Cognitive Behaviour Therapist

Sleeping too little (Insomnia) you may feel that you aren't getting enough sleep or that, even if you do get the hours, you don't get a good night's rest.

There are many everyday reasons for not sleeping well:
• the bedroom may be too noisy, too hot or too cold
• the bed may be uncomfortable or too small
• you partner may have a different pattern of sleep from yourself
• you may not have a regular routine, or may not be getting enough exercise
• eating too much can make it difficult to get off to sleep
• going to bed hungry can make you wake too early
• cigarettes, alcohol and drinks containing caffeine, such as tea and coffee
• Illness, pain or a high temperature.

Some more serious causes include:
• emotional problems
• difficulties at work
• anxiety and worry
• depression - you may wake very early in the morning and not be able to get back to sleep
• Thinking over and over about day to day problems.

Can medication help?
People have used sleeping tablets for many years, but we now know that they:

• Don’t work for very long.
• Leave you tired and irritable the next day.
• Lose their effect quite quickly, so you have to take more and more to get the same effect.
• Some people become addicted to them. The longer you take sleeping tablets, the more likely you are to become physically or psychologically dependent on them.
• There are some newer sleeping tablets (Zolpidem, Zalpelon and Zopiclone), but these seem to have many of the same drawbacks as the older drugs, such as Nitrazepam, Temazepam and Diazepam.

Sleeping tablets should only be used for short periods (less than 2 weeks) - for instance if you are so distressed that you cannot sleep at all.

If you have been on sleeping tablets for a long time, it is best to cut down the dose slowly after discussing it with your doctor.

In some cases, antidepressant tablets may be helpful.