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Insomnia

About insomnia and sleep difficulties

Insomnia involves persistent difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up too early and not being able to get back to sleep. It often leads to significant daytime impairment and distress. While occasional poor sleep is common, insomnia is a condition where sleep difficulties occur regularly despite having the opportunity to sleep.

How insomnia can show up

  • Difficulty initiating sleep: Lying awake for long periods (often 30 minutes or more) before finally falling asleep.
  • Sleep maintenance problems: Waking up frequently during the night or spending long periods awake in the middle of the night.
  • Early morning awakening: Waking up much earlier than desired and being unable to return to sleep.
  • Daytime fatigue: Feeling physically exhausted, lethargic, or "wiped out" during the day.
  • Mood changes: Increased irritability, anxiety (especially about sleep), or low mood.
  • Cognitive/Focus issues: Difficulty concentrating, remembering things, or staying on task at work or school.

Further information on sleep

Sleep is vital for physical health and emotional regulation. Insomnia can be acute (short-term, often responding to stress) or chronic (lasting months or years). Often, the worry about not sleeping ("sleep anxiety") becomes a maintaining factor, creating a cycle where the bed becomes associated with wakefulness and frustration rather than rest.

Self-help ideas for better sleep

  • Establish a routine: Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends, to regulate your body clock.
  • Create a wind-down ritual: Spend the hour before bed doing calming activities without screens, such as reading or stretching.
  • Stimulus control: Use the bed only for sleep and intimacy. If you can't sleep after about 20 minutes, get up and do something boring in dim light until you are sleepy again.
  • Manage intake: Avoid caffeine in the afternoon and evening, and limit alcohol, which can fragment sleep quality.

When to see a psychologist

  • Your sleep problems have persisted for more than a month.
  • Lack of sleep is affecting your daily functioning, mood, or safety (e.g., driving).
  • You feel anxious or dread going to bed.
  • Self-help strategies haven't improved your sleep quality.

How we help with insomnia

  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), the gold-standard treatment for chronic insomnia.
  • Sleep restriction therapy to consolidate sleep efficiency.
  • Stimulus control techniques to re-associate the bed with sleep.
  • Relaxation strategies and cognitive restructuring to reduce bedtime arousal and worry.