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There are many potential causes of sleep issues, some of which will need further exploration by your GP, but for the vast majority there is a lot you can do at home.
The most common causes of insomnia are:
- stress, anxiety or depression
- noise
- a room that's too hot or cold
- uncomfortable beds
- alcohol, caffeine or nicotine
- illegal drugs like cocaine or ecstasy
- jet lag
- shift work
Sleep disruption is a common issue, especially at times when you may feel emotionally overwhelmed. There are big variations in how much sleep people need. Some people may need 8 hours of sleep each night, others may need more or less than this. It is quite normal to need less sleep as we age.
Sleep hygiene ideas
- Fixed bedtime and waking hours: try and stick to a pattern throughout the week, this will make it easier t fall asleep and to wake up
- Avoid napping during the day
- Avoid alcohol 4-6 hours before bedtime, and caffeine 6-8 hours before bed time
- Avoid heavy, spicey or sugary foods 4-6 hours before bedtime
- Exercise regularly, but not just before bedtime: generally it is best to exercise in the mornings or early afternoons to improve sleep quality
- Ensure your bedroom is cool and that your bed is comfortable
- Block out noise and light from your bedroom
- Relax for at least 1 hour prior to bed
- Activities such as yoga and relaxation techniques before bed are helpful:
Waking during the night
Waking during the night: most people will wake once or twice during the night for a brief period. If however you find that you cannot get back to sleep after 20 minutes, leave your bed!
Get up and do a quiet activity such as reading or have a light snack or bath.
Struggling to get to sleep
Struggling to get to sleep: if you don’t fall asleep within 15-30 minutes, get out of your bedroom and read until you feel sleepy, then return to bed and try again. If you are still struggling 20-30 minutes later, get up again and repeat.
Although this sounds disruptive the evidence is that when you do finally drop off your sleep quality is much enhanced and you will make more refreshed, having entered more quickly into the higher quality REM sleep. Also, over time, most people find that they start drop off earlier in the evening as the anxiety of tossing and turning is reduced, and they learn to associate their bed with actually sleeping rather than expecting hours of tossing and turning.
If you have had issues sleeping for over 3 months and there aren’t concerns about physical health problems causing this, we would encourage you to try a course of ‘Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia, CBTi’ via Sleepio. This is funded by the NHS and has a good evidence base for helping improving sleep quality
Pharmacy
If you are still struggling to sleep you can ask you high street pharmacist to recommend some sleeping aids, there are many products to help sleep which you can buy over the counter.
Medication for insomnia
In general medication is not the solution! In some extreme cases and usually for only a very short period, our GPs may consider a prescription of a sedative drug.