Approximately 33% of adults are experiencing insomnia, and 10-15% are finding it impairs their daytime functioning.

If you are suffering from the following, you might be experiencing insomnia:

- difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or you are waking up too early

- you have daytime symptoms such as feeling tired during the day, needing to nap, unable to focus on social, work, school or other daytime events

- you continue to exerience these events despite having the opportunity to get good sleep, and do not have any other conditions causing these symptoms

If you have these difficulties on 3 or more nights per week, for 3 months or longer, you could have chronic insomnia!

Medications for sleep disorders often carry a risk of side effects, next-day drowsiness, dependence, and can put you at risk for other health conditions. It is important to discuss the use of sleep medications with your pharmacist or physician to work out a safe way to manage your sleep disorder. *Do not abruptly stop your medications as this could lead to withdrawal symptoms.

We currently recommend CBTi or cognitive behavioural therapy as a first line treatment for insomnia. Not only has it been proven to be an effective tool in treating insomnia, it also creates positive long term sleep habits to prevent these issues from returning.

To learn more about CBTi, as well as access tools and resources to help you get started (such as sleep diary, sleep calculator, pamphlets, and recommended books, apps and sleep therapists) visit mysleepwell.ca

Be sure to also downlaod and read the following PDF- Healthy Sleep Habits PDF