What are the risk factors for insomnia?

Emotional strain can keep the mind alert at bedtime. Depression and Generalised Anxiety Disorder can alter sleep patterns and make waking during the night more likely. Jet lag temporarily shifts the body clock after travel across time zones. Working changing shifts, using screens late at night, sleeping at different times and worrying about sleep can also maintain the problem.

Pain, breathing problems, reflux, medicines and caffeine or alcohol close to bedtime may disturb sleep. A risk factor does not prove that insomnia is present, and several factors can overlap in one person.

Keep a steady wake time, including on days off, and allow your body clock to build a predictable rhythm. Make the bedroom quiet, dark and comfortably cool. Reduce caffeine later in the day, avoid using alcohol as a sleep aid and reserve the bed for sleep rather than prolonged phone use or work.

A sleep diary can show links between symptoms, routines, medicines and travel. If low mood, persistent worry or a disrupted schedule is present, describe it during an appointment so the underlying factor can be addressed.

Arrange medical advice when poor sleep continues, repeatedly returns or affects concentration, mood, work or driving. Seek prompt help for severe low mood, thoughts of self-harm, unusual agitation or several nights of almost no sleep. A clinician can check for an underlying condition, medication effect or another sleep disorder.

Could my mood, anxiety, medicines, caffeine, work pattern or travel be affecting sleep? What should I record in a sleep diary? Which treatment can help me reset my sleep routine safely?