Treatments for insomnia

Abstract

Abstract The choice of treatment for insomnia should be based on the cause of the problem, i.e. the underlying sleep disorder. Principles of good sleep hygiene are important for helping anyone to sleep well, but they are also valuable in combination with more specific treatments, depending on the cause of your insomnia. Sleeping tablets have a very limited part to play in the treatment of insomnia and can be harmful. They are no substitute for treating the underlying cause of not sleeping well. Coming off sleeping tablets can be troublesome and needs careful supervision. Sleeping aids bought over the counter are of doubtful value and can cause daytime problems. With professional supervision, psychological and behavioural treatments can be very effective. As already stressed, it is essential that the basic cause of insomnia is identified and treated, whenever possible. However, you probably do not need to see your doctor if your sleep problem has lasted for only a short time and is a normal understandable reaction to your circumstances—such as those mentioned earlier as causes of transient insomnia. Jet lag is one of the few exceptions to this rule where prescribed medication in the form of a short course of sleeping tablets (or possibly melatonin) can be justified (see Chapter 11).