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Insomnia: How do I stay asleep?

Waking up in the middle of the night is called insomnia, and it’s a common problem. Mid-sleep awakenings often happen during periods of stress. Sleep aids that you can buy without a prescription rarely offer effective or long-term help for this problem.

To help stay asleep through the night and prevent insomnia, try these tips:

Sometimes insomnia is caused by a medical condition such as sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome or long-term pain. Insomnia also can be caused by a mental health condition such as depression. Treatment for one of these underlying conditions may be needed for insomnia to get better. Also, treating insomnia may help depression symptoms improve faster.

If you keep having sleep problems, talk to your healthcare professional. To find the cause and best treatment for insomnia, you may need to see a sleep specialist. Your doctor or other healthcare professional may prescribe medicine and have you try other ways to get your sleep pattern back on track. Depending on the cause of insomnia, a referral to a mental health professional may help some people.

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