Sleep is as essential to us as food, air and water. Sometime in your life you may have difficulty sleeping - many people do. Anyone can suffer from insomnia, although sleeping problems are more common among women (especially menopausal), the ill, the elderly, smokers, and alcoholics. Sleep problems are, however, surprisingly common among young people. While it is not an illness and is in no way life-threatening, insomnia can be very distressing, frustrating, exhausting, depressing and at worst it can make you feel like you're going crazy.

Common Main Causes
Insomnia is a condition that is caused by something else! Sometimes it won't be immediately obvious what the causes are in your own case, but the following list might give clues:
1. states of mind - anxiety, depression, worry, anger, grief, anticipating a difficult event
2. change - moving house/city, starting university
3. environment - noise, discomfort, time zone change
4. pain - one of the commonest causes
5. medical conditions - heart, breathing, stomach, digestive, high blood pressure, arthritis, anorexia.
6. recreational drugs - including nicotine, caffeine, heroin, cocaine, amphetamines, LSD, cannabis 7. sleeping pills and tranquillisers - can actually cause sleep disturbance
8. other prescription drugs - including some contraceptives, diuretics, slimming pills, beta-----blockers, stimulants. Some causes of insomnia can't be easily dealt with but most can.

What can you do about insomnia?
A great deal. The good news about insomnia is that you can cure yourself - in your own way, in your own time and at your own pace. You may wish to enlist the support or help of your doctor, a college nurse or a counsellor, but you won't necessarily need to. However you must be prepared to make some changes in your lifestyle in order to sleep better.

Things you can do to help yourself Change Your Environment
1. You need a comfortable bed and a room that's quiet, warm and dark enough.

2. Your bed - put a board under the mattress if it sags, or try putting your bed in a different position. Make sure your bedding is clean and that you are warm enough, but not too hot.

3. Light - if light troubles you use thicker curtains or putting a scarf or a sleep mask over your eyes. If you feel more comfortable with a little light, leave the curtains open a little or use a night light.

4. Noise - a common cause of sleeplessness! Use earplugs if it's noise you can't do anything about - or change your attitude towards it. Take some 'diplomatic action' - e.g. talking to noisy neighbours. Keep a radio/tape player by your bed and use it to mask other noise. And if noise from neighbours continues to be a serious problem - speak to college authorities or the local Environmental Health Officer.

Change Your Lifestyle
Here are a number of suggestions
---exercise regularly
---stay up until a reasonable bedtime even if you feel sleepy earlier
---go to bed only when you are feeling really tired and sleepy
---if you can't sleep, get up and only go back to bed when you're really sleepy again
---establish a routine that gives you 7-8 hours sleep (though individual needs do vary)
---get up at the same time each day
---if you're a late sleeper, force yourself to get up earlier
---relax mentally and physically for an hour before bedtime
---have a warm bath, do some yoga or take a light walk before turning in
---make a list of the things on your mind then forget about them
---do a security check - but only once!
---replace negative thoughts with positive ones e.g. "I can sleep/get back to sleep"

Some things to avoid:
1. taking stimulants to keep you awake, or sedatives or alcohol to help you sleep
2. sleeping during the day no matter how tired you are
3. going to bed when you're stressed, wound up or not ready
4. having arguments at bedtime or in bed
5. using your bed for working, watching TV, eating, telephoning - i.e. waking activities
6. lying in bed awake for more than 30 minutes
7. eating, drinking or smoking when you get up during the night
8. falling asleep in front of the TV
9. drinking too much towards the end of the evening
10. worrying yourself into not sleeping
11. getting angry with yourself or the world if you can't sleep - it only makes it worse!

http://insomnia.about.com/od/symptomsofinsomnia/tp/InsomniaSymptoms.htm
http://www.counselling.cam.ac.uk/insom.html

You won't need to do all of these. Decide which would be most helpful and start with those. If that doesn't help, try others until you are sleeping better. Your aim is to break the cycle of insomnia. You achieve this by establishing a good bedtime/sleep routine and by reinforcing the connection between bed and sleep.