What can cause insomnia?

Insomnia is the inability to get enough quality sleep each night. There are two forms of insomnia - onset insomnia, where you have difficulty falling asleep, and maintenance insomnia, where you find it hard to stay asleep during the night.

For an insomnia diagnosis to be accurately made, the person must suffer from poor sleep for at least three nights each week for more than three months, with no coexisting mental health disorders that could affect their sleep, such as depression or anxiety.

Around 1 in 9 people will experience insomnia at some point in their lives. It can be caused by a number of things, but the most common causes include:

• Excess psychological stress
• Environmental factors, such as bright lights, pollution, and a room that is too hot or cold
• Psychological conditions like anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia
• Lifestyle factors, like jet lag, too much work, and caffeine or alcohol consumption
• Changes in certain areas of the brain that are responsible for sleep and relaxation, such as the hippocampus and amygdala