Sleep problems

Insomnia, nightmares, sleep paralysis and the anxiety that keeps people awake at night.

• InsomniaInsomnia is a common sleep problem in which people have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or waking too early, and feel tired or unrefreshed during the day. Short bouts of insomnia often follow stress, while chronic insomnia lasts for months. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is the recommended first-line treatment.
• Nightmares and nightmare disorderNightmares are vivid, disturbing dreams that usually wake you up and leave you feeling frightened, anxious or upset, often with a clear memory of what happened in the dream. Occasional bad dreams are a normal part of life. When nightmares are frequent, distressing and affect your sleep or daytime functioning, it may be nightmare disorder, which is treatable.
• Sleep anxietySleep anxiety is worry, fear or dread about going to sleep or about not being able to sleep. It often shows up as anxiety at night, racing thoughts in bed or anxiety before bed that makes it hard to fall asleep. In some people it takes the form of nocturnal panic attacks or somniphobia, a fear of sleeping. It's common and treatable.
• Sleep paralysisSleep paralysis is a temporary inability to move or speak while falling asleep or waking up, even though you are aware of your surroundings. It usually lasts from a few seconds to a couple of minutes and is often accompanied by vivid, frightening hallucinations. It can be terrifying, but it is generally not dangerous.