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Home , Insomnia, Sleep

SHF--1111 30/11/11 4:37 PM Page 1

Insomnia

Important Things to Know About Insomnia • Around 1 in 3 people have at least mild insomnia. • Many poor sleepers have developed poor habits. • For specialist help, cognitive behavioural for insomnia is best • In the long run, taking sleeping pills isn’t effective. • There are sleep specialists, clinics and on-line programs that can help.

What is insomnia? How common is insomnia? Insomnia is said to be present when you regularly find it Most people have experience insomnia symptoms at hard to fall asleep or stay asleep. It has several patterns. some time of their lives. At any given time around 10% You may have trouble getting to sleep initially. Or even if of people have at least mild insomnia. you can fall asleep, you might not be able to stay asleep for as long as you would like. Also you may wake up Who is at risk? during the and not be able to go back to sleep for a long time. Many people have two of the above problems, Older people with poor have a higher risk. Also or even all three. Because of these, you might feel tired women have twice the rates compared to men. This may during the day. be related to higher rates of and , which can be associated with insomnia. Shift workers What causes insomnia? have a higher risk too. Insomnia has many causes which can include: How does it affect people? • Some medicines and drugs, e.g. or blood You might feel that it’s harder to focus and remember pressure , , or smoking things. But most people think their is worse than • Chronic and other uncomfortable illnesses it really is. The same goes for concentration. Your risk of a • at work or in your personal life traffic accident or other may be higher (see Drowsy • Depression Driving). You may be more emotional and a lack of sleep • A friend or loved one passing away can cause depressed mood. Some people feel sleepy during the day, but this can be caused by many things • Anxiety and worrying, including worrying about not (see Excessive Daytime Sleepiness). getting enough sleep • Another sleep problem (see Ten Common Sleep How is it treated? Disorders) Sometimes there is no clear cause for insomnia, in which This depends on what is causing the insomnia. case it is called primary insomnia. • If poor sleep habits are the cause then these need to be improved (see Good Sleep Habits).

www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au | Raising awareness of sleep health SHF-Insomnia-1111 30/11/11 4:37 PM Page 2

• If your sleep habits seem to be okay but you are still Where and when should you seek help? having problems then you may need more specialist help. Cognitive-behavioural therapy for insomnia has If you are having ongoing trouble sleeping, persistent been shown to be more effective in the medium and problems with mood, restlessness in , severe long term than sleeping tablets. (See the information or wakening unrefreshed, make sure that you go and see under the final three subheadings.) your doctor. Your GP can refer you to a sleep specialist or psychologist. • Stress, depression and anxiety are best treated by specialists, but taking steps to improve your sleep can Insomnia treatment services in are listed here: also help with these. http://www.sleep.org.au/information/sleep-services- • Sometimes sleep specialists will suggest a directory to be sure they understand what may be causing the poor sleep and also check for sleep apnoea. Is there on-line help available? Yes, on-line, low cost, sleep improvement programs are What about sleeping pills? available, such as: If you only take them occasionally, sleeping pills can get http://www.sleeptherapy.com.au/index.php?page=1 you a good night’s sleep. However if you take them often, (Note: The Sleep Health Foundation does not endorse any you will get used to them and they will stop working as program or product and this link is provided for effctively. Also they can be habit-forming and it can then information only.) become difficult to stop taking them. Where can I find out more? http://www.counselling.cam.ac.uk/selfhelp/leaflets/ insomnia

This information is produced by:

Sleep Health Foundation Sleep Disorders Australia Australasian Sleep Association ABN 91 138 737 854 ABN 98 075 427 459 ABN 32 172 170 561 www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au www.sleepoz.org.au www.sleep.org.au A national organisation devoted to A voluntary group offering assistance The peak national association of education, advocacy and supporting and support to people and their clinicians and scientists devoted to research into sleep and its disorders families living with sleep disorders investigation of sleep and its disorders

Disclaimer - Information provided here is general in and should not be seen as a substitute for professional medical advice. Ongoing concerns about sleep or other medical conditions should be discussed with your local doctor. ©Sleep Health Foundation, 2011

Sleep Health Foundation ABN 91 138 737 854 114/30 Campbell Street, Blacktown NSW 2148 T: +61 (0) 2 8814 8655 F: +61 (0) 2 9672 3884

www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au | Raising awareness of sleep health