Ways to Help Insomnia

The aim is to strengthen the connection between bed and sleep while looking for factors that may be keeping the mind or body alert at night.

Insomnia can involve trouble falling asleep, waking during the night, waking earlier than intended, or feeling that sleep was not restorative. Worrying about sleep can itself make bedtime feel more pressured.

Changes in routine, travel, pain, stimulant use, mood changes, and stress can all contribute. Ongoing low mood or anxious thoughts may also need attention alongside sleep habits.

Keep a regular time to get up each day, including after a poor night. Reserve the bed for sleep and intimacy, and move to a quiet activity in dim light if you are lying awake and becoming frustrated. Return to bed when sleepy.

Make the bedroom dark, quiet, and comfortably cool. Build a wind-down period that does not involve work, upsetting news, or bright screens. Avoid caffeine, nicotine, alcohol close to bedtime, and heavy meals late in the evening, as each can disrupt sleep for some people.

Daytime movement and daylight exposure can support a clearer day-night rhythm. If naps make it harder to sleep at night, reduce them or avoid them. Keeping a brief sleep diary can help identify patterns to discuss with a clinician.

Arrange a medical review when difficulty sleeping continues despite routine changes, causes daytime sleepiness, affects concentration, or makes work, driving, or daily responsibilities harder. A clinician can review medicines, physical symptoms, mental wellbeing, and other sleep disorders.

Seek urgent help if lack of sleep is accompanied by thoughts of harming yourself, severe agitation, confusion, or feeling unable to stay safe.

Ask whether pain, breathing symptoms, medicines, caffeine, alcohol, anxiety, or depression could be affecting your sleep. You can also ask whether structured sleep therapy is appropriate and which changes should be prioritised for your own pattern.