Condition guide

Insomnia

Insomnia means you regularly have trouble getting to sleep, staying asleep or feeling rested. It is called short-term when it lasts under 3 months and long-term when it lasts 3 months or more. For most people it improves by changing sleep habits.

Signs of insomnia

Finding it hard to fall asleep
Waking several times in the night or lying awake
Waking early and not being able to get back to sleep
Still feeling tired after waking
Feeling tired, irritable or unable to concentrate during the day

Most adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep a night.

Common causes

Stress, anxiety or low mood; noise, a room that is too hot or cold, or an uncomfortable bed; alcohol, caffeine or nicotine; jet lag and shift work. Other health conditions, long-term pain and some medicines can also disturb sleep.

What can help

Go to bed only when you feel sleepy, and get up at the same time every day
Wind down for an hour before bed
Keep the bedroom dark, quiet and comfortable
Exercise during the day, but not in the 4 hours before bed
Avoid caffeine, alcohol and smoking in the 6 hours before bed
Avoid screens just before bed and avoid daytime naps
Keep to your usual wake-up time after a bad night

Treatment

How insomnia is usually treated

A GP will first look for what is causing your sleep problem. The main treatment for long-term insomnia is cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), face to face or through an NHS-recommended online programme. It helps change the thoughts and habits that keep you awake, and its benefits last after treatment ends.

Prescription sleeping tablets are now used rarely, only when insomnia is severe and other treatments have not worked, and only for a few days or weeks because of side effects and the risk of dependence.

See a GP if

changing your sleep habits has not helped
you have had trouble sleeping for months
poor sleep is making it hard to cope with daily life

Do not drive if you feel sleepy.

Sources

NHS: Insomnia · NICE TA77: short-term management of insomnia · NICE MTG70: digital CBT for insomnia. Information only; it does not replace advice from your doctor or pharmacist.