Sleep
Insomnia Disorder
Difficulty falling or staying asleep at least three nights a week for three months, with real daytime consequences.
What it can feel like
- Lying awake for long stretches
- Waking in the night or far too early
- Daytime fatigue, irritability, poor concentration
- Dreading bedtime, and clock-watching
- Sleeping better away from your own bed
Not everyone has every symptom, and you do not need a label to deserve support.
Things that help
01
Use stimulus control
Bed for sleep only, and get up if awake for more than 20 minutes. The bed needs to relearn that it means sleep.
02
Push the sleep window later
Restricting time in bed to your actual sleep duration, then expanding it, is the core of CBT-I and works well.
03
Keep the wake time fixed
Whatever the night was like, get up at the same time. The rhythm is what restores sleep.
Want to actually do these? Save them to your practices and tick them off as you go.
Add to my practicesWhen to reach for more support
Ask about CBT for insomnia (CBT-I), which outperforms sleeping tablets long term. A GP can point you to a digital or in-person programme.