INSOMNIA IN AFRICA: A BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Insomnia in Africa is inseparable from the aforementioned issues and challenges, which in turn affect how sleep is understood, experienced, and constructed. The situation is further complicated by the fact that symptoms of insomnia tend to be quite prevalent in these populations, as they are suggested by survey data; however, such symptoms are still frequently regarded as normal and attributable to stress or other spiritual and social causes, thus leading to low rates of diagnosis and treatment (Peltzer & Pengpid, 2019). Alongside the epidemic of insomnia, hyperarousal secondary to the situation most characterized by unemployment, food insecurity, gender, based violence and political instability is becoming a pervasive problem that particularly affects the female populations and the youth of Africa (Lund et al., 2018). Moreover, insomnia is an Achilles heel for depression, anxiety, HIV infection, chronic pain, and cardiovascular diseases. These comorbidities in turn accelerate the cycle of poor sleep, poor health outcomes, and general well, being, thus deepening the relationship between them (Morin & Benca, 2012). Regardless of these devastating outcomes, sleep health is relegated on the fringe of discussions on public health in Africa, reflected in the scarcity of research and lack of integration of screening protocols in the primary healthcare sector (WHO, 2022).

Solutions to this problem must not be confined to solely biomedical interventions as there is a need to act multiple factors that contribute to it. Though one cannot deny the effectiveness cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT, I) usage of pharmacological agents in the management.