Actionsets help people take an active role in managing a health condition.  Insomnia: Improving your sleep

Introduction

Insomnia means that you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. It is a common problem. Most people will have sleep problems now and then because of temporary stress, worry, or an irregular schedule. But when you have trouble sleeping for weeks or months, it can lead to health problems. Worrying about it only makes it worse.

The good news is that if you can change the way you think about sleep, and then make some simple lifestyle changes, you may improve how well you sleep. This Actionset will give you some tips on how to do just that.

Key points

  • Lots of things affect how well you sleep. Keeping a sleep diary can help you figure out what helps and also what may get in the way of a good night's sleep.
  • Changing one or more of your habits may improve how well you sleep.

What? - What is the medical information or key concepts related to the action? What affects healthy sleep?
Why? - Why the action is important? Why change your everyday habits?
How? - Learn the steps involved in taking action. How can you sleep better?
Where? - Other resources and organizations that can help you take action Where to go from here

For more information about sleep problems, see the topics:

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Author: Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS Last Updated: January 22, 2008
Medical Review: Anne C. Poinier, MD - Internal Medicine
Catherine D. Serio, PhD - Behavioral Health
Jan Ulfberg, MD, PhD - Sleep Disorders

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