ARE you able to get off to sleep but find yourself waking up during the night and not being able to go back to sleep?

Then you are not alone. Many people have what psychologists term “maintenance insomnia” which can affect your ability to function during the day.

The name maintenance insomnia comes from the fact that you are unable to stay asleep during the night. Jamie Zeitzer, a professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences, says that it is normal to wake during the night, for example, to go to the toilet or at the end of a sleep cycle when your sleep is at its lightest. Many of us are able to get back to sleep and are, as a result, undisturbed by this waking.

Maintenance insomnia is often connected to what is going on with our minds once we are awake during the night. For some people their minds start racing with various thoughts.

Other reasons for this type of insomnia can be having pain and discomfort, thinking about what we need to do during the next day, just being an older person, or not having the right environment for sleep.

What can you do to treat your insomnia?

Try to have an optimum sleeping environment such as the room being quiet, not too hot or cold, and a bed that is comfortable for you.

Make sure you take any medications you have been prescribed for pain.

Have a restful bedtime routine.

Another thing you could try are, if you are wide awake, is to get up and do some different activity until you start to feel tired again.

If you feel that your insomnia is becoming an issue or is becoming chronic, please seek help and advice from a suitable professional.

Lesley Pallett

Zenara Therapeutics