Guides
13 pages
- What insomnia is: the diagnostic criteria
Insomnia is diagnosed by four conditions at once, not by hours of sleep. The ICSD-3-TR and DSM-5-TR criteria, explained plainly.
8 min read - Causes of insomnia: seven groups to review
The seven groups of causes behind insomnia, how to recognise each, and why the cause that started it is usually not the one keeping it going.
9 min read - The effects of long-term insomnia
What prolonged insomnia affects, how firm the evidence is, and why worrying excessively about the harm is itself what keeps insomnia going.
8 min read - When insomnia needs seeing a doctor
Four groups of signs showing insomnia should be seen by a doctor, and three situations where you should go now rather than book.
6 min read - How long before insomnia counts as chronic
The three-month mark, why it matters more than a number looks, and why the real turning point is not about time.
6 min read - Acute insomnia after stress
Short-term insomnia after a life event: why it is normal, and three things NOT to do so that it does not become chronic.
6 min read - Is insomnia dangerous
A straight answer to the question, separating immediate risk from long-term risk, and saying plainly where the evidence is not yet sufficient.
6 min read - What to do about trouble falling asleep
Lying there for an hour unable to sleep: the mechanism behind it, and what has evidence compared with tips that merely sound sensible.
8 min read - Waking in the night and not getting back to sleep
Waking at 2 or 3am and lying there until morning: the causes to rule out, and why brief awakenings in the night are normal.
8 min read - Waking too early
Awake at four in the morning and unable to get back to sleep: three main causes, one of which needs seeing a doctor soon.
6 min read - What Mimosa does for sleep
What Mimosa is, what it contains, how far the evidence goes, and why international guidelines do not recommend herbal preparations for chronic insomnia.
8 min read - Does melatonin treat insomnia
Melatonin is a timing hormone rather than a sleeping pill. Why international guidelines do not recommend it for insomnia, and what it is genuinely useful for.
9 min read - How many kinds of sleeping pill are there
Six groups of sleep medication, how their mechanisms differ, which are recommended and which are not.
9 min read