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Another cause of insomnia in some people is sleep apnoea. This is a relaxation of the muscles in your mouth which leads to a brief period, which can last for around 10 seconds, when you stop breathing. This will wake you up and the whole process can be repeated several times during the night.

In addition, a person’s normal sleep phase may contribute to insomnia. For example, it is common for adolescents and young adults to have delayed sleep phase, which generally manifests as being a ‘night owl’. The person with a delayed sleep phase does not feel sleepy, until the early hours of the morning but then has to awaken before having had sufficient sleep.

When all medical substance-related psychiatric and other sleep disorders are excluded there is still a group of people who have trouble going to sleep and staying asleep. Often this becomes reinforced by worry and anxiety over their sleep. This is generally regarded as psychophysical insomnia. Contributing factors to this insomnia problem include a racing mind that just won’t shut off and excessive anxiety, worry and agitation over how much sleep is needed and what will happen if ‘not enough’ sleep is obtained.

Constantly checking the clock to see how much time has elapsed and how much time is remaining before having to rise further aggravates the problem. Eventually, too much time is spent in bed awake, leading to the bed and bedroom environment becoming associated with wakefulness and agitation rather than relaxation and sleep.

What is sleep hygiene?
Insomnia will often come and go and requires no specific treatment, but if it persists for more than one week then action is warranted. Good habits, also known as sleep hygiene, are the most powerful factors in establishing and maintaining an effective sleep routine.

Regular exercise (not near bedtime), a good diet without heavy meals or heavy fluid before bedtime, reducing amounts of substances containing caffeine, lowering alcohol intake to a minimum and a comfortable, quiet sleep environment will assist in re-establishing a disrupted sleep pattern.

Try the tips below. If these measures do not lead to an improvement in the insomnia or your feeling of well being after two weeks, seek medical assistance for a more specific treatment approach. Your GP may refer you to a sleep clinic if there is one in your area, although it is likely that most GP’s will be able to help significantly in the first instance.

Dealing with tension through self-relaxation skills is important for ‘winding down’ as bedtime approaches.
If you are a ‘clock watcher’, turn the clock around so that reminders of how long you’ve been awake or how soon you have to get up are not constantly there.
Establish a regular sleep pattern. Go to bed when feeling sleepy, not by the time on the clock.
Set a regular rising time every day.
Exclude reading, eating or watching television in bed until you start getting sufficient sleep and a better sleep pattern develops.
If sleep doesn’t come after 15 - 20 minutes, get up and practice relaxing in another room until you feel sleepy again, then return to bed.
Don’t lie down or nap during the day to compensate for the previous bad night’s sleep.