What causes insomnia?
Insomnia is your body's way of saying that something isn't right. Things that may cause insomnia include stress, too much caffeine, depression, changes in work shifts, and pain from medical problems, such as arthritis.
Many people have insomnia. People who have insomnia may not be able to fall asleep. They may wake up during the night and not be able to fall back asleep, or they may wake up too early in the morning.
How is insomnia treated?
In many cases, once the underlying problem that's causing insomnia is taken care of, the insomnia goes away. The key is to find out what's causing the insomnia so that the problem can be dealt with directly. Many people can sleep better simply by making a few changes in their sleep habits.
If your insomnia continues even after you deal with underlying problems and improve your sleep habits, your doctor may suggest trying behavioral therapy. This type of therapy helps you change behaviors that make your insomnia worse and teaches you new behaviors that help you sleep better.
What can I do to improve my sleep habits?
The following are some things you can do to help you sleep better:
- Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, including weekends, even if you didn't get enough sleep. This will help train your body to sleep at night.
- Develop a bedtime routine. Do the same thing every night before going to sleep. For example, take a warm bath and then read for 10 minutes every night before going to bed. Soon you'll connect these activities with sleeping, and doing them will help make you sleepy.
- Use the bedroom only for sleeping or having sex. Don't eat, talk on the phone or watch TV while you're in bed.
- Make sure your bedroom is quiet and dark. If noise is a problem, use a fan to mask the noise or use ear plugs. If you must sleep during the day, hang dark blinds over the windows or wear an eye mask.
- If you're still awake after trying to fall asleep for 30 minutes, get up and go to another room. Sit quietly for about 20 minutes before going back to bed. Do this as many times as you need to until you can fall asleep.
