Understand insomnia
A plain-language guide to what insomnia is, why it develops, how it can continue, and the evidence-based approaches used to treat it.
Start with what you’re experiencing
Start from the night you’re actually having.
Understand the basics
A plain-language reference, not a diagnosis.
Causes
Stress, health, medications, schedules, and patterns that can keep sleep problems going.
Evidence-based ways to sleep better
Six areas to understand, with different roles in better sleep.
These aren’t six interchangeable tips — they sit at different levels, from the first-line treatment recommended in clinical guidelines to when it’s worth involving a clinician.
First-line
CBT-I
Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia — the recommended first treatment in clinical guidelines.
Supportive
Sleep habits
Timing, light, your sleep environment, and everyday habits that can support sleep.
Practice
Relaxation
Structured methods that lower physical arousal, and how to use them properly.
Context
Lifestyle
Caffeine, alcohol, exercise, shift work — what the evidence supports and what it doesn’t.
Clinical care
Professional treatment
When to see a clinician, what they can offer, and how medication fits.
Not everyone needs every approach — what helps depends on the individual, and this page does not recommend a treatment for you personally.
Free sleep tools
Measure before you change anything.
The 7-Day Sleep Record
Record seven nights to see your sleep timing and patterns more clearly.
Sleep Efficiency Calculator
Compare your estimated time asleep with the time you spent in bed, and understand how sleep efficiency is calculated.
Featured guides
Insomnia · 10 min read
What Is Insomnia?
A plain-language guide to what insomnia is, how it can show up, and when sleep difficulty becomes a persistent problem.
Insomnia · 10 min read
Why Can’t I Fall Asleep?
Why bedtime can feel harder than it should, and how tracking the pattern can help you understand what’s keeping you awake.
Insomnia · 13 min read
Why Do I Keep Waking Up at Night?
Why nighttime awakenings happen, when they may matter, and what can help you understand the pattern.
Insomnia · 11 min read
Why Do I Wake Up Too Early?
Why an early wake-up time alone doesn’t tell the whole story, and how tracking the week can help you understand the pattern.
Insomnia · 11 min read
Tired but Can’t Sleep: Why It Happens
Why tiredness and sleepiness aren’t quite the same, and how sleep pressure and body-clock timing can work against each other.
Insomnia · 11 min read
What to Do When You Can’t Sleep
What to do—and what to avoid—when you’re awake at night, without turning sleep into another thing you have to solve.
When to get professional help
An occasional rough night rarely needs a clinician. Persistent sleep problems, or sleep problems that are significantly affecting your day, are a different matter.
When to talk to a doctor
Consider a conversation with a healthcare professional if you notice:
- Persistent sleep problems that are affecting your daytime functioning
- Loud snoring, gasping, or pauses in breathing during sleep
- Excessive daytime sleepiness
- An uncomfortable urge to move your legs, especially when resting or trying to sleep
- Physical symptoms — such as pain or reflux — that repeatedly disrupt your sleep
How we decide what goes on this site
Evidence standards
We prioritise systematic reviews, clinical guidelines and randomised trials. Where evidence is weak or mixed, we say so on the page rather than leaving it out.
Medical review
Clinical content is developed from established guidelines and primary research. Where a page has undergone independent medical review, the reviewer and review date are clearly identified.
Source transparency
Claims are cited inline and linked to the primary source. We take no funding from supplement, mattress or device companies.
This site is an educational resource. It does not provide diagnosis or treatment and is not a substitute for care from a qualified clinician.