Insomnia
Insomnia is one of the most common symptoms for which adults see medical advice. Insomnia is when an individual describes an inability to fall asleep, stay asleep or wake during the night and have difficulty going back to sleep.
Insomnia has many causes which range from predisposing, precipitating and perpetuating factors that vary over time. Some examples of these factors include:
- Chronic pain or other uncomfortable illnesses
- Medications
- Stress
- Mental health issues including depression or anxiety
- Bereavement
- Other sleep issues – OSA, RLS
Treatment of insomnia is often dependent on the cause. When the major factors predisposing, precipitating and perpetuating insomnia are optimized, the focus then shifts to improving sleep habits (often called ‘sleep hygiene’). If sleep habits have been optimized, Cognitive-behaviour therapy for insomnia (CBT-i) has been shown to more effective in the medium and long term than sleeping tablets. Review with a sleep psychologist may also be appropriate.
