnia in subsets of the chronic insomnia population.
There is evidence that benzodiazepines have a greater risk of harm than nonbenzodiazepines.