A phenomenological investigation of the experience of insomnia.

Abstract

Abstract This phenomenological research investigation consisted of first person accounts of adults experiencing chronic insomnia, sometimes referred to as persistent insomnia. The descriptions of the participants’ experience of insomnia were analyzed, using a phenomenological methodology based on van Kaam (1969) and Moustakas (1988, 1990). From this study it became clear that the co‐researchers’ experience of insomnia resembled a metaphor for the way they were conducting their life. In essence, they were asleep to their inner world, seldom finding the time to explore or become aware of bodily rhythms, inner direction, or needs.