Insomnia

Insomnia can mean both of these:

• struggling to get to sleep
• difficulty staying asleep

It's a common problem, thought to affect around 1 in 3 people in the UK. It's particularly common in older adults.

If you have insomnia, you might:

• find it hard to fall asleep
• lie awake at night
• wake up several times during the night
• wake up early in the morning and not be able to get back to sleep
• not feel refreshed when you get up
• feel tired and irritable during the day
• have difficulty concentrating because you're tired

Sometimes episodes of insomnia come and go without causing any serious problems. But some people have insomnia for months or even years at a time.

Persistent insomnia can affect your quality of life. It can limit what you're able to do during the day and change your mood. It can also lead to problems in your relationships with friends, family and colleagues.

Everyone needs different amounts of sleep.

Most adults sleep for 7 to 9 hours a night. Children and babies may sleep for much longer than this, while older adults may sleep less. What matters is whether you feel you get enough sleep, and whether that sleep is good quality.

You're probably not getting enough good-quality sleep if:

• you always feel tired throughout the day
• tiredness is affecting your everyday life

The Sleep Charity has information to support parents and children. You can also watch more videos about sleep on Mind to Mind.

Contact your doctor if:

• improving your sleep hygiene has not helped
• poor sleep quality is affecting your daily life
• you're not looking after yourself
• you're finding it hard to manage any responsibilities you have

Find out how to get urgent help for your mental health. Your doctor will first try to identify and treat any underlying health condition that may be causing your sleep problems. If an underlying cause can be found, treating it may be enough to return your sleep to normal.

Many things can trigger insomnia, and sometimes you can't pin down a clear cause.

The most common causes of insomnia are:

• stress
• anxiety
• depression
• noise
• a room that's too hot or cold
• an uncomfortable bed
• alcohol
• caffeine
• drugs
• jet lag
• shift work

If you feel unwell, or you think your sleep problems could be caused by a medicine you're taking, please speak to your doctor or pharmacist.

Insomnia has different causes from one person to the next, so the treatment can differ too.

For insomnia, you could try an online course like Sleepio. It's a digital sleep improvement programme based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). It's clinically proven to help deal with the root causes of poor sleep and insomnia.

Insomnia can often be treated by improving your sleep hygiene. That means looking at two things: the place where you sleep, and what you do during the day.

• Make sure your bedroom is dark and quiet. Thick blinds, curtains, an eye mask or ear plugs can all help.
• Keep your bedroom at a comfortable temperature for sleeping, slightly cooler than the rest of your living area.
• Check that your mattress, covers and pillow are comfortable.
• Exercise regularly during the day.
• Set up a relaxing bedtime routine, like taking a bath or listening to gentle music.
• Write down any worries and ideas before you go to bed, so you're more likely to forget them until morning.
• Get up at a set time each day and try to stick to it, even if you feel you haven't had enough sleep.

• do not nap during the day
• do not exercise for at least 4 hours before going to bed
• do not drink caffeinated drinks (like tea, coffee or fizzy drinks) for a few hours before going to bed
• do not drink alcohol or smoke shortly before going to bed
• do not eat a big meal just before bedtime
• do not go to bed before you feel tired, because it's better to stay up until you're ready to fall asleep than to go to bed early and worry about not sleeping
• do not watch the clock when trying to sleep, as anxiety will only make your insomnia worse
• do not use your bedroom for anything other than sleeping or sex
• do not watch television, make phone calls, eat, or work in bed

If you can't fall asleep and you're getting anxious about it, try these steps:

• get up and go to a different room
• do something relaxing, like reading or listening to music
• try going to sleep again in around 20 minutes, or whenever you feel tired again

If changing your sleeping habits doesn't help, your doctor may refer you for a type of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) made for people with insomnia. This is called CBT-I.

CBT-I works on the unhelpful thoughts and behaviours that feed insomnia. It's an effective treatment for many people, and the results can last a long time.

Sometimes medicine can help with insomnia, either bought over the counter or prescribed by a doctor. In the short term it can work well. But it can also make insomnia worse, cause addiction, or bring other side effects.