Insomnia

Medically reviewed by Valerie Cacho, MD, board-certified sleep medicine physician

In short: Insomnia means having a hard time falling asleep, staying asleep or sleeping as long as you'd like, even though you have the chance to rest, and feeling the effects during the day. A rough few nights after a stressful event is short-term insomnia. When it keeps happening for three months or more, it is considered chronic, and it usually needs more than better sleep habits to fix.

Common signs

Lying awake for a long time before falling asleep
Waking in the night, or too early, and not getting back to sleep
Daytime tiredness, poor focus or memory slips
Irritability, anxiety or low mood
Worrying about sleep itself as bedtime approaches

What can cause it

Stress and big life changes are common triggers. Others include an irregular schedule or shift work, travel across time zones, late heavy meals, caffeine, nicotine and alcohol, some medications, chronic pain and other health conditions, anxiety and depression, and hormonal shifts such as perimenopause. Other sleep disorders, like sleep apnea and restless legs syndrome, can also look like insomnia, which is why a sleep evaluation matters.

How we treat it

The recommended first treatment for chronic insomnia is cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), a structured program that retrains your sleep habits and the thoughts that keep you awake. At Sleep Life Med, CBT-I is available one-on-one or in small groups.

For chronic insomnia, Dr. Cacho takes a supportive, holistic approach rather than relying on sleeping pills. We also look for anything else disturbing your sleep, so the plan treats the cause and not just the symptom.

Tired of lying awake?

Book an appointment in person in Fullerton, Los Alamitos or Ewa Beach, or by telehealth anywhere in California and Hawaii. Call (657) 553-3799 in California or (808) 500-7077 in Hawaii.

Source: Mayo Clinic, "Insomnia." This page is for education only and is not a substitute for a medical evaluation.